Hill resident and business owner, Tom Nurre (Monk’s Cove) had the pleasure of shadowing Cincinnati’s Finest from 11:30-3am Saturday night……specifically Officers Michael Williams and Henrietta Hall.
Tom wanted to share with his observances and offer some suggestions that may help the business district run more smoothly (and perhaps alleviate some noise in the neighborhood).
Saturday was a busier than usual night…..traffic was VERY heavy. I think Towne had a parking garage being repaired and parking spaces were unavailable, so parking was at a premium…..both Valet and Monastery parking were Full at various times, so patrons would continually circle up Pavilion (then be denied parking), down St. Paul, down Monastery, then back onto St. Gregory. Traffic was so heavy the Officers spent the vast majority of their time on traffic on St. Gregory (Rightly so) and were unable to patrol the surrounding neighborhood streets. I was able to sneak away to walk a couple streets, and every thing was fairly quiet, until 2:15-3am…..more on that, later.
Officer Williams directed traffic in front of UDF anddid a great job engaging the detail Officers for Longworth’s and Tavern….encouraging them to move cabs and private vehicles moving, when they would stop in the middle of the street. Officer Hall kept traffic moving by the Monk fountain.
Traffic was especially snarled when they first arrived at 11:30 due to 2 cars illegally parked outside Longworth’s IN the cab stand…..it took over 45 minutes to get them towed….then things flowed much better…..but the traffic was still heavy…..many patrons arrive in Mt. Adams between 11:30-1am.
After 1pm, things flowed smoothly and there were ample cabs and patrons had found parking…..there was a good balance between cabs dropping off and picking up. This changed around 2-2:15am ….. there were very few cabs available and the patrons started the exodus down St. Gregory and down Louden to Paradrome, hoping to catch the 1st cabs coming up the Hill. There seemed to be a 2nd wave of patrons around 2:30. I would estimate 100-150 people went to Paradrome to catch cabs…..while very few actually made pick-ups on St. Gregory. Officer Williams did a terrific job trying to quiet patrons and watching out for their safety……but he couldn’t be everywhere. Slowly, cabs trickled back up the Hill and picked everyone up by about 3am.
The Officer on the bicycle was helpful throughout the night, and I think using a cruiser to block left turns onto Pavilion after 2am was helpful.
There were only a couple Charter Buses/Limos all night and they were not much of a problem except one that unloaded in the middle of St. Gregory.
These are my suggestions to help things flow better:
1) Extend the cab stand down past UDF ASAP!…..hopefully John Childress can get the signs in place this week. We should consider extending all the way to Hatch St. if congestion doesn’t improve significantly.
2) Have a 2nd Shift Officer check to make sure the cab stands are OPEN around 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays….if illegally parked cars are not towed until 11pm, it creates a problem tryng to tow them.
3) Extend the Valet for a spot or 2 at 940 Pavilion (in front of Fish House)…..maybe put a cab stand in front of Tap-n-Go on Friday/Saturday.
4) Maybe have the Monastery Parking Attendants put a “Lot Full” sign down by the Monk Fountain, rather than at the top of Pavilion, thus limiting the number of drivers circling the block.
5) Consider allowing Cab pick-ups ONLY on St. Gregory after 2 am …..there were ample spots not being used on St. Gregory….otherwise we will ALWAYS have patrons racing down the hill disturbing residents to get the next cab up the Hill. The extended cab stand will help the late night exodus, but there will always be some patrons trying to outsmart the system…..therefore always the potential for problems. It will take several weeks to educate patrons and cabbies, but I think it is the only long term solution. I have no idea on the legality of this, but it makes sense to me.
Officer Williams has a very good understanding of situation and I would strongly recommend using him for any future Mt. Adam’s Neighborhood watch duties! Also asking all Mt. Adams’ Detail Officers to help keep traffic moving, when they can, will help
I hope these observations are useful…. I know it just confirms much of what we already knew, but I feel implementing these changes will help the Hill, enhance business as well as create a quieter environment for our neighbors.
Hill Business Owner Shadows Cincinnati’s Finest!
Hill resident and business owner, Tom Nurre (Monk’s Cove) had the pleasure of shadowing Cincinnati’s Finest from 11:30-3am Saturday night……specifically Officers Michael Williams and Henrietta Hall.
Tom wanted to share with his observances and offer some suggestions that may help the business district run more smoothly (and perhaps alleviate some noise in the neighborhood).
Saturday was a busier than usual night…..traffic was VERY heavy. I think Towne had a parking garage being repaired and parking spaces were unavailable, so parking was at a premium…..both Valet and Monastery parking were Full at various times, so patrons would continually circle up Pavilion (then be denied parking), down St. Paul, down Monastery, then back onto St. Gregory. Traffic was so heavy the Officers spent the vast majority of their time on traffic on St. Gregory (Rightly so) and were unable to patrol the surrounding neighborhood streets. I was able to sneak away to walk a couple streets, and every thing was fairly quiet, until 2:15-3am…..more on that, later.
Officer Williams directed traffic in front of UDF anddid a great job engaging the detail Officers for Longworth’s and Tavern….encouraging them to move cabs and private vehicles moving, when they would stop in the middle of the street. Officer Hall kept traffic moving by the Monk fountain.
Traffic was especially snarled when they first arrived at 11:30 due to 2 cars illegally parked outside Longworth’s IN the cab stand…..it took over 45 minutes to get them towed….then things flowed much better…..but the traffic was still heavy…..many patrons arrive in Mt. Adams between 11:30-1am.
After 1pm, things flowed smoothly and there were ample cabs and patrons had found parking…..there was a good balance between cabs dropping off and picking up. This changed around 2-2:15am ….. there were very few cabs available and the patrons started the exodus down St. Gregory and down Louden to Paradrome, hoping to catch the 1st cabs coming up the Hill. There seemed to be a 2nd wave of patrons around 2:30. I would estimate 100-150 people went to Paradrome to catch cabs…..while very few actually made pick-ups on St. Gregory. Officer Williams did a terrific job trying to quiet patrons and watching out for their safety……but he couldn’t be everywhere. Slowly, cabs trickled back up the Hill and picked everyone up by about 3am.
The Officer on the bicycle was helpful throughout the night, and I think using a cruiser to block left turns onto Pavilion after 2am was helpful.
There were only a couple Charter Buses/Limos all night and they were not much of a problem except one that unloaded in the middle of St. Gregory.
These are my suggestions to help things flow better:
1) Extend the cab stand down past UDF ASAP!…..hopefully John Childress can get the signs in place this week. We should consider extending all the way to Hatch St. if congestion doesn’t improve significantly.
2) Have a 2nd Shift Officer check to make sure the cab stands are OPEN around 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays….if illegally parked cars are not towed until 11pm, it creates a problem tryng to tow them.
3) Extend the Valet for a spot or 2 at 940 Pavilion (in front of Fish House)…..maybe put a cab stand in front of Tap-n-Go on Friday/Saturday.
4) Maybe have the Monastery Parking Attendants put a “Lot Full” sign down by the Monk Fountain, rather than at the top of Pavilion, thus limiting the number of drivers circling the block.
5) Consider allowing Cab pick-ups ONLY on St. Gregory after 2 am …..there were ample spots not being used on St. Gregory….otherwise we will ALWAYS have patrons racing down the hill disturbing residents to get the next cab up the Hill. The extended cab stand will help the late night exodus, but there will always be some patrons trying to outsmart the system…..therefore always the potential for problems. It will take several weeks to educate patrons and cabbies, but I think it is the only long term solution. I have no idea on the legality of this, but it makes sense to me.
Officer Williams has a very good understanding of situation and I would strongly recommend using him for any future Mt. Adam’s Neighborhood watch duties! Also asking all Mt. Adams’ Detail Officers to help keep traffic moving, when they can, will help
I hope these observations are useful…. I know it just confirms much of what we already knew, but I feel implementing these changes will help the Hill, enhance business as well as create a quieter environment for our neighbors.