LOVELAND, Ohio — After performing a study into traffic and congestion issues at the West Loveland Avenue Bridge, Loveland city officials plan to present three alternative options at a public open house, where residents will be invited to give feedback.
The meeting will be held on April 30 between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at New Hope Baptist Church on Loveland Madeira Road.
During the meeting, the project team will give a presentation that will begin at 6 p.m. The presentation will showcase three alternatives intended to reduce traffic congestion at the bridge and improve travel time through downtown Loveland.
"Will it attract more the Hamilton Township traffic or will it attract more the Miami Township traffic and give them a better alternative than going through downtown?" said Loveland City Manager, Dave Kennedy.
In 2022, Loveland city officials announced they hoped to work with the Ohio Department of Transportation to perform a traffic study. The city conducted a public survey for the traffic project over the summer of 2023; during that period, Loveland officials said they received more than 1,700 responses.
At that time, discussed options to relieve the bridge's congestion included addressing the need for cross-river connectivity and other regional network improvements that could reduce downtown congestion. The high traffic volumes are likely from commuters from Clermont and Warren counties, city officials said.
The West Loveland Avenue bridge is the only access point in the city that allows drivers to pass over the Little Miami River from Clermont County into Hamilton County; The closest other crossings are three miles south in Miamiville, Ohio or four miles north in Foster, which sits in Warren County.
The city said data received from ODOT in June showed that around 10,000 drivers travel West Loveland Avenue daily through the center of Loveland's downtown.
The owner of Loveland Paddlesports said he tries to give customers a heads up about the traffic before they come to his business.
“The last couple of years, it’s busy and it’s difficult sometimes to get down here on a Saturday, but people, when they get down here they have a great time, so you just gotta be patient," Mark Bersani said.
He said he feels confident the city will be able to find a solution.
City officials said in 2022 that, since Loveland's city limits spans three different counties and neighbors multiple townships, there were unique challenges in finding which solutions to the traffic issues would be best for the region.
Following the meeting on April 30, city officials said renderings of the three alternative traffic designs will be posted to the city's website. Residents and "other local interested parties" will then be able to provide feedback up through May 30, a press release from the city said.
"Public involvement is a critical component of the project development process for proposed roadway improvements," said Kennedy. "Input from the public will be used to inform decision-making as we move forward."
Specifically, city officials would like to hear from residents about the "social, economic and environmental impacts of the alternatives, including any information the public may have regarding the existence of archaeological, historic, ecological resources or hazardous materials sites," reads the press release.
Changes won't necessarily come right away, though; the city said the project is not currently funded and no timeframe has been established for when any construction would begin. Still, the city is hoping feedback on the alternative options will help identify which steps to take when carrying the project forward into further studies, like engineering and environmental demands.
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