CINCINNATI — Congressman Greg Landsman alongside leaders from FC Cincinnati unveiled how more than $4 million in federal dollars will be spent to improve Central Parkway, which cuts through the heart of the city.
Central Parkway cuts through some of Cincinnati's most well-known and historic areas with places like FC Cincinnati's TQL Stadium and the Cincinnati Musical Hall residing on the street.
Leaders explained that the project, "Central Parkway Complete Street Improvement," is a combination of efforts from city officials, federal funding and philanthropic support.
The total number of federal dollars heading to the project is $4,116,269, which will go towards the infrastructure of the project, Landsman said.
Images shown at Monday's press conference display upcoming growth for pedestrian space. The pictures showed enhancement to sidewalks and bike paths. There is also an increase in trees and art along the medians, in an attempt to beautify the space.
Speakers at the press conference included Landsman, as well as FC Cincinnati co-CEO Jeff Berding and former Mayor of Cincinnati and current FC Cincinnati Director of Community Development Mark Mallory.
"We want to transform Central Parkway so that it becomes a much greater opportunity, and not a divider between two communities, but a bridge between two communities," Mallory said.
Landsman stated that the plan will help boost the commercial, residential and business life in the area.
"This project will unlock two things. It will unlock an enormous amount of economic potential and economic impact," he said.
Landsman continued by saying he hopes that this will help increase tourism in the area.
Berding said the plan is to have phase one of the project, which includes renovations from Ezzard Charles Drive to Liberty Street, done sometime in 2026.
The renderings from the City of Cincinnati show that many of the areas of Central Parkway will have to shrink the size of the road for drivers. The image of the future for the area near the soccer stadium shows traffic only flowing in one lane in each direction.
“I’m confident that the city engineers have done their planning and believe that this will absolutely serve the interest of people who are driving through here to and from their way to work, or to FC Cincinnati games or to Music Hall for the symphony or the opera, or of course to the businesses here,” Berding said when asked about concerns for drivers not having as many lanes.
Berding ended the press conference by letting the public know they expect the public to be able to see "visible progress" by the end of the year.
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