CINCINNATI — City council members are pressing pause on the Central Parkway bike lane extension effort that was waged during the Cranley administration. Options officials are now exploring are projected to be safer and save a substantial amount of money allocated for bike paths.

The design options are for the stretch of Central Parkway between Marshall Avenue and Ludlow Avenue. The area was originally slated to be a shared use path. One of the current options officials are considering is for the road to have a protected bike lane. They are also considering adding trees and a grass median to the entire lane or to only parts of it.

Council member Mark Jeffreys put forward the motion requesting the city halt the Central Parkway bike lane extension project to consider these options on Jan. 12. That motion was passed Wednesday.

“It’s an intersection of everything that we care about,” Jeffreys said. “It’s not just about cyclists. It is about better health, it’s about cleaner air. It’s also about equity. You don’t need to own a car in order to get around if we have the right infrastructure.”

“[T]he good thing is that because this money has already been allocated for bike infrastructure, if there’s any cost savings, we’ll make sure it goes right back into bike infrastructure,” said City Council Member Meeka D. Owens. “So there’s no competing priorities. Again, it’s just about the efficiency.”

Last year, the city allotted $2.8 million dollars for the shared use path concept. Jeffreys said he believes the other options now being explored could save at least $1 million. Those savings would go towards protective bike paths Downtown and in Over-the-Rhine.

“A bike lane to nowhere, which is essentially the parkway today doesn't do any good. So this will connect people from Northside, Clifton, the CUF area into Downtown, and vice versa. And then also potentially connect into the riverfront,” Jeffreys said.

The administration will come back in a month with a report outlining the cost, designs and viability of the three other options for the bike path.

Monique John covers gentrification for WCPO 9. She is part of our Report For America donor-supported journalism program. Read more about RFA here.

If there are stories about gentrification in the Greater Cincinnati area that you think we should cover, let us know. Send us your tips at moveupcincinnati@wcpo.com.

CINCINNATI — A protected bike lane stretching alongside the University of Cincinnati's western edge will remain in place, but its future remained uncertain this week as leaders considered residents' requests and administrators' recommendations.

The city installed the two-way bike lane — the first of its kind in the city — earlier this year on a temporary basis, to test its value for nearby residents and commuters as well as its impact on Clifton Avenue traffic. When the city's Department of Transportation and Engineering said it was time for the lanes to come down, the announcement sparked backlash on social media.

"I've seen entire families riding bicycles together," said UC professor David Freeze, who's been teaching at the university for more than 20 years. "This is something that you wouldn't have normally seen in the city of Cincinnati."

The idea emerged from the neighborhood's community council, Clifton Town Meeting, which reached out to local active transportation advocates at Tri-State Trails.

"If we don't give people that option to ride their bike or to feel safe riding their bike, people aren't going to do it," said Tri-State Trails executive director Wade Johnston.

Matt Butler, with the Northern Kentucky-based Devou Good Foundation — which helped finance the project — said speed data indicate the bike lane encouraged drivers on the mile-long straightaway to slow down.

"The data that we're collecting is showing that it's effective in slowing the speeders down, but everybody else that wants to get through is able to do so," Butler told WCPO, adding that the data his foundation has collected show the number of drivers traveling more than 5 mph above the speed limit dropped by roughly 40%.

When Butler tweeted that the lanes would be going away, that's when he said neighbors began speaking up.

Freeze agreed that the area seems safer not just for people biking, but for people walking, too.

"If we save one life, it was worth it," he said. "I hope that there are more."

In a motion filed Monday, City Council members Chris Seelbach and Liz Keating called on the administration to leave the bike lane in place while engineers study the bike lanes' benefits and drawbacks in more depth. The council will vote on that motion Wednesday.