CINCINNATI — In just a couple of months, Harrison Avenue will be completely reopened to drivers without construction. But it definitely won't look the same as it did a year ago.
The construction and changes are part of the Harrison Avenue Improvement Plan, which starts at the intersection of Harrison and Queen City Avenues and stretches to the Cheviot border at the intersection of Harrison and Higbee Street.
WCPO spoke to Joe Conway, a senior engineer with the City of Cincinnati Department of Transportation and Engineering and the project manager for the Harrison Avenue Improvement Plan, on Monday.
“This project came about through feedback from the community, folks noticing that things were not as safe out there as they could be,” Conway said.
WATCH: How the Harrison Avenue Improvement Plan is working to bring benefits to drivers and pedestrians on the West Side
Conway said two safety concerns stood out when first collecting data from residents for the project: excessive speeding and drivers running red lights.
To fix the issues, the city decided to implement a number of safety and traffic calming measures, including more speed humps and raised sidewalks. Other initiatives include:
- New lane striping that will “rightsize” the street
- Eleven sets of speed cushions to calm traffic
- New crosswalks at Powell Drive and at Bracken Woods Lane (all existing marked crosswalks will also be repainted)
- Hardened center lines at eight intersections
- Curb extensions at eight intersections
- One-way protected bike lanes from Queen City Avenue to Fairmount Avenue
- High Friction Surface Treatment at four locations
- Two new retaining walls east of Everglade Place
- Parking edge lines in the Westwood neighborhood business district
Greg Hand is a resident of Westwood and the president of the Westwood Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation. He said drivers are used to using Harrison Avenue as a speedway, as it connects downtown to the West Side suburbs.
Hand said speeding is unsafe to both drivers and pedestrians.
“You basically take your life in your hands crossing the street here,” Hand said while standing near the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Montanna Avenue.
The City of Cincinnati said a safety study was conducted years ago following complains from residents about speeding along Harrison Avenue. From 2019-2021, DOTE documented every crash on Harrison Avenue from Queen City Avenue to Kling Street.
During that time, the study showed there were 700 crashes, includuing 19 pedestrian crashes and three bike crashes. Five were fatal and 21 resulted in serious injuries.
“I’ve driven and seen people lose control, whether it's wet pavement, whether it’s not paying attention, you know, some other reason,” Larry Eiser, a Westwood resident and the president of Westwood Town Hall Business Association, said.
Construction on the improvement project began last year, and Conway said they expect it to be completed in mid-July.
Marlena Lang covers Cincinnati's West Side for WCPO 9. You can contact her here:
Many of the safety measures have already been implemented, and while not all drivers are happy about it, many in the community say they’re working.
“You will see comments from people saying, 'I don’t understand what’s going on on Harrison, all it’s doing is slowing down traffic.' Yes, that’s what we’re trying to do,” Hand said.
Eiser said he would prefer people who only use Harrison Avenue to commute between downtown and Cheviot or other suburbs to take a different route.
“If it’s inconvenient, so be it,” Eiser said. “We want to slow you down, so if it’s taking too long for your commute, goal achieved.”
