Almost a hundred years ago, city planners envisioned Central Parkway as a grand European boulevard enticing residents to stroll through a park-like setting.
Now, officials are calling up those plans as they look to revamp the part of the parkway from Plum Street to Liberty Street.
About 100 residents and business owners along the stretch got to see four proposals for reworking the street Tuesday night, including three that would take it down to two lanes of traffic. Currently, that portion of the parkway is four lanes. The designs also include wider sidewalks, an expanded central greenspace, and improved bicycle infrastructure.
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The city is working with consulting firm Strand and Associates. Strand Project Manager Jeff Heimann says more than 500 people responded to a poll about how the parkway could be improved. Most highlighted safety issues for walkers and cyclists.
"Nearly half of the respondents did not feel safe crossing Central Parkway at signalized intersections," he said of the survey, which asked respondents to rate how safe they felt. "And notably, only a quarter said they felt safe."
City of Cincinnati Project Manager Jeff Stine says the hope is the final design has a wider impact.
"Hopefully what we design here becomes the prototype for the rest of Central Parkway moving north," he said. "It may also influence, ultimately, the design for the east-west portion of Central Parkway. It could also influence what happens south of Plum Street."
While similar ideas have been around for years — some captured in a 1926 Parkway beautification plan city staff rolled out during the presentation, this specific project is on a fast track, Stine said. Part of that has to do with a bid FC Cincinnati is making for the 2026 MLS All Star Game.
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"We try to work with our community members, and one of the community members is FC Cincinnati and TQL ... they're trying to get that game; the city of Cincinnati would love to have that game. So we'd love to have the improvements completed before then."
Stine says the city hopes to have a preferred design selected by the end of the year, and a finalized design and funding in hand next year. After that, it should take about 16 months of construction to finish the project.
You can weigh in and see more about the project at centralparkwaycincinnati.org/participate..