The state of Ohio plans to put close to 2 miles of Reading Road on a diet.
In 2027, the state will turn the four-lane passage through the city of Reading into a two-lane street with a center turning lane.
State and city officials say the $3.9 million “road diet” – an increasingly popular traffic control tool across Cincinnati and beyond – will slow vehicles and make Reading Road safer for people on foot and bikes.
Residents weighing in online are skeptical.
“This is a joke?” one asked on an Ohio Department of Transportation page.
They can ask that question and others in person on Jan. 28 when the community hosts a public meeting.
Speeding long an issue on Reading Road
The city of Reading, located just east of Interstate 75 and north of the Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway, claims about 10,000 residents. Over more than 20 years in office, Mayor Robert “Bo” Bemmes has heard frequent complaints from them about speeding on the 1.7 miles of Reading Road that runs north-south through the community with a posted speed limit of 25 mph.
He knows the state’s plan to reduce lanes is controversial. But he’s not ready to weigh in on the plan until more residents have.
The state just posted the road diet plan online on Jan. 11 and business owners just got letters about it, he said.
Bemmes wants to hear from more residents and business owners. “We’re going to listen to everyone’s concerns,” he said.
Plans call for Reading Road, through the city of Reading, to be reduced from four to two lanes of traffic, with a center lane for turning.
Posters fear road diet will snarl traffic
Most of dozens of comments posted on the Ohio Department of Transportation pages about the Reading Road plan are critical.
“This will cause more problems than it will solve,” one poster wrote.
“ODOT needs to butt out of Reading,” another wrote.
Others said reducing lanes from four to two will slow traffic, cause congestion and increase pollution – especially as vehicles squeeze from four lanes of Reading Road on the north and south ends of the city.
Pedestrians should stay off Reading Road, some said.
So should bicyclists, one said, writing: “Bike lanes in the road are dumb.”
Vehicles often speed on Reading Road through the city of Reading, despite a 25-mph speed limit.
Reading Road to lose lanes from Cooper to Galbraith
Unless public opinion changes, the state will launch the road diet plan next summer, with completion expected by the end of 2027.
It calls for:
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Reducing lanes from four to two, with a 12- to 13-foot center turn lane, from about Cooper Avenue on the north to Galbraith Road on the south.
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Retaining parking and adding bike lanes along both sides of Reading along most of the span.
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Adding other traffic calming devices. Among them: extended curbs in some spots, raised crosswalks and intersections in other places, and a few “pedestrian islands” in the middle of the road.
The state of Ohio plans to reduce lanes on 1.7 miles of Reading Road from four to two, with a center lane for turning. The “road diet” would impact the road as it passes through the city of Reading, starting at Cooper Road and ending at Galbraith Road.
Here’s how to weigh in
State and city officials will answer questions about the Reading Road plan at the Jan. 28 public meeting. It will run 7-9 p.m. at Reading City Hall, 1000 Market St.
The state transportation department will continue to take public comments online through Feb. 11.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What is the plan for Reading Road through Reading?
