As part of Cincinnati’s commitment to improving the city’s bicycling community, the City has installed a new mounted bicycle rack inside of the Fountain Square Parking Garage in downtown Cincinnati. The bicycle rack is the first of what will be a wave of new bicycle parking facilities inside existing City-owned garages.
In February, Cincinnati’s Planning Commission approved a bicycle parking ordinance that will require all new or expanded parking garages to provide bicycle parking. The ordinance would specifically require that one bicycle parking space be provided for every 20 motor vehicle spaces. The ratio is comparable to those found in other cities like Portland, New York City, Charlotte, San Francisco, Kansas City and Denver which have all recently implemented similar ordinances.
The Fountain Square Parking Garage currently holds 635 parking spaces for automobiles which would mean should it be constructed today, the garage would be required to provide 24 bicycle parking spaces due to the 24-space cap included in the new ordinance for large parking garages. The new bicycle parking ordinance is the first of its kind in the region and is intended to tackle the problem of a lack of secured, covered bicycle parking spaces in Cincinnati’s center city.
The new rack inside the Fountain Square Parking Garage holds 12 bicycles, cost approximately $1,400 and was paid for through the City’s existing Bicycle Transportation Program. Officials from the City’s Department of Transportation & Engineering say that preliminary discussions are underway to incorporate more of these racks in other City-owned garages, but that public feedback would be helpful as officials determine where to locate them next.
Please share your thoughts on where the City should install these bicycle racks next in the comment section below, by filling out a form on the City’s website, or by calling (513) 591-6000.
On Thursday, May 27, the cities of Bellevue, Newport and Covington hosted the 2010 River Cities Preservation Awards at the Artisan Enterprise Center in Covington. The cities collectively recognized the commitment that the residents and business owners have to reserving the historic quality of their cities. Thirteen awards were given out at the ceremony ranging in purpose from new construction to residential rehabilitation.
Beth Johnson, the Preservation and Planning Specialist for the City of Covington, commends the spirit of collaboration that the awards ceremony breeds.
“The River Cities Preservation Awards are such a wonderful thing for all three cities that participate as it gives us a chance to thank and recognize the hard work, dedication, and investment to those that are saving our historic treasures,” said Beth Johnson, Preservation & Planning Specialist for the City of Covington. “People from all over the nation comment on the amazing historic resources that we have. All of us, Covington, Newport, and Bellevue, are lucky to have building owners that agree and therefore work really hard to rehabilitation and preserve those resources.”
Dan and Jessica Krebs won the award for rehabilitation of a residential structure for their home at 618 11th Street in Covington. This category recognizes successful rehabilitation of historic residential structures. These projects offer a creative solution for rehabilitating a building inside and out when much of the historic material is either too deteriorated to save or is missing altogether.
The Krebs’s two and a half story Italianate home was originally built in 1863 by H.H. Hellman, who owned and operated “Hellman Feed and Grain” on Madison Avenue. In 2001 when Dan Krebs bought the house it had sat vacant for over two years and was in a severely deteriorated condition. While the brick building was still solid, the entire interior of the building had to be gutted and updated, the exterior needed lots of maintenance from years of neglect.
According to Ms. Johnson, the Krebs “are a really hard working and dedicated couple. They did all of the work themselves and Dan is very talented as he has built and handcrafted so much in their house.”
Dan created a modern kitchen by handcrafting the cabinets, but kept the historic feel by framing an original piece of the tin ceiling. On the rest of the first floor Dan and Jess were able to save the original hard wood floor, and to rebuild the original mantle and fireplace.
While working in the back yard, they found and old cistern. Instead of filling it with gravel, they decided to use it for its original use, to catch rainwater. By adding a pump, they have created an natural supply of water for their lawn and plants.
Dan and Jess Krebs have shown amazing dedication to rehabilitating their house to the grander that it deserves. They have a great eye for detail and the hands of craftsman. Their commitment to historic preservation embodies the spirit that the cities of Covington, Bellevue, and Newport sought to highlight in their award ceremony.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will distribute $600 million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) II grants for capital investment in surface transportation projects later this year. Pre-applications are due on Friday, July 16, and formal applications are due on Monday, August 23 from state and local governments. The City of Cincinnati is expected to apply for the TIGER II grants to help fill the remaining $41.5 million needed for its modern streetcar system.
Over the past month, Cincinnati officials have secured $86.5 million for the project, but local politicians have vowed to seek out federal funds to help fill the financing gap. Project officials are hopeful that the project will fare better in this round of TIGER grants because of the recent approval of $64 million in local money to the effort – something federal officials noted as a critical missing element for Cincinnati’s proposal in TIGER I.
Another critical item federal officials docked Cincinnati for was the lack of zoning policies along the proposed route that would encourage mixed-use development, transit ridership and walkability. Since that time, Cincinnati has introduced an amendment that would reduce parking requirements for residential buildings located within 800 feet of a streetcar stop by 50%, and complete eliminate parking requirements for those buildings needing fewer than five spaces after the initial 50% reduction is calculated.
The $600 million available in the latest round of TIGER funding is less than half the $1.5 billion available in its first round that was distributed February. DOT officials state that the money for TIGER II will be awarded on a competitive basis to projects that have a significant impact on the nation, a region or metropolitan area and can create jobs.
“The enormous number of applications we received for the first round of TIGER grants shows that we have a backlog of worthwhile transportation projects waiting for funding,” said Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. “This money will go to the kinds of projects that will help spur lasting economic growth, reduce gridlock, provide safe, affordable and environmentally sustainable transportation choices and create jobs.”
Selection criteria for applications will include those that contribute to the long-term economic competitiveness of the nation, improving the condition of existing transportation facilities and systems, improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving the safety of U.S. transportation facilities and improving the quality of living and working environments of communities through increased transportation choices and connections. The DOT will also give priority to projects that are expected to quickly create and preserve jobs and stimulate rapid increases in economic activity.
Clifton Plaza took the place of the former Bender Optical building along Ludlow Avenue in the heart of Clifton’s vibrant neighborhood business district. Early on in its concept people were concerned whether more open space was needed, or whether more businesses and people were needed in that central location. After seeing the results of a recently completed streetscaping project in combination with the new Clifton Plaza, it now appears that additional public space was very much in demand.
The new public space created along Telford Avenue added simple, yet functional, park benches along with a new community board for event postings and other random information. It took slightly longer to complete the new Clifton Plaza across the street, but the impact appears to be equally strong if early use is any indication.
The problem is not the creation of the new public space, but rather the design of it. The primary design flaw of Clifton Plaza is the fixed seating. Seating is extraordinarily important when it comes to public space design, and this type of seating design is straight out of the urban design playbook of two to three decades ago. Since that time several studies have indicated that users prefer movable seating options where they can assert their control over the space. This might mean the slight adjustment of a chair as one prepares to sit, or it might mean wholesale change to avoid or seek out sunlight.
“The possibility of choice is as important as the exercise of it. If you know you can move if you want to, you feel more comfortable staying put,” explained William H. Whyte in The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. “This is why, perhaps, people so often move a chair a few inches this way and that before sitting in it, with the chair ending up about where it was in the first place. The moves are functional, however. They are a declaration of autonomy, to oneself, and rather satisfying.”
Whyte goes on to discuss how fixed seating is often awkward in public spaces as there is often much space around them as is the case at the new Clifton Plaza.
“The designer is saying, now you sit right here and you sit there. People balk. In some instances, the wrench the seats from their moorings,” Whyte continued. “Where there is a choice between fixed seats and other kinds of sitting, it is the other that people choose.”
Beyond user preferance, fixed seating allows for a less functional space. When planners redesigned Fountain Square, non-fixed seating in part helped to create a more open and flexible space better suited for the many events that attract thousands of people to the public space every week.
What works for Clifton Plaza is its large open area towards the back that will allow for flexible programming. A simple fix could be made by removing these fixed seating options and replacing them with non-fixed alternatives. This would create a more welcoming public space that encourages users to stay longer and take ownership of the space in a truly dynamic way.
One day in 1934, New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia was on a TWA flight back home from Chicago, and his ticket indicated New York as the plane’s final destination. However, the plane landed in Newark, New Jersey, as that was the only airport in the New York region open to commercial aviation at the time. The stubborn mayor refused to get off the plane in Newark, insisting that he be brought to the city indicated on his ticket. “Newark is not New York,” he exclaimed. His flight ultimately continued to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, and when the plane landed, the mayor — never willing to let a juicy PR moment go to waste — hosted an impromptu press conference to reporters about New York City’s need for its own airport. Within five years, an airport would be built in Queens that would bear Mayor LaGuardia’s name.
A great deal of virtual ink has been expended in recent months regarding the proposed 3C passenger rail line that will link Ohio’s three largest cities and serve as the foundation for future development of a true high-speed rail line across the state. In regards to the station location for the Cincinnati end of the 3C line, we face a dilemma not unlike the one Mayor LaGuardia faced in New York. If the rail line ends in Sharonville, does the 3C line really serve one of its three namesake C’s? Will there come a day when Mayor Mallory refuses to exit the train at Sharonville, insisting that it continue all the way into the city limits of Cincinnati?
There is nothing inherently wrong with having an intermediate 3C station at Sharonville, as it would provide convenient service to suburban riders in much the same way the Route 128 station on the Northeast Corridor gives Boston-area Amtrak passengers a way to avoid having to travel all the way to Back Bay or South Station in order to catch a train going the opposite direction. Assuming we want the 3C service to actually serve Cincinnati, though, the question then becomes: Where does the train go once it goes south of Sharonville?
Previous generations of Cincinnatians blessed us with a magnificent train station in the form of the Union Terminal complex, which opened for passenger service the year before Mayor LaGuardia’s famous outburst in Newark. As one of the most architecturally-significant train stations in the world, and located within a short distance of downtown, Union Terminal is the natural place to terminate the 3C line. The station is already served by Amtrak’s Cardinal three times a week in each direction between New York and Chicago, and has the facilities needed to serve intercity rail passengers such as a waiting room, ticketing office, baggage service, restrooms, etc. In time, Union Terminal could also easily accommodate additional passenger facilities such as expanded restaurant options, car rental facilities, and a streetcar or light rail connection to rest of the city. Indeed, there is near-universal agreement that in the long term, Union Terminal should once again fulfill its proper role as a stunning gateway to Cincinnati for rail passengers.
In the short term, however, 3C service at Union Terminal faces a number of logistical hurdles. Although the station once boasted the capacity to serve 216 trains per day (108 inbound and 108 outbound), Union Terminal’s current capacity is severely reduced. The Southern Railway demolished the passenger concourse and platforms in 1974 in order to accommodate double-stacked freight trains. Many of the station’s former passenger facilities, especially the concentric ramps used to provide bus and taxi access to the station, are now home to the Cincinnati History Museum and the Museum of Natural History and Science. Most crucially, the railroad tracks that serve Union Terminal through the Mill Creek Valley from the north are heavily congested with freight traffic during most hours of the day and night, and lack the capacity for frequent passenger service. Mitigating these limitations is certainly doable with the right amount of money and creative thinking, but doing so will require several years of planning and construction, and isn’t something that’s likely to happen during the first few years of 3C service.
With that in mind, attention shifts to the location of a temporary station that will serve the city until the capacity issues at Union Terminal can be resolved. Here are a few of the most likely options that have been put forward.
Entrance to the Riverfront Transit Center on 2nd Street
Riverfront Transit Center
Located under Second Street along the downtown riverfront, the Riverfront Transit Center (RTC) was created out of space left over from the reconstruction of the adjacent Fort Washington Way in 2002. Rather than spend the considerable money it would take to fill in the space with dirt, planners wisely decided to create a space that could one day be used for some form of passenger rail service. (In the meantime, the RTC serves as a convenient staging area for charter buses during sporting events at the Great American Ball Park and Paul Brown Stadium.) Unlike other proposed 3C station locations, the RTC is within easy walking distance to the Central Business District, and would not require connecting transit service to reach downtown.
However, the Riverfront Transit Center lacks the passenger amenities needed for intercity rail travel such as a climate-controlled waiting area, baggage facilities, etc. The enclosed nature of the station would require costly air handling systems to vent diesel fumes generated by idling passenger trains, and the station lacks the vertical clearance needed to accommodate the double-deck passenger trains that are often used for intercity travel. Additionally, reaching the station by rail from the west would require the same capacity improvements through the Mill Creek Valley needed to provide service to Union Terminal, and reaching RTC from the east would require the complete rehabilitation of the Oasis Line and the construction of connecting tracks along Pete Rose Way. While the RTC is ideally situated to serve as a station for future light rail service, it is not a realistic option for intercity passenger rail service.
Montgomery Inn Boathouse
In light of the problems associated with bringing intercity rail service into the Riverfront Transit Center, a location near the Montgomery Inn Boathouse on Riverside Drive was proposed. While this location avoids many of RTC’s issues, it would still require the rehabilitation of the entire length of the Oasis Line, and possibly preclude the Oasis Line from being used for future light rail service. Additionally, the location is separated from the Central Business District by several blocks and the I-71 / I-471 / Columbia Parkway spaghetti junction, and nearby residents objected to the noise and pollution that would be caused by diesel trains.
Oasis Line running along Cincinnati's eastern riverfront
Lunken Airport
With the Riverfront Transit Center and the Montgomery Inn Boathouse locations apparently removed from contention, officials suggested a site along the Oasis Line east of Mount Lookout, roughly adjacent to Lunken Airport. While this location avoids the issues with the RTC and the Boathouse, it would still require the rehabilitation of many miles of the Oasis Line. Critics rightly argue that the money used to rehabilitate the Oasis Line for temporary 3C service would be better spent toward a more permanent solution to the capacity issues through the Mill Creek Valley toward Union Terminal. Located on the far east side of the city, the Lunken Airport site would also require a lengthy shuttle bus ride to downtown, and be very inconvenient to customers coming from the West Side and Northern Kentucky.
Bond Hill
Within the past few weeks, Cincinnati City Council passed a resolution naming Bond Hill as the city’s preferred location for a temporary 3C station. Like the Lunken Airport location, a 3C station in Bond Hill would also be located several miles from the Central Business District and require a coordinated shuttle bus connection to downtown. Unlike the Lunken Airport location and other proposed locations along the Oasis Line, however, a Bond Hill station would only require the rehabilitation of a significantly shorter distance of the Oasis Line, and offer reduced travel times compared to Lunken Airport or the Boathouse. Bond Hill is conveniently served by the Norwood Lateral Expressway which connects to I-71 and I-75, and is far more convenient to the city’s Western Hills neighborhoods.
The station facilities at Bond Hill need not be extravagant, given that it would be a temporary facility. Unlike the massive amount of construction needed to build Fiorello LaGuardia’s airport on the edge of Long Island Sound, a temporary 3C station at Bond Hill that provides passenger rail service to the city of Cincinnati would merely require a simple building to house a waiting room, restrooms, and ticket office, along with a train platform and parking lot. Once the Bond Hill station is built and in service, our attention can then shift to the larger task of improving rail capacity through the Mill Creek Valley. Is Bond Hill the perfect solution? No, but it’s by far the least problematic of several problematic solutions, and will serve as an important stepping stone toward the ultimate goal of bringing frequent passenger rail service back to its rightful place at Union Terminal. Perhaps there is another solution to Cincinnati’s 3C dilemma that has yet to be explored, but for now, the way for 3C passenger rail service to move forward is through Bond Hill.
David Cole, a native of Fort Thomas, spent several years working for Dattner Architects in New York City, a firm with a strong background in transit and infrastructure design. David is the author of the Metro Cincinnati project in which he proposes an extensive rapid transit system for Cincinnati, and will be starting graduate-level studies for his Master of Architecture degree this fall at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning.
