National initiative is investing in new biking corridors

WVXU's Cincinnati Edition spoke to a University of Cincinnati history professor about how improving biking and pedestrian access is an environmental justice issue in the city.

The show hosted a segment on a plan by the nonprofit Tri-State Trails to develop a new biking and walking corridor called the CROWN project between neighborhoods across the Queen City.

“Right now in these neighborhoods, to get downtown, the thoroughfares you have to navigate are really big roadways with minimal sidewalks and no bike infrastructure. And that feels really treacherous,” said Wade Johnston, executive director of Tri-State Trails.

“This whole project is about reconnecting neighborhoods and making it pleasant to walk and bike,” Johnston said.

UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor David Stradling said projects that encourage more pedestrian and bike access are really about righting a social wrong in dealing with the disruptions of highways that have divided communities.

“They are very noisy. They are uncomfortable to be around. And, of course, air pollution is a real issue,” Stradling said. “There is an environmental justice issue in repairing neighborhoods that have been adversely affected by transportation policy over the past 100 years.”

Stradling is head of UC's Department of History and also teaches in UC's School of Environment and Sustainability. He is the author of several books, including 2010's “The Nature of New York: An Environmental History of the Empire State.”

Also joining the conversation was Bridget Marquis, director of Reimagining the Civic Commons.

Stradling told Cincinnati Edition host Lucy May that walkable neighborhoods improve the quality of life for residents.

“I was lucky enough to live through the pandemic in Clifton in a very walkable neighborhood with a lot of green spaces like Burnet Woods,” Stradling said. “We spent a lot of time outside and with neighbors because we could.”

Listen to WVXU's Cincinnati Edition.

Featured image at top: A bicyclist rides in front of Arts and Sciences Hall. UC Professor David Stradling spoke to WVXU's Cincinnati Edition about the benefits of neighborhoods that encourage walking and biking. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC