CINCINNATI — Every time the Ohio River floods, the undeveloped part of Smale Park closest to the river erodes. Cincinnati Parks is working to stop further damage.
Director Jason Barron said the number of big flooding events over the next few years will determine how quickly he and his staff have to act.
“We’re continuing to monitor that and we’re making sure that nothing gets too critical, but we know we've got to act soon and we've got to get this moving or else over the next several years, we're going to see problems," he said.
If the erosion gets to this point, Barron and his staff have a short-term plan to address it, which includes adding large stones and riprap.
“We think we’ve got a couple of years left before we see anything really significant and so that should line up just perfectly with the work we’re doing right now to come up with this plan," he said.
Cincinnati Parks' long-term plan is to address the erosion and add new features to Smale Park at the same time, including making it easier to get to the river.
There are four different designs the city is considering.
“From a simple like small path and some riprap to a more complex kind of physical structure like we have over at Yeatman’s Cove with the Serpentine Wall, to kind of an in-between option that has some paths and has some plant canaries and has all kinds of interesting elements to it," Barron said.
Parkgoers won't see changes for another few years. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is working on a feasibility study right now, which is set to be complete by the middle of next year, then they'll finalize the design.
Cincinnati Parks said funding for the project will be split 50/50 with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.
You can give your feedback on the project here.
