Cincinnati to host first public open house on citywide bike plan October 8

As Cincinnati moves forward on its first comprehensive Bicycle Master Plan in over 30 years the City is looking for community input from cyclists and would-be cyclists.  The first opportunity is a public open house that will be held on Thursday, October 8 from 7pm to 9pm at the McKie Recreation Center (map) in Northside.

The open house will include a formal presentation that will begin at 7pm and discuss the planning process for the Bicycle Master Plan.  Those who wish to share their thoughts will be able to fill out a public comment card or speak directly with a member of the project team.

Once complete, the Bicycle Master Plan will outline the infrastructure and programs that are necessary to transform Cincinnati in a way to make average Cincinnatians feel safe riding bicycles for daily trips as they would riding in their automobiles.

The City has also planned several working neighborhood rides that will engage cyclists to ride through their respective neighborhoods with members of the Bicycle Master Plan project team.  The first of these rides will take place on Saturday, October 10, following and will be divided into five legs:

1. 10:00am - Downtown (meet at Coffee Emporium - map) to Hoffner Park in Northside
2. 11:00am - Hoffner Park to the Kenard Avenue Kroger
3. 12:00pm - Lunch at Hoffner Park (brown bag it or get take-out from one of Northside's many eateries)
4. 1:00pm - Hoffner Park to Burnet Woods
5. 1:15pm - Burnet Woods (meet at fountain), Clifton Avenue, and Martin Luther King Drive

Over the course of the working ride, members of the project team will be compiling feedback at stops along the route, and those interested in participating are encouraged to do so and participate in any or all legs of the ride, or just join everyone for lunch at Hoffner Park.

The City is also looking for cyclists and/or would-be cyclists to participate in the Bicycle Master Plan survey that will help the City collect general information about the types of cyclists in the community and allow survey participants to grade the City on how they are doing on several different aspects of creating and maintaining a healthy bicycling environment.

For those unable to participate in any of the above activities, there is still one more way to get involved.  The City has developed an interactive map to gather comments from the public about bicycling conditions throughout the city, and will also solicit Information about streets and routes that you may use, routes that are either bicycle-friendly or un-friendly, and areas where improvements are needed .

Writer: Randy A. Simes
Photography by Scott Beseler
Stay connected by following Randy on Twitter @SoapboxRandy