CINCINNATI — City of Cincinnati engineers could soon approve plans to narrow traffic lanes near one of the city's busiest intersections.
"If that helps to control the traffic, fantastic," Julie Swart, a customer at the College Hill Coffee Co. and Casual Gourmet on the corner of West North Bend Road and Hamilton Avenue.
Around that intersection, engineers for the Devou Good Foundation — a Covington-based non-profit — plan to makeover a 1 1/4 mile stretch of North Bend. They submitted plans to the city's Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) for approval.
People familiar with traffic in the area want something to slow speeding traffic and reckless drivers.
"It's not uncommon for me to be walking to work and notice car parts along the gutters on the way over," said Leland Davis, a resident of College Hill.
Radar monitored by Devou Good found 60% of drivers speed on W. North Bend Road — some reached 90 miles per hour on the 35 mph road.
In December, someone speeding hit and killed 37-year-old James Towns and left him to die.
"It bothers me to my soul," neighbor Charles Reynolds said at the time.
Towns' girlfriend and neighbors called for change.
"This problem has been ongoing and needs to be addressed," said LaKesha Knoll, Towns' girlfriend, in December.
DOTE engineers, who are strapped for cash, encouraged members of the community to find grants to purchase traffic calming tools.
They secured a grant from the Devou Good Foundation, and their research of the area suggests a $100,000 road diet will help. The foundation wants to bankroll it.
Their plan is to transform the eastbound curb lane into space reserved for parking. The westbound curb land would become a two-way bike lane protected by concrete bolted to the roadway.
"Maybe it takes you an extra 30 seconds to get through to your suburb," said Matt Butler, president of the Devou Good Foundation. "But if that helps make the neighborhood much more pleasant, and people spend more time and money in the neighborhood then I think the neighborhood at least would see that as a win."
Davis wants to know the measures will work.
"I would hope that that also makes drivers more focused on and paying attention more (because) we don't want to see any more rear-ending accidents either," Davis said.
Statistics from a similar project on Clifton Avenue showed a 40% drop in speeding after the road narrowed, Butler said.
"It naturally makes drivers go slower," he said. "So if you think about driving down, like an alley, you're going to go pretty slow."
If a green light from city engineers is given, W. North Bend will change sometime this fall.
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