Changes are coming to Main Street in Over-the-Rhine on Friday and Saturday nights as part of a city-led effort to improve safety in the area. But residents and business owners have mixed feelings.
City officials said the changes are temporary measures, but the city is looking at long-term solutions.
Main Street is closed to vehicular traffic from Central Parkway to Liberty Street at 10 p.m. Metered parking is eliminated between Central Parkway and Liberty Street from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m.
In addition, the city may limit sidewalk space in the 1300 and 1400 blocks of Main Street. Officials said access to businesses and residences will not be obstructed and requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act will be maintained.
Metal barricades were lined up along the sidewalk on Main Street Friday afternoon in anticipation of the street closure. Signs were also posted warning of no metered parking from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays until Dec. 31.
Main Street closure comes after OTR mass shooting that left nine wounded
The announcement comes days after a shooting that left nine wounded, including one of the accused shooters.
Diablo McCoats, 29, and Jarvis Barnes, 34, were both taken into custody this week in connection to the shooting, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters announced Thursday. Police said the investigation includes attempting to identify additional shooters.
Maurice Wagoner, president of the Over-the-Rhine Community Council, said the city had already been closing off traffic to Main Street on the weekends before the Aug. 7 shooting.
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Wagoner said he doesn't have any objections to the changes, adding he wants the atmosphere on Main Street to change. But he questions whether blocking the street and limiting sidewalk space will improve safety.
"I don't know how that's going to solve the problem of gun violence," he said.
Increased Cincinnati police presence among steps to improve safety in Over-the-Rhine after mass shooting
In addition to the sidewalk and street changes, Cincinnati Police Chief Theresa Theetge has said there will be an increased police presence in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine during busy weekend times.
Carl Hunt, the owner of GOODS on Main and co-owner of Urban Transit, said there's already a significant police presence in the area but there's little in the way of enforcement.
"They don't do anything," Hunt, an Over-the-Rhine resident and DJ who performs at venues on Main Street, said of the police.
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Tim Fuller, owner of Tim's Picks, lives above his storefront full of vintage and mid-century modern collectibles on Main Street. He agrees there's been little enforcement by police, saying that parties will go on until 5 or 6 a.m. and music plays so loud that his windows shake.
Fuller said he and around two dozen other business owners attended a meeting on Wednesday during which the mayor, police chief and city manager laid out plans for the changes to Main Street.
"I think it's a good thing," Fuller said of the changes, adding the shooting on Sunday was obviously the "inflection point" that prompted the city to take action.
There's an understanding that after such an event, certain precautions need to be made, said Kelly Adamson, executive director of the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce.
"We don't want it to be for the long term," Adamson said of the changes. "We want to see officers consistently walking the beat," she said.
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Adamson said the chamber of commerce is in conversations with small business owners in the area and will get in contact with the city if businesses are impacted negatively.
The city is asking the community for input and ideas for more permanent solutions to issues in the Main Street area and has a short survey to provide direct feedback.
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