CINCINNATI – An international consulting firm is in Cincinnati to begin collecting and analyzing data for a mobility study that aims to improve how all modes of transportation use the curb space along several of Downtown’s busiest streets.

The study by San Francisco-based Fehr & Peers will focus on how Cincinnatians use and share curb space on streets with pedestrians and all types of vehicles, including passenger and delivery vehicles, public buses, the streetcar, cabs, valet, ride-share companies and bicycles. 

Curb space is the stretch of public right-of-way between sidewalks and streets.

Curbs in city centers are commonly used as drop-off and pickup points, which can create congestion when a wide variety of users compete for the same limited space at the same time.

“This curb study will help us identify and quantify how users share the road in several of our busiest, high-traffic locations that serve hotels, restaurants, theaters, museums and major sports venues,” said John Brazina, Transit Manager with the City’s Department of Transportation & Engineering. “Because of the renaissance taking place in Cincinnati’s Downtown core, there are more transportation-related services vying for the same space in the public right-of-way.”

Fehr & Peers will continue to collect data throughout the summer and expects to complete its analysis this fall. The firm will provide public transportation officials with data-backed recommendations meant to improve the efficiency of the city’s transportation network, specifically how all modes of transportation operate together along the curb.

Fehr & Peers will use data collected in the following three areas to create baseline recommendations for Downtown:

• Walnut Street between Fifth and Eighth streets
• Freedom Way between Vine/Rosa Parks and Main/Joe Nuxhall Way
• Second Street between Vine/Rosa Parks and Main/ Joe Nuxhall Way

The curb-management study is part of a larger, multi-faceted initiative dubbed the Cincinnati Mobility Lab. The lab project was jointly announced in late January by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, the City of Cincinnati, the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) and Uber Technologies Inc. in partnership with Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) and Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK).

In addition to curb management, the lab project includes an upcoming transit study with SORTA and TANK and a summit to be led by a Harvard University business professor who specializes in data analytics to improve how government and private industry work together.

Learn more about the lab project.