The College Hill community has spoken, and they want to keep the current traffic safety measures on North Bend Road from Hamilton to Stella avenues. These measures, implemented last August, have reduced the number of driving lanes from four to two, and residents have noticed a positive impact on safety.
Honeykaye Baldridge, a resident of the area for nearly 20 years, appreciates the changes. “I live on West North Bend Road right in the middle of all the barricades, and I appreciate them,” she said. “Before the barricades, it was like the Indianapolis 500 every second of the day, night.”
The community council held an advisory vote to gauge residents’ opinions on the traffic calming measures. Over 240 people voted on three different options. Council President David Borreson said they will share the totals with the Cincinnati Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE). DOTE will have the final say on what they decide to do with that stretch of North Bend.
The majority of residents voted to keep the current format: one traffic lane in each direction, one protected buffer lane, and one permanent parking lane. Ninety-eight people voted for option two, which would have added a center turn lane, while only 18 people voted for option three, which would have eliminated the protected buffer lane.
Some residents, like Jim Bodmer, a College Hill resident of 61 years, were disappointed that the majority didn’t vote for option two. “I think they made a mistake because the way it is right now with two lanes, emergency vehicles, especially ambulances cannot get through,” he said.
Terance Riley, who voted for option three, expressed concerns about the lack of street parking. “It can be crazy at times, I guess, with the traffic backing up,” he said.
Despite these concerns, many residents, like Baldridge, believe the current street layout improves safety. “When I first moved into my house a couple of years back, I got hit going into my driveway from traffic, and the cops cited me for going into my driveway too slow,” she said. “The current design improves safety for me and my neighbors.”
The outcome of this vote will be shared with DOTE, who will make the final decision on the future of the road design. However, some residents, like Valda Freeman-Karmo, are concerned about the validity of the vote. “My next recourse is to go to the city council and tell them like if you seriously want to know what College Hill residents think about this then mail us something — there’s not that many of us,” she said.
