Source: NKY Tribune

Green Umbrella to host 10th annual Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit May 12 at Duke Energy Center

Green Umbrella’s 10th annual conference for environmental advocates, the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit, will take place on May 12 at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati and feature keynote speaker Dr. Katharine Wilkinson.

The Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit brings together hundreds of visionary leaders to share inspiring, forward-thinking, and solution-oriented ideas that propel us toward a healthier, more resilient, sustainable, and equitable future.

Green Umbrella is accepting submissions from those interested in presenting short talks, leading workshops, participating in panel discussions, or displaying art at the Summit.

This year’s Summit theme of “Imagine What’s Possible” invites us to explore possibilities that empower and motivate us to build a more vibrant and equitable region. Submissions may explore this theme through a variety of climate-related topics, including but not limited to: healthy and resilient communities, local food systems, justice and equity, green workforce development, high-performing infrastructure, and clean transportation.

Nominations for the 2023 Summit awards are open now. Organizations, individuals, businesses, and communities that make strides in the areas of impact, innovation, and leadership can be nominated for recognition of their accomplishments at the Summit. Summit submissions and nominations will be accepted through January 31.

This year’s keynote speaker, Dr. Katharine Wilkinson, is a bestselling author, strategist, and teacher. She leads the All We Can Save Project and co-hosts the podcast A Matter of Degrees. Her TED Talk on climate and gender equality has over 2 million views and she has been featured by Time magazine as one of the 15 women leading the fight against climate change.

To learn more about the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit, or to discuss sponsorship opportunities, contact Charlie Gonzalez at charlie@greenumbrella.org.

Green Umbrella

Source: WVXU

Months after a tragic death, a bike plan for Covington and Newport is starting to gain momentum

Long-awaited progress on safer bicycling in Newport and Covington could be underway soon.

The Newport City Commission on Monday unanimously agreed to participate in a planning effort led by cycling and pedestrian safety group Tri-State Trails. The Covington City Commission unanimously approved that city’s participation in the same project Tuesday night.

The planning efforts come after years of calls for more bike lanes and other safety measures in both cities. Those demands intensified last August when a car hit and killed cyclist Gloria San Miguel on the 11th Street Bridge between Newport and Covington.

Newport City Manager Tom Fromme says the city has had its eye on the issue for a while now.

“It was obviously a horrific incident,” he said at the Monday commissioners meeting. “It did cause some thinking (into) what could be done to mitigate this — in other words, improving bicycle and pedestrian safety.”

A handful of Newport residents attended the meeting to show their support for the plan.

“This is something that’s going to be great for the community,” Newport resident and nonprofit leader Rachel Comte said. “It’s much needed and is going to move us forward to where we want to be.”

The memorandum of understanding between the cities and Tri-State Trails approving planning efforts is good for one year, but could be extended.

Bicycling and pedestrian safety advocacy group Devou Good Foundation is funding the process. President Matt Butler says it will include a lot of input from the community.

“What we’ll be looking for is fully separated and protected bike lanes,” he told WVXU earlier this month. “We’re not looking for sharrows (markings on regular road lanes). We’re looking for infrastructure that will keep people safe and induce more people to ride bikes.”

Newport City Commissioner Ken Rechtin thanked Devou for its support at Monday’s meeting. He said the city is excited about the opportunity, but warned that funding could prove challenging.

Covington’s approval of the MOU was passed on a consent agenda, meaning it was included in a vote with other legislative items all commissioners agreed to support. Several Covington residents and cyclists came out to voice support for the plan.

Covington Mayor Joe Meyer said in the commission’s caucus meeting last week that the city is eager to engage in the planning process. That meeting did not include discussion of the MOU or public comment on it.

“The city commission supports that 100 percent,” he said. “We’re 100 percent in support of it.”

Source: WCPO

Newport officials approve plans to increase bicycle safety, accessibility following death of beloved biker

NEWPORT, Ky. — The Newport City Board of Commissioners approved plans to increase bicycle safety accessibility in the city, Newport City Manager Tom Fromme said in a press release.

They voted unanimously Monday evening in favor of The Bicycle Transportation Plan Agreement Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tri-State Trails and the Devou Good Foundation. MOU’s goal is to increase cycling access to businesses and community destinations along with creating a safe, accessible and connected bicycle network throughout the two cities.

“Newport is committed to improving bicycle and pedestrian trails in the city, which is something we are working on right now,” said Newport City Manager Tom Fromme. “The opportunity to develop a broader bike plan with the expertise of Tri-State Trails and the Devou Good Foundation is welcome and appreciated.”

The tragic death of biker and beloved Roebling Point Books and Coffee employee Gloria San Miguel sparked the latest push for change. She was struck and killed in August during a hit-and-run on the 11th Street Bridge between Covington and Newport over the Licking River.

“This is a much-needed plan that is tied to one of the city’s top priorities in the Newport Comprehensive Plan that calls for dedicated bike and pedestrian trails that connect community assets,” said Newport neighborhood activist Rachel Comte. “We want to thank Tri-State Trails and the Devou Good Foundation for putting this framework together.”

According to Fromme, Tri-State Trails will work with Newport and Covington to develop the plan. The Devou Good Foundation will provide funding.

“We strive to promote and develop infrastructure and policies that will eliminate deaths and severe injuries on our roads,” said Devou Good Foundation President Matt Butler. “Through our ongoing partnership with the city of Newport, we are working towards this goal of making our streets safer for everyone.”

Next steps of the plan include:

• Organize a Steering Committee comprised of staff, elected officials, business owners, residents, and other stakeholders to advise on the plan.  
• Collect baseline data conditions for demographics, roadway traffic counts, crash data, and trail monitoring data.   
•  Identify and map city bike user generators and key destinations such as employment centers, schools, retail districts, parks, etc.   
• Create and map an inventory of existing and planned bicycle facilities such as trails, bicycle lanes, and bike parking.  
• Review community plans and map out routes identified for implementation.  
• Identify key gaps in the bicycle transportation network, with a focus on creating a protected bikeway network within Covington and Newport that can extend into neighboring cities.   
• Work with the cities and the Steering Committee to recommend opportunities for on-road bicycling facilities and multi-use trails.  
• In partnership with the cities, host two community engagement sessions to collect public input on proposed routes.  One meeting will be held virtually and one will be a bike ride.  A follow-up survey will be distributed for additional public input. 
• Create a prioritized project list that aligns with potential funding sources. 
• Outline short-term and long-term priorities to realize a fully connected and protected network. 
• Prepare an Action Plan project report that includes an executive summary, background information, existing conditions, purpose and need, plan recommendations and funding strategy that aligns with state and federal grant opportunities, and short-term and long-term implementation steps.  
• Present draft plan to the city commissions for feedback and adoption. 
• Identify at least one project in Covington and/or Newport to potentially implement as an immediate solution that could be installed with interim materials. 
• Assist the cities in applying for funding for at least one project in June 2023 to OKI Regional Council of Governments [oki.org].  
• Partner with a qualified engineering firm to prepare a certified cost estimate for the project.

Source: WLWT

Newport board of commissioners approves plan to increase bicycle safety, accessibility

NEWPORT, Ky. —

A plan has been approved by the Newport City Board of Commissioners to increase bicycle safety and accessibility in the city.

According to a press release from the Newport City Manager’s office, commissioners unanimously approved a Bicycle Transportation Plan Agreement Memorandum of Understanding with the city of Covington, Tri-State Trails and the Devou Good Foundation.

Both cities – Newport and Covington, have made bicycle and pedestrian safety a focus after Gloria San Miguel was struck and killed by a car on the 11th Street Bridge in August.

“The City of Newport is committed to improving bicycle and pedestrian trails in the city, which is something we are working on right now with our plan for improving US 27 with lanes for both pedestrians and bikes,” Newport City Manager Tom Fromme said in a press release. “The opportunity to develop a broader bike plan with the expertise of Tri-State Trails and the Devou Good Foundation is welcome and appreciated.”

“This is a much-needed plan that is tied to one of the city’s top priorities in the Newport Comprehensive Plan that calls for dedicated bike and pedestrian trails that connect community assets,” Newport neighborhood activist Rachel Comte, who spoke at Monday night’s city commission meeting, said. “We want to thank Tri-State Trails and the Devou Good Foundation for putting this framework together.”

According to the city of Newport, the next steps include:

• Organize a Steering Committee comprised of staff, elected officials, business owners, residents, and other stakeholders to advise on the plan.
• Collect baseline data conditions for demographics, roadway traffic counts, crash data, and trail monitoring data.
• Identify and map city bike user generators and key destinations such as employment centers, schools, retail districts, parks, etc.
• Create and map an inventory of existing and planned bicycle facilities such as trails, bicycle lanes, and bike parking.
• Review community plans and map out routes identified for implementation.
• Identify key gaps in the bicycle transportation network, with a focus on creating a protected bikeway network within Covington and Newport that can extend into neighboring cities.
• Work with the cities and the Steering Committee to recommend opportunities for on-road bicycling facilities and multi-use trails.
• In partnership with the cities, host two community engagement sessions to collect public input on proposed routes. One meeting will be held virtually and one will be a bike ride. A follow-up survey will be distributed for additional public input.
• Create a prioritized project list that aligns with potential funding sources.
• Outline short-term and long-term priorities to realize a fully connected and protected network.
• Prepare an Action Plan project report that includes an executive summary, background information, existing conditions, purpose and need, plan recommendations and funding strategy that aligns with state and federal grant opportunities, and short-term and long-term implementation steps.
• Present draft plan to the city commissions for feedback and adoption.
• Identify at least one project in Covington and/or Newport to potentially implement as an immediate solution that could be installed with interim materials.
• Assist the cities in applying for funding for at least one project in June 2023 to OKI Regional Council of Governments.
• Partner with a qualified engineering firm to prepare a certified cost estimate for the project.

Source: NKY Tribune

City of Covington votes for more bike friendly urban core, approves architecture firm for City Hall

Queen City Bike President Joe Humpert wanted to keep things cheery Tuesday night.

“I’m here to basically strike a conciliatory and celebratory tone for what Mayor (Joseph U.) Meyer reminded all of us is effectively a unanimous approval of the adoption of a bike plan between Covington and Newport, supported by Tri-State Trails,” he said.

Commissioners, meeting at their regularly scheduled legislative meeting Tuesday night, were minutes away from approving an agreement with Tri-State Trails that will work with Covington and Newport staff to “develop a Bicycle Transportation Plan” which will include:

Data collection and review
field investigation
inventory and mapping
safety and needs analysis
project evaluation and prioritization
a public involvement process
budget development
identification of funding sources

The cost will be covered by a third party.

Part of the difficulty of creating a bike path in the city, officials noted, is that Covington is an older city with some challenges for developers.

“Covington would love to have an improved bicycle network,” City Manager Ken Smith said in a release. “At the same time, the unflinching reality is that this is a 200-year-old city with narrow streets that cut through the heart of neighborhoods and business districts. We look forward to working with Tri-State Trails to see how together we can overcome the many challenges related to geography, parking and other issues.”

“In our city and in Newport we have practical problems,” Mayor Meyer said Tuesday. “How do we put protected bicycle lanes on without removing parking? It’s a real problem because those who want the parking removed don’t live in the neighborhood and the people who live in the neighborhood who don’t have driveways don’t have parking lots … It’s just a huge conflict that’s an issue. That’s why we need to study. That’s what we hope the study will help us all find a way to resolve.”

Architect approved for City Hall

Commissioners approved Brandstetter Carroll, Inc., and the Elevar Design Group, as architects and design for the new City Hall.

The companies, which have extensive experience, including 40 city halls, more than 100 fire/EMS/police stations, and 47 courthouses, including the Kenton County administration building, the Delhi Township Town Center, the Campbell County administration building, the Newport City Hall and recently, the Kenton County jail.

The design phase is to last through July 2023 with completion of construction in March 2025.

City officials made sure to note that the request was not to approve the contract, but to approve the negotiation of the contract. An actual contract will be brought back to the Commission in the future.

Finance Review

Commissioners approved Chicago-based Baker Tilly firm’s plan for 55 high-priority recommendations for change in the city’s Finance Department, including major upgrades on everything from creating standard operating procedures for employees, to providing more training on in-house software.

“I am only asking the Commission to adopt the plan,” Finance Director Steve Webb said last week. “Adoption of the plan does not authorize any incremental expenditures related to the plan. Any new positions, contracts or other engagements relating to the plan would continue to come before this Commission individually in the same manner as they would in any other circumstance.”

BusinessFlare LLC

Commissioners approved the city hire BusinessFlare LLC for $60,500 (from the Economic Development Fund) to “develop marketing strategies, messaging and appraisal oversight associated with the development parcels being created in the Covington Central Riverfront redevelopment area.”

Goebel Park Design

Commissioners approved design and engineering improvements for Goebel Park.

The city will use $40,000 in America Rescue Plan Act funding for community engagement, survey work, design and engineering services, as well as assistance with contractor management. The plan is to complete design and engineering by July 2023.

Architectural Board Appeal

In a surprise addition Tuesday night, Commissioners heard a proposed order authorizing the commencement of an appeal from a decision of the Board of Architectural Review and Development regarding property located at 1116 Russell St.

City Attorney David Davidson noted that the owner of the property is called SKLO Acquisitions LLC, and the owner wanted to put a kennel containing more than 100 dogs at the location, which is technically not allowed in the traditional urban mixed-use zone. The request was denied by the zoning administrator.

However, an appeal to the Board of Architectural Review and Development was approved, as an argument was made that the kennel would be a “service-oriented use,” which was legal under current law. The review board voted 4-3 to overturn the decision.

Tuesday, the Commission considered whether to further appeal that decision to the county Circuit Court.

“The way that the applicant argued it, there is a use out there called ‘service-oriented uses,’ and an example of a service-oriented use — the word kennel is used,” Davidson said. “We took the position that there’s a very specific provision in the code that says kennels are only permitted in certain zones — they took the position that because this word kennel was used as an example of what could be used in a service-oriented use, that they should be permitted anywhere service-oriented uses are permitted.

“That suggests that you could probably put a kennel in half of Covington.”

The appeal had to be made within 30 days of Jan. 18.

Commissioner Nolan Nicaise wanted to make sure he had things straight.

“So, essentially, what we’re saying is that there is an error in the code that the city adopted in 2020 by listing kennel as an example of such use, so then we are appealing the decision — but in acknowledgement that there was an error or a mis-guidance or there was a word included that we didn’t intend to include — is that what’s happening here?” he asked.

“I suppose that’s a fair way of looking at it,” Davidson said.

In the end, the order to appeal was approved 4-1 with Nicaise dissenting.

Occupational License Fee

After meetings with local mayors, county officials and economic developers in the last week, the Mayor updated the Commission on his talks about the rising occupational license fee in Kenton County.

“The county did not make a very good case about the reasons that they implemented this tax increase,” the Mayor said. “They did finally acknowledge for the first time that the value of the increase exceeded $10 million … they still have not disclosed what they actually intend to use the money for.”

The Mayor previously said the city’s 2.45 percent occupational license fee had always been regarded as a hinderance to economic development. With the fiscal court’s decision, the rate will now be 3.36 percent.

“(Tri-county Economic Development) leadership at least agreed to look into this competitiveness issue,” he said. “The general question is how in the world are people going to make it when our governments are piling all of these extra expenses on people who can barely make ends meet?”

The Mayor said this is a topic they will continue to investigate and update.

Retirement

Commissioners approved the retirement of Eric Deardorf, fire department

Reappointment

Commissioners approved the reappointment of Bradie Bowen, Housing Authority of Covington.

New Hires

Commissioners approved the hiring of Alicia Chappel, Recreation Program Coordinator

Executive Session

After discussion, Mayor Meyer announced the intent to enter into an Executive Session “for the purposes of collective bargaining.” The Commission voted 4-1 for the session, with Commissioner Nicaise dissenting.

Next Meeting

The next regularly scheduled Covington Commission meeting will be a caucus meeting held at 6 p.m., Feb. 6, at the City Building at 20 W. Pike St. in Covington. The meetings can be followed live on Fioptics channel 815, Spectrum channel 203, the Telecommunications Board of Northern Kentucky (TBNK) website, the TBNK Facebook page @TBNKonline, and the TBNK Roku channels.

Source: Link NKY

Students present policy ideas to state about how to keep schools safe

Joud Dahleh, a student at the Ignite Institute in Boone County, told the media on Tuesday in Frankfort that even though she and her peers on the Commissioner’s Student Advisory Council are just students, they care about their education, and they want to stay safe inside their schools.

Dahleh and 29 other students from around the state sit on the council. The group presented their nine ideas on how to make Kentucky’s schools safer.

“This is kind of us trying to make a difference, and we hope it continues,” Dahleh said.

The council started its research last May after the Uvalde, Texas shooting. The goal is to develop policy suggestions for the Kentucky legislature.

Rep. James Tipton (R-Taylorsville) listened to the students’ presentation and said he would take it back to his colleagues in the legislature.

“I’m going to take the recommendations very seriously, and I’m going to share these recommendations with fellow members of the education committee,” said Tipton, who also is the new chair of the House Education committee.

Over the summer, the students started researching before meeting in small groups in August. They compiled a list of recommendations to legislators and education stakeholders that fit three categories: before, during and after a school shooting or other incident.

Their suggestions before an event include:

• Ensure awareness of the STOP tipline, which allows anonymous reporting of potential issues
• Improving the rate of intervention in concerning behaviors
• promoting and supporting gun control legislation that would make it harder for an incident to occur

Here are the students’ suggestions for during an incident:

• Improving the quality of active assailant drills and enforcing existing requirements
• Clear communication to students, staff, and parents about a situation
• Improving training for staff, school resource officers and all first responders.

And here’s what the students would like to see after an incident:

• Provide access to therapy sessions
• Host town hall-style meetings for the community
• Repair and rebuild the school building

Dahleh said she’s more focused on her school work, but she and her peers have conversations with teachers and classmates about what would happen in a school shooting.

“My school is mostly glass, so we do look around sometimes and just wonder how safe you would be if that were to occur,” Dahleh said. “So this isn’t on our minds every second of the day, but it is something we talk about.”

Source: NKY Tribune

Covington Board of Commissioners vote to partner with Tri-State Trails, Newport on Bike Lanes

Wanting to take a strategic and feasible approach to making Covington more bike friendly, the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday voted on partnering with the advocacy group Tri-State Trails to create a bicycle transportation plan for Covington and its neighbor, Newport, over the next year.

The proposal was on the Commission’s consent agenda for its 6 p.m. meeting, and all five members of the Commission voiced support for the proposal.

The agreement describes the goal as increasing “bicycling access to businesses and community destinations for people of all ages and abilities and to create a safe, accessible, and connected bicycle network throughout Covington and Newport.”

The work will include:

• Collecting data related to traffic counts, crashes, and other street conditions.
• Identifying City bike user generators and key destinations such as employment centers, schools, retail districts, parks, etc.
• Mapping and inventorying existing and planned bicycle facilities such as trails, bicycle lanes, and bike parking.
• Identifying gaps in the bicycle transportation network and working with City officials to recommend opportunities for on-road bicycling facilities and multi-use trails.
• Collecting public input through community engagement sessions and surveys.
• Creating a prioritized project list that aligns with potential funding sources.
• Preparing a draft action plan to be presented to elected leaders for feedback and adoption.
• Applying for implementation funding for at least one project in June 2023 to the OKI Regional Council of Governments.
• Partnering with an engineering firm to prepare a cost estimate for the project(s).

City Manager Ken Smith said the emphasis will be on creating a strategic plan that is feasible, balances the needs of various constituencies, and fits within the physical reality of Covington’s neighborhoods and business districts.

“Covington would love to have an improved bicycle network,” Smith said. “At the same time, the unflinching reality is that this is a 200-year-old city with narrow streets that cut through the heart of neighborhoods and business districts. We look forward to working with Tri-State Trails to see how together we can overcome the many challenges related to geography, parking, and other issues.”

Covington has taken steps and continues to take more steps to make the city’s streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. The City:

• Spent millions of dollars to create miles of paved hiking and biking trails north to south along the Licking River and east to west along the Ohio River.
• Is working with the state to move forward on plans to slow down traffic on Scott and Greenup by returning to a two-way system on part of those state routes.
• Is working with the state as part of the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project to improve bicycle connectivity beneath the interstate on Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, Pike, and 12th streets.
• Last year set aside $100,000 to make pending safety improvements for pedestrians and non-motorists near the Licking Valley Girl Scout (12th Street) Bridge. It also signed off on a proposal to allow state transportation officials to create a bike lane on the bridge.
• Is looking at opportunities presented by the redevelopment of the 23-acre former IRS site and the restoration of the street grid there. Related to that effort, the state has committed to putting bike lanes on the Fourth Street bridge between Covington and Newport when it’s rebuilt.

City of Covington

Source: Xavier Newswire

White-Wassing the neighborhood

Wasson Way presents us with an intriguing question- can environmentally-conscious, pedestrian-friendly, development enter a community and leave communities intact and free from gentrification? 

I don’t have an answer to that. But what I do know, is that any development, especially one running through lower-income neighborhoods like Avondale and Evanston, must have a plan to ensure that residents are not displaced and that costs don’t skyrocket.  

Cincinnati has a long, nasty, history of ignoring historically Black communities and lower-income neighborhoods. Decades of disinvestment, redlining, and systemic racism have led to systemic inequities — including in housing and walkability.  

In the 1800s, a series of race riots led to Black residents being forced into small, dense, communities largely along the polluted Ohio river. As economically advantaged individuals begin to move farther away from the city center into suburban enclaves, those who lack the resources, mostly Black residents, are left behind.  

In the 1930s, redlining reinforced housing segregation — this time codified into law.  

When I75 was being built, it was put directly on top of the Lower West End, a primarily Black neighborhood. Houses and businesses belonging to Black individuals were entirely torn down, displacing residents, and forcing them to move. Most ended up in Avondale, Walnut Hills, and Over-The-Rhine (OTR). 

While the 1968 Fair Housing Act made many of these practices illegal, that didn’t put a stop to it. These issues persisted, and have led to the current segregation in Cincinnati. 

Currently, 1 in every 3 Cincinnatians live in a racially segregated neighborhood — defined as being 75% Black or 75% white.  

We have seen the negative effects of well-intentioned projects like Wasson Way before. The street car, which opened in 2016, was designed to increase public transit opportunities in downtown Cincinnati.  

What wasn’t talked about was whether the project would fuel gentrification in Over-The-Rhine and other surrounding neighborhoods.  

OTR was once 80% Black. After the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation, better known as 3CDC, began buying up properties in the neighborhood, it was easy to see what would happen to long-time OTR residents — they would be forced out. 

The creation of the streetcar, while great in theory, is stuck on a 3.6-mile loop around downtown, designed to primarily serve tourists and business people. While not necessarily bad, it does little to serve long-time community residents, who would benefit immensely from quality, expanded, public transportation. Instead, it has jacked-up housing costs, contributing further to gentrification. 

It’s no secret that Xavier has not always had the best community relations with Norwood, Avondale, and Evanston.  

Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney, an Avondale resident and proponent of affordable housing, has been outspoken about the need to prevent gentrification.  

“We want to make sure that as these neighborhoods get all these amenities — new bike trail, new businesses — that these neighborhoods are still affordable,” Kearney said. 

Tri-State Trails, an organization supporting Wasson Way, has noted that the original trail plans did not include Avondale. 

“Most of the trails in Cincinnati are on the East Side in affluent, predominately white communities. Historically, trails have not touched these communities that are predominately Black, predominately lower-income, have high rates of zero car households,” said Wade Johnson, Director of Tri-State Trails. Xavier students live in a bubble, in many ways isolated from our neighboring communities. Wasson Way offers us an opportunity to be better connected with our neighbors. 

Encouraging walkable communities, biking, and other environmentally-friendly transit options is to be encouraged. We can and should be doing more to get students out of cars and onto trails and sidewalks. But that can not come at the expense of our neighbors and affordable communities. 

To ensure community engagement and to best prevent gentrification, there must be a plan to ensure that our communities remain affordable and accessible, and this must include input and leadership from within the communities most affected.

Source: Link NKY

Covington Commission agrees to work with Tri-State Trails on bike plan

Impassioned activists and supporters reiterated the importance of protected bike lanes one week after last Tuesday’s false start at the Covington caucus meeting.

“So if you all want to come back and talk to us at a legislative meeting,” Mayor Joe Meyer said last week, “we’re glad to have you do that. But just be mindful that on this trails agreement. We’re 100% in support of it.”

A willing commission approved the agreement Jan. 24 during their Legislative meeting at City Hall. The agreement with Tri-State Trails aims develop a bike transportation plan for the city. This agreement mimics the one the City of Newport has adopted, creating protected bike lanes in the city for riders and walkers alike.

Three members of the public spoke during the Legislative meeting.

“I’m here to basically strike a conciliatory and celebratory tone for what Mayor Meyer reminded all of us is effectively unanimous approval of the the adoption of a bike plan between Covington and Newport,” said Joe Humpert of Tri State Trails. “I miss riding bikes with my friend, and I hope that we can work to make the connections between our cities and all the river cities and across the region, safer and more viable for active transit.”

The friend in reference was Gloria San Miguel, a Roebling Point Books and Coffee employee who was killed in August 2022 in a hit-and-run accident while on her bike on the Girl Scout Bridge between Newport and Covington.

The meeting ended with an approval of the agreement to make a plan, to which the crowd clapped in support.

Source: Cincinnati Enquirer

Brent Spence Bridge project should halt for more environmental study, new coalition says

The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project should not move forward without updated environmental studies, according to nearly two dozen local environmental, faith and non-profit leaders.

In what could be the first organized opposition to the massive bridge improvement plan, the activists are asking federal highway officials to require Ohio and Kentucky to address what they consider “environmental justice concerns” about the project.

“We think there are some significant public health issues that are not being addressed here,” said Matt Butler, president of Devou Good Foundation and coordinator of the new Coalition for Transit and Sustainable Development of Greater Cincinnati.

In a Jan. 25 letter, the coalition asked the Federal Highway Administration to:

• Consider project designs that could lessen “negative impacts” to predominantly Black and low-income communities in the shadows of the planned work bridge and interstate work.
• Evaluate whether tolls or what is called congestion pricing – tolls during rush hours – would divert enough traffic to eliminate the need for bridge expansion.
• Analyze and mitigate air pollution that will be created by expanding the existing Brent Spence and adding a new companion bridge along its west side.

The agency on Tuesday confirmed that it received the coalition’s letter. “A response will be provided following review of the letter,” a spokesperson said.

‘We want better solutions for the residents’

Butler said Ryan A. Crane, a Cincinnati ear-nose-and-throat doctor, drafted the letter with input from Milwaukee environmental attorney Dennis Grzezinski.

Most of the other 20 coalition members represent communities or causes that will be impacted by the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project. Among them are the Cincinnati Preservation Association, Price Hill Will and Tri-State Trails.

The group is not anti-progress, Butler said. “We want better solutions for the residents of this area.”

The bridge project – which secured $1.6 billion of its $3.6 billion price tag from federal government sources last year – is advancing with outdated environmental impact studies, the coalition said in its letter.

An earlier “Finding of No Significant Impact” from the Federal Highway Administration is due for re-evaluation this spring, the letter says. The agency first approved the impact study in 2012 and re-evaluated it twice after that, according to the project’s application for federal dollars. The next evaluation should look at air quality issues overlooked before, according to the coalition letter.

“The adverse impact of highway expansion on air quality for minority and low-income communities directly adjacent to the Brent Spence Corridor has not been addressed,” it reads.

The letter is the second bridge initiative of the new group. About six months ago, it launched an online petition calling on local elected leaders to “halt the expansion of the Brent Spence Corridor.”

“Rather than spending billions on an un-aesthetic, unnecessary highway … funding should be shifted to expanding transit options and multi-modal transportation projects,” according to the petition.

The petition had 555 signers as of Tuesday.