What would a new stadium mean for traffic, parking in developing northern Oakley?

If Hamilton County commissioners cannot convince Major League Soccer and FC Cincinnati to allow the club to play their home games at Paul Brown Stadium, a new stadium could be headed to Oakley. That could mean more than 20,000 fans streaming into the already bustling East Side neighborhood with each home game resulting in a significant bump in traffic. Mike Stuart is the director of people and social strategy at MadTree Brewing, where earlier this year they just opened a new location on Madison Road. He says he thinks the neighborhood has been able to handle the traffic increase that's come with growth so far. "Overall, I think Oakley Station was planned pretty well to deal with the traffic," Stuart told WCPO. "There are some small spurts of congestion where you have people coming in and out of that area, but otherwise normal traffic flow throughout the area, it’s fine." A new stadium wouldn't be the first major development to hit Oakley in recent years. The massive, still-in-progress Oakley Station development brought the country's second-largest Kroger store, as well as Cinemark, Meijer, Target and a host of restaurant chains. It also brought hundreds of new residential units, all in walking distance to the new businesses. In fact, one of the potential locations for a new stadium sits unused, within the borders of a major development plan adopted more than 15 years ago. In 2011, the city embarked on the Kennedy Connector Project, which was a roadway extension plan meant to improve access to and from Interstate 71 for businesses and patrons using Duck Creek Road and the Ridge Avenue corridor. The road extension was a part of the larger, Oakley North Urban Renewal Plan, adopted by City Council in 2001, to bring economic development to the northern half of the neighborhood, meant to decrease congestion in the area. It also brought new sidewalks, bike lanes, traffic signals, and utility infrastructure.