The City of Cincinnati is soliciting input on , but some Kennedy Heights residents are concerned about the loss of on-street parking.

Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE) Director Michael Moore recently addressed the topic in a memo, a response to a petition submitted for review by Councilmember Cecil Thomas on November 19 requesting that the City stop pursuing bike lane striping until a neighborhood consensus can be reached.

On February 21, the Kennedy Heights Community Council (KHCC) voted to support a proposal to provide bike lanes on both sides of the street, with three on-street parking spaces retained near the Kennedy Heights Church of Christ.

DOTE mailed notifications to property owners along the roadway in October, resulting in three phone calls from residents concerned about negative impacts to the church.

Moore said that a parking study showed that the half of the church's 50-space parking lot was empty halfway through Sunday services, and that the City's worked with the church to develop a second option to provide eight on-street spaces nearby.
Additional parking studies along the corridor showed that all residences had driveways and that on-street parking was only "lightly utilized".

On November 20, KHCC was unable to reach a decision on either of the options and asked DOTE to explore a third option – a one-way bike lane on only the east side of the street. All three options were posted on the DOTE website on December 12.

KHCC is requesting community feedback prior to its January meeting, which will be held January 15 at 7:30 P.M. at the Kennedy Heights Presbyterian Church, located at 6312 Kennedy Avenue. An open house meeting to discuss all three options will be held January 15 at 6:30 P.M. at the same location.

Restriping will not occur until next spring at the earliest, pending KHCC approval.

According to Moore, the restriping is all about neighborhood connectivity and crucial to the City's ever-changing transportation network.

"Red Bank Road is one of very few streets in the area that bicyclists can use to cross I-71 while traveling between Madisonville and Kennedy Heights," he said. "Additionally, bike lanes on this street segment would connect to the trail along Red Bank Road that is currently being developed as part of the Eastern Corridor Project."

Previous reading on BC:
Local cyclists give City 'C' grade, but see progress (6/7/12)
'Road diet' for Liberty Street pursued (5/14/12)
Cincinnati named Bicycle Friendly Community (5/14/12)
E Mitchell to get bike lane this summer (4/9/12)
Bike lanes added to Dana Avenue (12/2/09)