A new Google Maps mashup on the Community Walk website provides information on Cincinnati's numerous public steps, including those that are closed to the public.

The interface gives the name and address of each set of steps, directions on how to find them, and photos of what you'll find when you get there.

The City maintains nearly 400 sets of hillside stairways, which were a key transportation shortcut for pedestrians looking to traverse the City's often rugged terrain.

The steps are still heavily used today, though their presence is not without controversy.

In 2006, the Dayton Street Neighborhood Association successfully lobbied for the closure of the Horace Street steps, which connect Horace Street with the intersection of Bank and Linn streets. The residents claimed that the steps caused drug dealers and prostitutes to come down and use Horace Street, which is basically an alley for Dayton Street residents, as a place to conduct criminal activity.

And in March 2007, City Council voted to close the Collins Avenue steps - a major connection for residents and students from Taft Road to O'Bryonville - after Keys Crescent residents complained that the steps brought crime onto their street.

Despite the closures, the City sees some value in retaining pedestrian connectivity. This spring, work will begin to replace the public steps between Holy Cross-Immaculata Church and the Adams Crossing condominiums.

This map is a fantastic tool for people like me who like to do a little urban exploring, and it's helpful in finding the public steps that may be hidden from plain view or that are in unfamiliar neighborhoods.