Author: Randy A. Simes

Randy is an award-winning urban planner who founded UrbanCincy in May 2007. He grew up on Cincinnati’s west side in Covedale, and graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s nationally acclaimed School of Planning in June 2009. In addition to maintaining ownership and serving as the managing editor for UrbanCincy, Randy has worked professionally as a planning consultant throughout the United States, Korea and the Middle East. After brief stints in Atlanta and Chicago, he currently lives in the Daechi neighborhood of Seoul’s Gangnam district.

Categories
News

Thank You!

I would like to use this post to thank all of those who voted for UrbanCincy in the Best of Cincinnati 2008. As per the reader’s choice, UrbanCincy is the 5th Best Blog in Cincinnati. This was done without campaigning and/or pandering for votes…so thank you.

The site will continue its maturation process, and will soon reach its 1 year anniversary. Keep on reading and spreading the word…and I’ll continue to pour my heart and soul into UrbanCincy for everyone of you.

*If there is anything you would like to see…or if you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to contact our team at urbancincy@gmail.com. Your input is valued and you should get a response within 24 hours.
Categories
News Politics Transportation

A challenge for those who demand better

Are you tired of the same old stall, do-nothing politics? Do you yearn for a day where Cincinnati is a leader and doesn’t wait for something to catch mass appeal before it takes that particular path? Can Cincinnati shed the Mark Twain complex that is seemingly as tied to Cincinnati as Skyline Chili, Pete Rose, or WKRP?

Cincinnati has been working on the development of a streetcar system for the city. The necessary steps have been taken, stakeholders approached and funding outlined. This process started years ago by the quiet and often unnoticed efforts of many individuals. The process has reached a critical point and has the majority support of city council, Mayor Mallory, City Manager Milton Dohoney and scores of residents across this fair city.

It should be noted though that this process has been stagnant now since October 24, 2007. It has been five months since any real action has been made by city council or the finance committee. In terms of inflationary costs alone this inaction has cost taxpayers roughly $2.12 million. John Cranley and Roxanne Qualls have been working very hard to keep this process from moving forward, and they have succeeded now for five months.

I urge you to demand change from our local leaders and let Cranley/Qualls know that you do not stand for the same old stall and do-nothing politics of old. These actions are costing the taxpayers money, city staff time and exhausting the many pro-bono efforts that have been made by local citizens.

If you stand for change let them know and share this message with as many people as possible. Let the politicians know that they aren’t going to grandstand/posture on the taxpayer’s dime. Let them know that the time for politicking is over, and most importantly, let them know that your support hinges upon this.

Roxanne Qualls
801 Plum St. Rm 352
Cincinnati, OH 45202-1979
Phone: (513) 352-3604
Fax: (513) 352-3621
roxanne.qualls@cincinnati-oh.gov

John Cranley
801 Plum St. Rm 356
Cincinnati, OH 45202-1979
Phone: (513) 352-5303
Fax: (513) 352-4657
john.cranley@cincinnati-oh.gov

Categories
News

Finance Committe Vote 3/24/08

Cincinnati City Council is poised to approve City Manager Milton Dohoney’s plan to build the streetcar.

City Council’s Finance Committee will vote at 1:00p on Monday, March 24th to approve the streetcar financing plan in principle and authorize the city administration to meet with private and other governmental partners to secure the remaining funds. If passed on Monday, the motion will be approved by the full City Council at its regular meeting on Wednesday, March 26th at 2:00p.

This process has taken a little longer than expected, but the extra due-diligence has strengthened the plan. The vote next week won’t authorize the sale of bonds or the purchase of streetcars, but it creates the framework in which those things will happen over the next year or so. We’re on track, so to speak, to have the first streetcar operating in 2011. Who knows, maybe we’ll have the first car start running on April 29th, 2011 – that would be 60 years to the day when streetcars stopped running in Cincinnati.

WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE TO SHOW UP AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. Should this pass get ready for some celebration(s) Monday night.

Cincinnati City Hall is located at 801 Plum Street, and Council Chambers are on the Third Floor.

Hope to see you on Monday.

Categories
News

Vote Cincy for Startup Weekend

Startup Weekend is an event that brings talented tech minds together to create a company from concept to launch over a weekend. It is a pretty neat event and has gone to the typical impressive list of cities:

Boulder, Toronto, New York, Hamburg, Houston, West Lafayette, Boston and DC and is expanding to 10 other cities. These cities include San Francisco, Boston, DC, Atlanta, London, Dublin, West Lafayette, Chapel Hill, Austin, Portland, and Seattle with more cities signing up weekly.

Currently Cincinnati is pretty high on the list of potential cities that Startup Weekend may come to, so get on there and VOTE FOR CINCY. You can also learn more about the event, and see what has been done elsewhere by going to the programs website: http://www.startupweekend.com/.
Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours

I love the custom GoogleMaps that you can create. An easy one to put together is one that shows where you have traveled, lived and plan to visit. You can check mine out HERE, but I want to see where everyone has been too…so create your own and post the link as a comment.

I have taken mine a step further and placed links to my photo galleries of the places I have been to and photographed (photos from Charlotte, NC and Greenville, SC should be up shortly).