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Pleasant Ridge leaders seek $1 million TIF allocation for pedestrian safety, tie it to neighborhood development plans
Summary
Neighborhood leaders told Cincinnati City Council representatives that pedestrian safety and redevelopment must proceed together in Pleasant Ridge, announcing a $1,000,000 pedestrian-safety TIF request and outlining a neighborhood development plan tied to resident surveys and planned acquisitions.
Vice Mayor Jan Michelle Lemonkerny and neighborhood leaders met with residents in Pleasant Ridge to hear community groups outline plans for safety and redevelopment and to announce a $1,000,000 request for pedestrian-safety funding that will be presented to council as an ordinance next year.
Jeff Hittman Mason, president of the Pleasant Ridge Community Council, said the council’s two-year strategic plan is built on four pillars—connection and communication, safety and transportation, parks and public spaces, and business development—and that safety concerns motivated a formal funding request. "We did hear after sending our slides in on Friday afternoon that the city manager is in support of our $1,000,000 request for pedestrian safety," Mason said. He asked council to prioritize incomplete projects, including the long-delayed Douglas Terrace permanent closure, and to back increased traffic patrols during high hours near schools.
The spending request, Mason said, is intended to fund pedestrian improvements such as speed cushions, crosswalks and completion of existing safety projects. "That will come to city council in an ordinance in the first quarter of next year," Mason added.
Josh Willman, a board member of the Pleasant Ridge Development Corporation, framed pedestrian safety as part of a coordinated redevelopment strategy. PRDC has used grant funding and resident input to prepare a neighborhood business-district plan; Willman said a Neighborhood Catalytic Capital Investment Program grant of $75,000 funded consultant work by Yarden Company, and 364 residents completed the PRDC survey. "Our vision is thoughtful new investment," Willman said, adding that PRDC has two properties under contract and is preparing public hearings on specific sites.
Darby Schozer of the Department of Community Economic Development said DCED continues to work with administration and leadership on neighborhood requests and review processes. "We just continue to work with administration," Schozer said, and she committed to follow up with Director Carter on the technical details and funding timelines.
Council members urged coordination with other funding sources. Lemonkerny noted a recent railway sale that will return funds to city-owned infrastructure and said pedestrian safety could be included in that budgeting. Council member Anna Albee and President Pro Tem Victoria Parks praised the neighborhood collaboration and encouraged residents to participate early in city budget hearings. Council member Scottie Johnson, a former police officer, pledged to review a recent pedestrian-incident response that residents said did not result in a citation.
Why it matters: Residents and nonprofit development partners said the neighborhood’s data and resident input point to safety improvements that should accompany redevelopment and TIF-funded acquisitions. PRDC and the community council argued that building projects without coordinated pedestrian and traffic improvements would leave children and older residents at risk.
Next steps: The community leaders said they expect an ordinance to request pedestrian-safety funding to be filed in the first quarter of next year. DCED staff said they will review technical feasibility and budgeting details with the city manager and Director Carter and will report back to the neighborhood.
