CINCINNATI - west central
June 13 • June 26 • July 23 2019
This set focuses primarily on another Roads Scholaring involving Red Bike's popular electric bikes. My regular range was still pretty limited, so I still covered largely the same neighborhoods as a decade earlier, but there's always some new developments to peep.
6/13 - West on US 27/52 (Mehring Way) at Broadway, which is off on the right and goes under the coliseum decking. Broadway has been dual-signed with a red sign blade as Johnny Bench Way. The baseball legend once appeared in a Bubble Fudge commercial, so this continues Cincinnati's tradition of naming roads for people who have been seen blowing bubbles with bubble gum, which also includes Pete Rose and Doris Day.
East on Mehring Way. We're actually at the beginning of the Ohio to Erie Trail, a walking and cycling path that runs 320 miles to Cleveland.
East on Mehring Way under the Suspension Bridge approach.
West on Mehring Way at Elm. At left you see a Portland Loo, a very interesting and widely praised type of public restroom. Designed in Portland, Ore., this type of restroom is said to have wide dimensions and water-saving poopots, and has reduced waste on city streets. Some Portland Loos even have their own names, such as the one in Ketchikan, Alaska, known as Stedman-Thomas Neighborhood Loo. The one pictured here was installed in 2015 and was inspired by 3CDC's repeated class-driven closures of the Fountain Square restrooms.
"Belong. Stand out. Go far." Sort of like, "Think. Do. Be." This is west on Mehring Way at Pete Rose Way, way past where we lose US 27/52. The Interstate markers aren't that old, but they're jumbled all around like a losing political candidate's arguments for redoing an election. Plus, the speed limit sign uses the Helvetica font - a big no-no.
Continuing on Mehring Way at the intersection with the now-disused Baymiller Street.
Mehring Way where the rail viaduct starts to go over it, which wozzes it up all the sky (to quote a now-forgotten online rant). Just checking up on the state of wear on the aging green signs.
It's old! It's bold! It's in your face! This old OH 264 marker is on 8th at State. Straight ahead, there was once an incline uphill to link this with another stretch of 8th.
South on State at 8th, another OH 264 marker is starting to show its age - or at least its hopelessness.
One of my old Scholaring standbys: Evans Street. But now it just looks forlorn.
This is why I delayed releasing these photos until after the 2020 roadmeet. If highway officials knew there were signs this old on the roadmeet route, they'd remove them before the meet. And old they are. This is south on Dalton at Gest. I'm pretty sure I got these signs at least once before, but their condition hadn't miraculously improved.
Continuing on Dalton. I may have a photo of this too before it got this old. I remembered wondering what in the world this has to do with US 42. It doesn't have much to do with I-71 either.
East on 8th at Linn. The I-75 marker is fading like so many others.
It's invisible! This I-75 marker is almost completely faded. This is north on Linn at 8th.
Backtracking on Linn and looking north again, this is another faded I-75. But remember, signs only get to fade if they're cool.
East on 7th at Plum. What's of interest to good Roads Scholars here is the "TO CONVENTION CENTER" sign. Why? Because it bips. Just joking! Because it's old.
6/26 - As a bonus, this photo is east on Grear Alley just north of downtown. We're approaching Bunker Alley. Get it? Like a bunker blast! Best all, look at the mural on the left. She's bubbling! Using bubble gum!
7/23 - Another bonus, this time from Newport, Ky.! From the new KY 9, this is northwest on what remained of Patterson Street.