Creating a place for criminals

Few people have captured the essence of Cincinnati's chronic dysfunction better than Independence resident Bob Williams did this week regarding safety at the Cincinnati end of the pedestrian Purple People Bridge, the scene of a violent attack on a couple last week.

"Cincinnati has done a poor job responding to something that could be a good thing for the city," Williams said. "They created a place for criminals. There are bushes and trees but no destination on the other side of the bridge."

They created a place for criminals. Yep, that's about right. The way that area was left after the auto approaches to the bridge were torn down several years ago seemed designed for such an attack to take place. If you've ever walked from downtown to get to the bridge (or vice versa), you know the kind of abandoned setting -- custom-made for lurking -- you have to traverse. It's creepy enough on a sunny Saturday afternoon during the summer. Imagine it after midnight on a chilly November evening.

It's not that the city simply missed an opportunity for development that the refurbished bridge offered, and it's not that it didn't even see the opportunity. Forget the lack of attractions on the Cincinnati side. It almost looks like the city went out of its way to make the area as unattractive and dangerous as possible.