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.

TOKYO —

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Cyclist Paige Greco of Australia claimed the first gold medal of the Tokyo Paralympic Games, winning the 3,000-meter pursuit on Wednesday on the velodrome track. Wang Xiaomei of China was second and bronze went to Denise Schindler.

It was the first of 24 gold medals up for grabs on Wednesday as the Paralympics got underway in the middle of a pandemic that has seen new cases in Tokyo soar since the Olympics opened just over a month ago.

Medals were also contested on Wednesday in swimming and wheelchair fencing.

Greco was born with cerebral palsy, which mostly affects the right side of her body. It was her first Paralympic Games medal.

"It feels amazing," Greco said. "I still can't believe it. I keep looking down and seeing (the gold medal). It's not really sunk in yet."

Away from the competition, organizers confirmed Wednesday that two more athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Paralympic Village. That brings the total to three positive tests by athletes in the Village over the last two days.

Over the last three days, organizers have confirmed nine positive tests in the Village. The additional six, who are not atheletes, are described as "Games-related personnel."

Organizing committee spokesman Masa Takaya said the athletes were "from different sports and different countries." But he gave few details and said the athletes have been placed in isolation.

He was asked if there was a COVID-19 cluster in the Village.

"Whether or not there is a cluster should be based on the advice from specialists," he said.

Japan is expanding its coronavirus state of emergency for a second week in a row, adding several more prefectures as a surge in infections fueled by the delta variant that strains the country's health care system.

The Japanese capital has been under the emergency since July 12, but new daily cases have increased more than tenfold since then to about 5,000 in Tokyo and 25,000 nationwide. Hospital beds are quickly filling and many people must now recover at home, including some who require supplemental oxygen.

Japan has weathered the pandemic better than many other countries, with around 15,600 deaths nationwide since the start, but its vaccination efforts lag behind other wealthy nations. About 40% of the population has been fully vaccinated, mainly elderly people.

Dr. Shigeru Omi, top medical advisor for the government, criticized International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach for returning to Tokyo to attend Tuesday's opening of the Paralympics.

"Right now, the government is requesting people to telework and (Bach) is coming back just for that," Omi said, responding to a question from an opposition lawmaker in parliament.

"When the government is making those requests to the people, why is the Olympic leader, President Bach, coming all the way to Tokyo. Anyone with normal, common sense should be able to think that he has already come once and even visited Ginza."

International Paralympic Committee spokesman Craig Spence confirmed the IPC is in contact with two Paralympic athletes from Afghanistan who have left the country. He declined to speculate whether they might eventually reach Tokyo for the Paralympics.

"There's a lot of speculation going on where these Afghan athletes are," Spence said. "I'm not going to tell you where they are because this isn't about sport, this is about human rights and keeping people safe."

He added they were in a "safe place."

Several reports say the two athletes — Hossain Rosouli and Zakia Khudadadi — may have arrived in Australia.