One local community is coming together to oppose an upcoming transportation project in Cincinnati – and it's not the streetcar. The Eastern Corridor project, a highway expansion and community rail project led by the Ohio Department of Transportation, has raised the ire of Madisonville residents who object to the expansion of Red Bank Road to what ODOT terms "highway capacity," citing a negative impact on the neighborhood. "It's really quite dramatic what they are proposing," says Bill Collins, a board member with the Madisonville Community Council. "Essentially the end result will make these neighborhoods unattractive." Construction for Phase 1 of the project is slated to take place on an approximately 2.5 mile stretch on Red Bank Road from Interstate 71 to US 50. The project calls for the appropriation of large amounts of land along Red Bank Road, Collins says, including chunks of property belonging to the Children's Home of Cincinnati and the clinical research company Medpace. Collins says the plan is very outdated. "It was a plan that was put together with very little input from the communities around here," he says. "It was put together before a lot of development blossomed (on Red Bank Road). People stop at businesses when the speed limit is 35 miles per hour. How many will stop when the speed limit is 55?" Collins is also amazed that ODOT didn't contact businesses to consult with them about the land appropriation. A June meeting about the Eastern Corridor project was the first time that representatives of Medpace and the Children's Home of Cincinnati learned of their property being connected to the project, he says. "Neither organization had any recollection of being contacted by ODOT," Collins says. "The fact that (Ellen Katz, CEO of the Children's Home of Cincinnati) didn't know about it and was seeing the maps for the first time was shocking. That's an indication to us that the community input in 2006 was limited. ODOT didn't really do their due diligence in reaching out to the public."Representatives for ODOT, however, said they solicited resident input on the project as early as 2001."We've had numerous meetings and discussions with them (between 2001 and 2006)," says Andy Fluegemann, planning engineer for ODOT's District 8, which includes Hamilton County.A federal court decision upheld the plans for Phase 1 of the project in 2006, but the project stalled due to a lack of development funds, Fluegemann says.Funding was identified for the project in 2009, however, and a consultant was hired to collect data and update what information may have changed concerning the project, such as the new development along Red Bank Road, he saidIn the meantime, neighboring communities have joined Madisonville in its opposition to the project. The Hyde Park Neighborhood Council approved a resolution supporting a Madisonville resolution calling for no expansion to Red Bank Road and requesting more neighborhood input on the project. "I think they realize if the road (Red Bank) accommodates the quality development, it will possibly raise the demand for housing (in Hyde Park)," Collins says. "It's not just a Madisonville issue, but an east side issue." Cincinnati City Council has also joined the movement. It passed two resolutions June 21 calling for the Cincinnati Department of Transportation and Engineering to work with Madisonville in developing an alternative plan for Phase 1 and to change the name of the Red Bank Road Expressway to the Dunbar Expressway, paying homage to the historic Dunbar neighborhood. "We move that DOTE work with the residents and businesses of Madisonville to oppose the current Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) plan to turn Red Bank Expressway into a 55-mile-per-hour highway as part of the Eastern Corridor project," the council resolution reads. The City Council resolution also called for DOTE to include attractive landscaping and accommodate the needs of cyclists and pedestrians. Despite opposing the current plan, the Madisonville Community Council is not against the whole Eastern Corridor project, Collins says. The council just wants to see ODOT solicit more community input from Madisonville residents regarding Phase 1. "If this thing is done right, it has the potential to dramatically improve the east side of town for the next 30 to 40 years," he says. "If the project is going to be done, we want it to be done the right way before the bulldozers start doing their thing." Flugemann says ODOT planned to reengage the public, including residents of Madisonville, at a series of meetings this fall -- before Cincinnati City Council beat them to the punch by setting a meeting slated for Aug. 3 at the Madisonville Recreation Center at 5320 Stewart Road. The meeting is hosted by Cincinnati City Council's Livable Communities Committee.ODOT will "gather residents input and get their concerns on the table" through the Aug. 3 meeting, he said.By James Sprague
