We need your help to make a major improvement for bicyclists to Mitchell Avenue. A proposed climbing lane* on Mitchell has been held up by the desire of St. Bernard's engineers to reserve 10 feet for car parking rather than 8 feet on their side of the road. The City of Cincinnati, which owns half the road, needs St. Bernard's agreement to include a bike lane on the roadway.
We need as many people as possible to send an e-mail to St. Bernard Service Director Phil Stegman explaining why it is important to them personally -- and to St. Bernard and the region -- to enable this change to be made to Mitchell right away.
A copy of my message and the correct e-mail addresses are below (You may need to adjust spacing and punctuation when you copy these into the address field of your e-mail program).
I am sharing this to help you draft your own message. If you already ride Mitchell or live in St. Bernard or an adjacent neighborhood, let them know! If you would consider riding this route if bike lanes were added to the roadway, let them know that, too!
We believe that the St. Bernards engineers simply are not aware how many people there are who would like to see more bike-friendly streets. Now is your chance to let them know.
Thank you for your help!
Gary Wright
*A climbing lane is a just a bike lane going uphill, where bikes will naturally be going slower.
DRAFT E-MAIL MESSAGE FOR YOUR PERSONALIZATION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
E-MAIL ADDRESSES (copy into your e-mail program):
TO:
service@cityofstbernard.org
CC:
bburkhardt@cityofstbernard.org;
jestep@cityofstbernard.org;
roxanne.qualls@cincinnati-oh.gov;
queencitybike09@gmail.com
TEXT TO MODIFY:
Phil Stegman, Director
Service Department
City of St. Bernard
Dear Mr Stegman,
I am writing to urge you to work with the City of Cincinnati to add a bike lane to Mitchell Avenue by allowing 8 feet for parking rather than 10 feet on the St. Bernard side of the street.
This minor change would allow a bike lane to be added to the uphill side of Mitchell, making it possible for bicyclists to use this important street to get to and from North Avondale, Hyde Park and points east from St. Bernard, and to Cincinnati neighborhoods to the west and north. Changes have already been made or are being planned for Dana Avenue and Spring Grove, leaving Mitchell as a critical gap in the regional bicycle street network.
A bike lane would also make St. Bernard a more desirable place to live for Xavier University students who want to live in a green, healthy community that encourages and supports active lifestyles. Bicycles on the street are a sign of a desirable place to live for young people, and can be an important part of revitalizing neighborhood business districts. Clifton, Northside, and O'Bryonville are all areas where bike lanes are making a real difference.
Can you confirm that you will work with the City of Cincinnati to allow a bike lane to be added to Mitchell Avenue this year?
Sincerely,
Gary Wright
Over the Rhine, Cincinnati
Queen City Bike Board Member
cc:
Mayor William Burkhardt, City of St. Bernard
Councilperson John Estep, Chair, Transportation Committee, City of St. Bernard
Councilperson Roxanne Qualls, Chair, Transportation Subcommittee, City of Cincinnati
Frank Henson, President, Queen City Bike
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