"Oakley did not request this project." That line opens the Oakley Community Council's notes on the Erie Avenue Corridor Safety Project in its October 2026 meeting packet. The council goes on to say the project was driven largely by Hyde Park safety concerns and by plans to expand the Murray Trail toward Madisonville.

Rosslyn Drive and Murray Road, where the slip lanes come out and a new crosswalk goes in, are on the Oakley end of the corridor. The project took shape over a summer when most of the people answering the city's questions were from Hyde Park. Now Oakley's council is gathering responses of its own.

Who Answered the City's Survey

The City of Cincinnati's Department of Transportation and Engineering, known as DOTE, ran an online survey for the Erie Avenue & Murray Road Safety Improvements project from July 13 to August 14, 2026. The survey summary records 174 responses. Here is how respondents listed their community affiliations:

So Hyde Park respondents outnumbered Oakley's five to one. Most people who took the survey use Erie in more than one way. On travel modes, 161 said they drive the corridor, 139 walk it, 90 bike it, and 22 ride transit on it. Asked how comfortable they feel on Erie today, 80 answered somewhat or very uncomfortable, against 68 who said somewhat or very comfortable. The city puts the uncomfortable share at 47%.

Those answers shaped the plan's priorities. For Erie, respondents ranked intersection redesign first, followed by a trail connection, protected bike lanes, sidewalks and shorter crosswalks. For Murray Road, the trail connection came first. The Murray Trail also had real users in the sample. Sixty-seven respondents walk it, 64 bike it, and 18 use it daily. In the city's open house presentation, the top concerns were speeding on Erie, rough pavement on both Erie and Murray, and uncomfortable crossings for people on foot and on bikes, "especially Rosslyn."

So the intersection that drew the most crossing complaints is the one Oakley's council calls a byproduct of someone else's project.

The Corridor, West to East

DOTE splits the project into three pieces, and the design changes from one to the next. Everything below is still proposed. The city says the project is in design and that community feedback will shape the final details.

1. Erie Avenue, Saybrook Avenue to Rosslyn Drive. The four-lane road becomes three lanes, with one travel lane in each direction and a center lane. Wider protected bike lanes replace today's narrow, unprotected ones. DOTE cites Federal Highway Administration data showing an average 47% drop in crashes for this kind of conversion. This stretch was last paved more than 20 years ago, and its pavement condition index of 31 counts as "very poor."
2. Rosslyn Drive. DOTE plans to fully rebuild the aging signal because of its condition and ongoing detection problems, and to remove the slip lane.
3. Erie Avenue, Rosslyn Drive to Murray Road. All four lanes stay because traffic is heavier here. A two-way protected bike lane runs along the south side of Erie and connects to a proposed shared-use path on Murray Road and the Murray Trail. This stretch's pavement scores 41, rated "poor."
4. Murray Road at Erie. The slip lane comes out, and a new crosswalk gives a more direct way across Erie to the existing bus stop and shelter.
5. Murray Road, Erie Avenue to La Crosse Avenue. A new sidewalk on the north side fills a gap that exists today. On the south side, the current sidewalk widens into a shared-use path to the Murray Trail. The curb ramps and crosswalks at the Cincinnati Sports Club entrance get wider, and the La Crosse intersection is realigned so drivers turning onto Murray can see farther. Murray's pavement scores 30, the lowest of the three segments.

The plan cuts lanes on the western, Hyde Park end of the corridor, where the city points to speeding and a history of sideswipe and fixed-object crashes. On the Oakley end, it keeps the lanes and rebuilds the intersections. A daily driver from Oakley Square toward Madisonville would see the biggest changes at the two corners where people turn, cross and wait for the bus.

What Losing a Slip Lane Means for a Driver

A slip lane is the curved right-turn lane that lets drivers turn without stopping at the signal. DOTE calls slip lanes "an antiquated design that is less safe than fully signalized or stop-controlled intersections" and says the city removes them whenever it can.

The city's traffic model covers the evening rush, using current traffic volumes. Removing the Erie-to-Murray slip lane is the biggest change in the design. Drivers turning right from Erie onto Murray "will experience a slight delay compared with the existing free-flow slip lane," but the model shows the same number of vehicles getting through the signal. DOTE also says traffic along this section stays the same or improves overall, partly because of updated signal timing.

According to DOTE, the redesigned intersections will still handle trucks and other large vehicles. For pedestrians, the city's stated goal at both corners is shorter crossings and fewer high-speed turns. That lines up with the "especially Rosslyn" concern in the survey results.

Oakley's Council Is Collecting Its Own Input

The city's comment period closed Friday, October 30, 2026. DOTE has also asked the Oakley Community Council for input, and the council ran its own resident survey through November 9. On its website, the council says the goal is to understand current traffic conditions, residents' safety experiences and how the community views the proposed design. The page posts survey responses to date next to a separate set of Rosslyn/Brotherton traffic data.

The council's packet explains why Rosslyn gets particular attention. It says "the Rosslyn updates are a byproduct of the bigger safety project, and associated costs should not come at the expense of our higher priority projects." The same packet lists those priorities. The council submitted three Community Budget Requests to the city, for a Robertson sidewalk, the Paxton Rec Area and key signage lighting.

The money for Erie comes from a different source. DOTE says the project is funded mainly through grants from the Ohio Public Works Commission and the Metro Transportation Improvement Fund. Construction is slated for summer 2027. Spring 2026 stakeholder meetings included the Village of Fairfax and Cincinnati Sports Club. The public open house was held September 29 at the East Side Recreation Center in Oakley. The open house happened in Oakley even though most of the survey responses came from outside it.

The Bus Stop at Murray, and a Route Change That Could Come Sooner

The new crosswalk at Erie and Murray leads to a bus stop, and Oakley's bus connections may change before any construction starts. In a September 25, 2026 notice, Metro proposed service changes to take effect December 6, 2026. One would remove Route 10 service to Oakley Transit Center during off-peak hours and on weekends. Metro says Erie Avenue would still connect to Oakley Transit Center seven days a week via Route 37. The Oakley Community Council's packet adds that Route 10 riders would need to transfer at Ridge and Brotherton.

The Route 10 change is still a proposal. Metro's Board of Trustees meets November 17, 2026. On Metro's current schedule, Route 11 runs around the clock between Downtown, Walnut Hills, Oakley, Hyde Park and Madisonville, and Route 5 serves Oakley seven days a week. The proposal doesn't name either route.

For Oakley riders, the board's November 17 decision on Route 10 comes first. The Erie Avenue construction season follows in summer 2027.

If you're planning a sale or a move around a 2027 construction season on Erie Avenue, timing and presentation matter more than usual. Dwell Well Group follows projects like this one block by block so our clients can plan listing dates, showings and buyer conversations around them. Contact Dwell Well Group to Request a Dwell Well Consultation.