Access has become one of the more hotly contested parts of the stadium siting debate. Both sides declare themselves clear winners in the battle of how to best get fans to the ballpark.

BROADWAY COMMONS		BASEBALL ON MAIN
Broadway backers point to a study done for Hamilton County and Cincinnati in 1996 which declared: "From a TRANSPORTATION view, the Broadway site dominates river sites." The study pointed to more lanes of streets to the stadium site, a better walking environment from existing parking and more additional entertainment venues within walking distance. That means people might go out after the game instead of clogging up roads by driving home right away, the study said. The site does not have immediate access to southbound I-75 or from I-71, however, and it lacks direct access to U.S. 50. The study also viewed Fort Washington Way as a barrier between downtown and the riverfront, even after the highway is reconfigured. It also said the riverfront suffers from having road access from only one-half its radius. Bridges donšt count as immediate access, the study said, because they don't land traffic close enough to the stadium. Backers argue the site is better for pedestrians because it doesn't have the elevation changes the riverfront has from downtown.		The same 1996 transportation study pointed to advantages on the riverfront. The riverfront site is closer to the heart of the sports market, it said, because the market includes both sides of the river. "The riverfront, cleared of urban fabric for years, offers a 'suburban' cleanliness and simplicity to visitors, a situation more desirable, to many viewpoints, than a stadium woven into the 'messy' fabric of Downtown or its fringe," the study said. The Reds consistently view the riverfront as having better access, in part because the region's major highways lead more directly to the site. Because it sits next to the region's downtown distributor - Fort Washington Way - the ballpark would have more immediate access to and from I-75, I-71 and U.S. 50. Broadway backers argue that makes it too easy to leave the ballpark after the game instead of luring fans to other attractions downtown. A new riverfront ballpark would have easier pedestrian access from downtown because the narrowing of Fort Washington Way will make the highway less of a barrier to cross. Broadway backers say even with the sidewalks planned for streets that span the highway, fans still will have to cross over a highway from downtown.

CONTEXT: The 1996 study, by Walter Kulash of Glatting, Jackson, Kercher, Anglin, Lopez, Rinehart of Orlando, Fla., is the only independent transportation study of the sites that's been made public. Mr. Kulash said in a recent interview that "both sites work well for transportation in different ways."

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