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Cincinnati council orders multi-jurisdictional steps to ease traffic after major bridge incident
Summary
Council directed the administration to work with state and regional partners to identify temporary traffic measures after the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge closure, calling for ongoing updates as downtown congestion risks businesses and safety; the motion passed on a near-unanimous vote.
Cincinnati City Council on its final 2024 meeting voted to direct the administration to coordinate with state transportation agencies, the Cincinnati Police Department and neighboring jurisdictions to identify and implement temporary measures to reduce downtown traffic disruptions caused by a major bridge incident.
Councilmember Nolan, who introduced the motion, said the city has heard from “a lot of community members about the pain” of prolonged congestion and asked the administration to lead cross-jurisdictional mitigation while keeping the public informed. Councilmember Walsh, a co-sponsor, described the scope of the problem as “over a 100,000 additional cars coming every day through the downtown area,” and urged aggressive, ongoing action rather than a single report.
The motion asks the administration to work with the Department of Transportation and Engineering, the Cincinnati Police Department, appropriate state agencies and neighboring jurisdictions to identify short-term operational fixes (signal timing, signage and enforcement) as well as longer-running coordination on detour routing and freight diversion. Councilmember Jeffries — who helped frame an amendment to explore diverting southbound traffic onto bypass routes where feasible — said the region’s planning body (OKI) could help coordinate with ODOT.
Several council members noted immediate steps already under way: adjustments to signal timing, the formation of interjurisdictional working groups and a planned press release to update drivers. President Pro Tem Parks cautioned that some jurisdictions and technical experts will drive parts of the response but supported the council’s role in elevating coordination. Councilmember Johnson said the police chief and city administration are already “doing everything they possibly can.”
Councilmembers voted to adopt the motion and requested recurring updates; the motion passed with most members in favor (Parks and Johnson recorded no votes on the final adoption roll call as noted on the record). The administration is expected to return with operational recommendations and regular status reports to the council.
