90-day blitz in E. Price Hill included safety initiatives, beautification efforts

CINCINNATI – City leaders joined stakeholder groups and numerous West Side residents Tuesday, November 19 to celebrate the months-long transformation of the Warsaw Avenue Business District in East Price Hill as part of the Neighborhood Enhancement Program (NEP).

The NEP is a 90-day collaborative effort between City departments, neighborhood residents, community organizations and businesses. The neighborhood blitz included a variety of beautification efforts, public safety initiatives and signature projects that aimed to enhance the ongoing revitalization of this West Side community.

The NEP in East Price Hill began August 15 with a press conference in an abandoned lot at Elberon and Warsaw avenues. On Tuesday morning, standing feet from where that kickoff press conference took place three months prior, Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman announced the details of the four Signature Projects coming to Warsaw Avenue as a byproduct of the NEP, including the Wrap Up Warsaw beautification project. This unique competition turned the designs of students from six Price Hill schools into colorful works of art adorned on utility boxes along Warsaw Avenue.

Later in the day dozens of residents came together to literally light up Warsaw Avenue. Withstanding cold temperatures and rain, the group walked together throughout the business district to witness the Light Up Warsaw project, which has illuminated the facades of nine architecturally significant buildings along the Warsaw Avenue Business District. The colors of the lights can change seasonally or be used to indicate special events in the community. In addition to bringing a colorful feature to the business district, the lights also double as a public safety tool for the area.

Other signature projects include enhanced signage to celebrate the Warsaw Business District and decorative elements and improvements to the outside of the Duke Energy substation on Warsaw Avenue. Each project aims to further assert the existence of East Price Hill as a thriving place for people to live work and play.

While Tuesday’s celebration highlighted a handful of the accomplishments of the NEP, there were numerous accomplishments made in terms of beautification and public safety throughout East Price Hill during the 90-day blitz. One of the most impressive was an all-day cleanup hosted by Keep Cincinnati Beautiful on September 21. Together, hundreds of volunteers from various partner organizations completed a variety of cleanup and beautification projects including litter pick-up, painting fire hydrants, cleaning up illegal dump sites, clearing overgrowth and landscaping at community sites.

Other accomplishments during the NEP include:

• A significant reduction in both crime and blight
• The barricading of a well-known illegal dumping site on Wells Street
• The clearing of eight tons of overgrowth and trash have been removed
• The installation of 37 smoke alarms into residential homes
• The development of several pedestrian and bike safety initiatives including a new pedestrian and bike connector between East Price Hill and Lower Price Hill
• Progress made toward the addition of 24-hour parking on the north side of Warsaw Avenue

Additional information about the Neighborhood Enhancement Program is available on the NEP website.