Whether it's waiting at train tracks in Reading, navigating the Lockland Split, or feeling cut off by the highway in Lincoln Heights, many feel I-75 and railways have created barriers in some communities north of Cincinnati.
Hamilton County, along with the First Suburbs Consortium of Southwest Ohio, want to change that — and they want ideas from people who have to navigate the areas every day. They'll hold three public input sessions beginning Oct. 1 to gain feedback.
County Planning and Development Assistant Director Steve Johns says the groups are looking at ways to reconnect Arlington Heights, Evendale, Lincoln Heights, Lockland, Reading, and Sharonville.
Planners are asking residents of and frequent visitors to those communities to think about what they'd like to see come out of efforts to bridge divides caused by the highway and railroads that cross through the area.
"We've got some ideas that we have come up with, but we want to hear what they have to say as well, because they know best," Johns says. "They live this every day. They probably have the ideas that might make the most sense."
Johns says one idea planners will present to the community is the possibility of a small train yard where trains can stop without blocking vital roadways.
'Locked' in Lockland
WVXU spent several weeks doing in-depth reporting in Lockland, one of the six communities. Connectivity and divisions caused by I-75 and trains were a major topic residents brought up.
Mayor Mark Mason cited both houses lost to the construction and widening of the highway and rail traffic that cuts off key entryways into Lockland for long periods of time. Both make the village feel a bit trapped.
"We're basically locked in here," he said.
The Ohio Department of Transportation hopes a major project to redo I-75 as it passes through the village will help alleviate those concerns. And the new Hamilton County planning effort could help as well.
More than traffic
The ideas Hamilton County planners are seeking will have practical purposes — helping students get to school safely, and connecting residents to necessities like jobs, groceries, and medical care.
But the effort also is about looking for opportunities for vibrancy — new economic development possibilities and better recreation along the Mill Creek, which runs through the area. And it aims to increase a sense of cohesiveness among the various municipalities.
"Because these communities have been divided by this infrastructure, sometimes that has kept them from being able to communicate with each other and interact with each other," Johns says.
Projects coming from the planning initiative could look quite different in Lockland than they do in Reading or Sharonville or Lincoln Heights, Johns says.
"Many of these communities have their own unique flavor, their own geography and history and demographics," he said. "These venues are sprinkled around the region so people can go to the place that feels like home to them."
The Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Planning Study is funded by a federal grant. Planners say it's the first step in a seven- or eight-month process. Planners will take community feedback and develop a series of proposed projects, which they will then present to the public for further input.
When the public input sessions take place
- Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. at the Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church
- Oct. 2 at noon at the Reading Public Library
- Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Evendale Recreation Center
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