Progress Report
The Department of Transportation & Engineering continues to progress toward making Cincinnati a more bike friendly city. Below are some examples of recent projects.
Bike Share Feasibility Study • June 2012
DOTE launched a bike share feasibility study for Downtown, OTR, and Uptown. With a bike share system, public bicycles are available to rent on-demand at fully automated kiosks located around the city. The study was conducted with assistance from Alta Planning + Design, whose affiliate Alta Bicycle Share has developed and implemented bike share systems in DC, Boston, and NYC.
2011 Report Card on Bicycling • May 2012
Download the third annual Report Card on Bicycling here. The document is based on a survey of almost 600 local cyclists who were asked to "grade" the city's efforts on several aspects of creating and maintaining a bicycle friendly environment. The document also outlines the city's 2011 accomplishments.
Bicycle Friendly Community Award • May 2012
The city was named a 2012 Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. The Bronze-level award recognizes the city's commitment to bicycle infrastructure and advocacy.
Loop Detector Pavement Markings for Bicycles • October 2011
A common problem for cyclists is the inability to trigger a green light at a traffic signal when motor vehicles are not around. For this reason, the city has begun installing bike-specific pavement markings at priority intersections, to show cyclists where to position themselves in order to trigger the green light. Click here to view a graphic of the marking and to read more about how it works.
Shared Lane Signage • October 2011
The City has developed new signage promoting bicycle safety, the first of its kind in the region. The signs alert motorists that they should change lanes in order to safely pass cyclists. The signs will be installed in corridors where the city has already installed "sharrow" (shared lane) pavement markings. Click here to view a graphic of the sign and to read more about sharrows.
MidPoint Music • September 2011
The city has announced a new partnership with the organizers of the MidPoint Music Festival that will make the event more bike-friendly this year. The 10th annual music festival is expected to draw over 20,000 people to Cincinnati, and will include over 180 bands from around the world, playing over three nights on 18 stages Downtown and in the adjacent Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.
The city is working with festival organizers to provide secure, lockable bicycle parking for many of the 18 venues participating this year. In addition to the numerous permanent bicycle racks already located in the festival area, the city will be converting several on-street metered parking spaces into bicycle-parking-only spaces by installing temporary bicycle "corrals." Each corral will hold 12 bicycles. The MidPoint Music festival begins Thursday, September 22, and runs through Saturday, September 24. A map showing festival venues and bicycle parking is available here.
Sharrows on Madison Road • July 2011
One and a half miles of sharrows were installed both eastbound and westbound, between Observatory Ave and Markbreit Ave.
New Bike Lanes & Sharrows • June 2011
Half a mile of sharrows were installed on Central Parkway, southbound between Hopple Street and the Western Hills Viaduct. One mile of bike lane was installed on Martin Luther King Drive both eastbound and westbound, between Victory Parkway and Reading Road.
Pocket Guide to Cincinnati Bike Laws • May 2011
The first edition of the Pocket Guide to Cincinnati Bike Laws was printed and made available to the public at no charge. The guide was produced by the Department of Transportation & Engineering, the Cincinnati Police Department and Queen City Bike, and is designed to help inform both cyclists and law enforcement officers of the rights and responsibilities of cyclists on Cincinnati streets. To view or download the guide, click on Bike Laws in the left nav bar.
Bike Friendly Destinations Bike Racks • May 2011
The Bike Friendly Destinations Program was developed by the Department of Transportation & Engineering and Queen City Bike to encourage more people to commute to work and other destinations by bicycle. The program works with local businesses and other institutions to help them implement practical ideas for weaving bicycling into their organization's culture. As part of the program, the city installed bike racks free of charge to 8 organizations, creating over 40 new bicycle parking spots. Visit www.queencitybike.org to see a listing of the 2011-2012 certified destinations.
Ohio River Trail • May 2011
The Congress to Wilmer section of trail was officially opened to the public with a ribbon cutting on May 13th.
Main Street Bike Corral • March 2011
The city's second bicycle "corral" was installed at 1202 Main Street in Over-the-Rhine. The corral provides fourteen bicycle parking spaces.
2010 Report Card on Bicycling - January 2011
Download the second annual Report Card on Bicycling here. The document is based on a survey of over 500 local cyclists who were asked to "grade" the city's efforts on several aspects of creating and maintaining a bicycle friendly environment. We will continue to conduct the survey annually, and publish the results so that we can publicly measure our progress toward making Cincinnati a more bicycle friendly city.
New Bike Lanes & Sharrows • September 2010
Bike lanes and sharrows were installed on three street segments:
- Spring Grove Avenue (Bike lanes: Crawford Ave to Winton Rd; Sharrows: Winton Rd to Mitchell Ave)
- Central Parkway (Bike lanes: Brighton Pl to Western Hills Viaduct; Sharrows: Western Hills Viaduct to Hopple St - southbound only)
- Linn Street (Bike lanes: W 6th St to Gest St)
Ohio River Trail • September 2010
The Congress to Carrel section of trail is currently under construction, and will be completed this fall. This segment of trail is adjacent to the Carrel to Wilmer segment that is also under construction, and together their completion will allow trail users to travel between Schmidt Ballfield and Lunken Airport.
Shared Path Signs in Uptown • August 2010
New shared path signs were developed and installed in Uptown. The signs include a graphic of a pedestrian and bicyclist side-by-side, and were installed along Jefferson and Martin Luther King Drive to designate the shared path that completes the .7 mile connection of UC West Campus to the bike lanes on the East Campus.
Bicycle Transportation Plan • June 2010
The Cincinnati Bicycle Transportation Plan was approved by City Council on June 23. DOTE would like to thank all the citizens and interested parties who testified before City Council, attended the open houses and workshops, participated in the rolling focus groups, or called/e-mailed staff to ask a question or provide feedback. Your participation was critical to making the plan a reality.
Bike Parking Legislation • May 2010
City Council approved a zoning ordinance that requires bicycle parking to be provided in all newly constructed or expanded parking garages. This requirement will help to ensure an adequate supply of long-term bicycle parking, which provides employees, students, residents and others who generally stay at a site for several hours, a secure and weather-protected place to park bicycles.
Bike Corral • April 2010
The region's first bicycle "corral" was installed on Lingo Street in the bicycle-laden Northside neighborhood. The corral replaced one on-street automobile parking space with twelve bicycle parking spaces.
Ohio River Trail • March 2010
Construction began on a segment of trail between Wilmer Avenue and Carrel Street.
Ohio River Trail • December 2009
Trailhead signs were installed at St. Peters Drive and Riverside Drive, and at Congress Avenue and Kellogg Avenue.
Bike Lanes on Dana Avenue • November 2009
Bike Lanes were installed on Dana Avenue between Madison Road and Griggs Avenue. The bike lanes were installed as part of a "road diet" - seven motor vehicle lanes were reduced to five vehicle lanes and two bicycle lanes.
Ohio River Trail • September 2009
Progress continues on the Ohio River Trail. The current focus is on completion of the trail from Salem Road to Downtown.
- Wilmer to Carrel: Construction will begin in early 2010 on a 0.4 mile segment from the Lunken Airport Trail to Carrel Street.
- Lunken to Salem: Funding has been received and design has begun on a 0.4 mile segment extending east from the Lunken Airport Trail across the Kellogg Avenue bridge to Magrish Preserve. This segment will connect to the southern terminus of the Little Miami Scenic Trail.
- Corbin to Collins: The survey of project limits has begun, and DOTE recently submitted a grant request for funds to begin work on design and environmental review.
- Main Street to Plum: The Trail has been added to the construction plans for the relocation of Mehring Way, and stimulus funding for this project was authorized.
Schematic for Corbin to Collins
Sharrows • June 2009
In May 2009 DOTE began a pilot project to evaluate the effectiveness of sharrows on Clifton Ave., Ludlow Ave., and Madison Rd. The markings, which include a bicycle symbol with arrows at the top, were placed every few hundred feet on the pavement. There were no other striping or parking changes.
Northside Bike racks • May 2009
Twenty-eight new bike racks were installed on Hamilton Avenue within the Northside Business District.
Share the Road signage • May 2009
In conjunction with Bike Month, DOTE installed new, blue "Share the Road" signs in two high priority cycling corridors: Hamilton Ave and Riverside Drive. This is the first time the blue signs have been used in Ohio.
Queen City Art Racks • May 2009
In an effort to bring green public art to the Queen City, DOTE has been working with ArtWorks on the Queen City Art Racks project.
Queen City Art Racks is a project of functional artist-designed bike racks that will be installed in locations throughout the Cincinnati region. Artists are invited to help make the Queen City a more creative and greener region by submitting ideas for these sculptural bike racks that will celebrate and enhance the character and utility of our communities. Artists, designers, sculptors and bicycle enthusiasts living in the Cincinnati region may submit proposals as teams or individuals. Multiple submissions are welcome. For more information, visit the ArtWorks website here.
Clifton Bike Racks • April 2009
Twenty-nine new bike racks were installed in the Clifton Business District as part of the Ludlow Avenue Streetscape Improvement Project.
OTR Bike Racks • April 2009
Three new bike racks were installed on Main Street as part of the Main/McMicken Streetscape Improvement Project.