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Curious about the Two-Way Street Conversion Project in East Walnut Hills?

Construction of this transformative project is set to begin soon. To find out more and to weigh in on the final piece of funding needed for this project, you are invited to attend the City’s Community Engagement virtual meeting on Mon 25 Apr 2022 at 4pm.
 
As a result of nearly five years of East Walnut Hills community’s collaborative engagement with the City, the City is beginning construction of the EWH Two-Way Street Conversion Project. The project design is the same as the final design approved by the East Walnut Hills Assembly’s Stakeholder Committee in 2020. When completed, this project will transform the block of William Howard Taft Rd., Woodburn Ave. and McMillan (see map).

The streets will be converted from one-way to two-way to improve pedestrian safety, calm vehicular traffic and knit the EWH business district back together. A new streetscape (new paver sidewalks and lights) will be installed along south Woodburn Ave., continuing the design that’s already in place on the rest of Woodburn in the business district. On the north side of William Howard Taft, a new sidewalk and trees will be installed.

The meeting on Mon 25 Apr at 4pm will focus on funding a gap in the financing for the project. Two million dollars of EWH Tax Increment Financing Dollars (TIF) funding was allocated to this project in the fall of 2020.

As anticipated by staff and committee members, project costs increased due in large part to the current economic conditions impacting construction. When the project bids recently came in, there was a $150,000 funding gap that now needs to be filled. The East Walnut Hills Assembly Board and the City of Cincinnati have agreed that the most efficient way to fill the $150,000 gap is to allocate further EWH TIF funds.

The EWHA and the City are asking the EWH community to weigh in on this proposed EWH TIF allocation. The first step in this process is the Community Engagement Meeting on Mon 25 Apr at 4pm. The purpose of this meeting is to present information about the proposed project, and to collect public input and feedback on the proposal.

The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. Please send a request to the following email address for the meeting link to join, and it will be sent directly to you: maria.dienger@cincinnati-oh.gov

official notice (PDF)

** SAVE THE DATE **
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2019 @ 7PM
St. Francis deSales School Cafeteria
1602 Madison Road, Cincinnati, OH  45206

A special meeting to present the Preferred Option of the Stakeholder Committee 2-Way Conversion Plan has been scheduled for January 9, 2019 and it will be open to the public.  There will be no assembly meeting on January 2, 2019.

The purpose of this special meeting will be to present information and invite commentary on the conversion of William Howard Taft Road (from Woodburn Ave. to Victory Parkway); East McMillan Street (from Victory Parkway to Woodburn Ave.) and Woodburn Avenue (from E. McMillan St. to Wm. Howard Taft Rd.) from 1-Way streets to 2-Way streets.

This 2-Way Conversion Plan is the product of the Stakeholder Committee, which has been working with the City administration on this plan for 18 months.  The Stakeholder Committee is comprised of residents, businesses, and property owners whose properties are immediately adjacent to the affected area. City officials from the Department of City Planning, the Department of Community & Economic Development, and the Department of Transportation & Engineering will be present to discuss the proposal and take questions.  Public discussion and comment will follow.

Please take some time to look these materials over before the special meeting: Existing Conditions Diagram, Description of Existing Conditions, Two Way Preferred Option Diagram, and Description of Preferred Option. This will be the only topic of discussion that evening.

This Special Meeting allows current members to vote by proxy. Members who are unable to attend can instead submit the proxy form. Click here to renew your membership.