Central Parkway Protected Bike Lanes

Research has shown that cities with many transportation options tend to be more vibrant and more competitive in the global marketplace. Additionally, through their years-long participation in the Plan Cincinnati process, people told the City that they wanted more ways to get around other than by car. That’s why bikeways are an essential part of our strategy to make the city a better place to live and work.

Bicycles can:

• Ease congestion and demand for on-street parking
• Reduce household transportation expenses
• Reduce vehicle emissions
• Improve health

Central Parkway is a major connector between Downtown, the West End, Over-the-Rhine, University Heights, Clifton, and Northside -- neighborhoods where large numbers of people use bicycles for transportation. However, while some people are already comfortable riding a bicycle in the street, research nationwide shows that adding bicycle infrastructure (like bike lanes) makes more people feel safer and dramatically increases the number of people using bicycles for transportation.

Based on community input, the Cincinnati Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE) has developed a new street design for Central Parkway between Elm Street in Over the Rhine and Ludlow Avenue in Clifton. The street will not be widened, it will just be re-striped to include a bikeway. This bikeway will connect to the existing bike lanes on Ludlow Avenue, and to a new shared-use path for pedestrians and bicyclists on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

After meeting with the Over the Rhine, West End, CUF, and Clifton community councils throughout the spring and summer of 2013 and receiving feedback from hundreds of residents, community consensus was reached on a new street design which includes a bikeway called a protected bike lane (or cycle track). A protected bike lane is similar to a regular bike lane except that bicycles and motor vehicle traffic are separated with a physical barrier (such as a series of plastic poles), instead of just a painted white stripe. The new street design will include some peak-hour parking restrictions.

View a drawing of the new street design

This project has been divided into two phases. DOTE is currently working on Phase 1, which stretches from Elm Street to Marshall Avenue. You can read the latest updates on construction at Central Parkway Protected Bike Lanes.

If you have any questions about the project, please contact us at www.cincinnati-oh.gov/bikes/contact-us/.