Wednesday, February 17, 1999
City to look at 12th Street plans
Group offers ideas for improvement
BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer Contributor
COVINGTON — City commissioners said Tuesday they want to further investigate two proposals to develop 12th Street.
A group of residents and business owners, Citizens United to Re-think 12th, presented their proposal.
Menelaos Triantafillou, a Cincinnati urban planner, said the plan calls for rehabilitating buildings in the area, adding trees, putting power lines underground and creating new turn lanes at 12th, Main and Lee streets; Holman, Russell and Madison avenues; and Scott Boulevard.
The total cost: about $3 million, a $9.5 million savings from the Kentucky Department of Transportation's $12.5 million plan. The group also wants the state to set aside money so an experienced urban designer can guide the project.
“There were some interesting aspects,” Commissioner Irvin “Butch” Callery said. “We'll take a look at it.”
Commissioner Jerry Bamberger said he will evaluate both proposals, but said Citizens United should have taken its plan to the state long ago.
Commissioner Jim Eggemeier said he would go to the highway department office in Crescent Park this week to look at the state plan.
The fourth commissioner, J.T. Spence, was likewise not ready to make up his mind Tuesday, but praised the citizen's group for its organization.
Mayor Denny Bowman has said widening the road would further divide downtown Covington from other parts of the city and create unsafe conditions for pedestrians who would have to cross 12th Street.
The plan the state wants calls for widening 12th about 57 feet to the south from the Interstate 75 exit east to Scott Bou levard, creating one eastbound and one westbound lane, putting in a 44-foot wide raised median and adding parallel parking to one side of the street in each direction.
The Covington Business Council has endorsed the state plan. It said the road would spur development in the rest of the city.
About 10 residents and business owners spoke against the state plan during Tuesday's meeting. One, Jody Robinson, said Covington should not further divide the city.
“We're asking (the city) to be sensitive to the community and celebrate it,” said Ms. Robinson, who lives on East 12th. “This isn't about beautification; it's about traffic.”
Bernard Moorman, a former Kenton County commissioner and Covington mayor who owns a bed and breakfast in Covington, said there has never been a clear reason given why the state plan should be implemented.
In other action, Assistant Police Chief Bill Dorsey presented eight recommendations from a committee that has been studying gang violence since September. They include:
• Passing a tougher blighted-properties ordinance similar to one in Louisville.
• Improving enforcement of existing city regulations on blighted properties and graffiti.
• Promoting creation of a statewide anti-gang law during the 2000 General Assembly.
• Adopting an arrest form that would notify judges when defendants are gang members.
• Adding one police officer to concentrate on gang activity.
• Conducting gang identification classes in schools and civic groups.
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