Category: Up To Speed

Links to keep you up to speed on what’s happening in Cincinnati and what we can learn from other cities.

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Up To Speed

New Orleans streetcar line to get Super Bowl debut

New Orleans streetcar line to get Super Bowl debut.

New Orleans is poised to host the Super Bowl for the 10th time this February, and the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. One of the many things The Big Easy is doing to prepare for the Super Bowl is accelerate the extension of its streetcar line in order to open it in time for the visiting crowds. More from USA Today:

For many locals, the streetcar is seen as more than a show of Super Bowl pizzazz. On Canal Street, travelers will be able to hop onto other streetcars and get to the nearby French Quarter, the National World War II Museum, the Cemetery District, the oaks of Audubon Park, the mansions of St. Charles Avenue and the art museum, golf courses and lagoons of City Park.
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Funding comes from a $45 million federal transportation grant. The U.S. Department of Transportation is funding similar lines in other cities to connect long-distance railway travelers to streetcars. The target is a traveler like Lawrence Freeman, a 50-year-old photographer from Seattle. He had recently arrived at the Union Passenger Terminal by train from Washington, getting in late one evening. He walked from the train station to his hotel.

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Up To Speed

Would an aerial tram make sense for Mt. Adams?

Would an aerial tram make sense for Mt. Adams?.

The number of cities using aerial trams (cable cars) as a means of urban transport is growing. In Cincinnati, the idea of implementing an aerial tram between Over-the-Rhine and Mt. Adams has long been considered. Often times the trams take passengers from low-lying areas to the tops of hillsides, but they are also being used to traverse rivers and more. More from The Guardian:

Cable transport is cost-effective, environmentally friendly, safe and requires little infrastructure. It is particularly suitable for crossing natural obstacles such as rivers or scaling hills, there being no need for expensive engineering work. Over an equivalent distance a cable link costs half as much as a tram line, and though no rival for underground railways in terms of capacity, some models can carry up to 8,000 passengers an hour.

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Up To Speed

New 5.2-acre park in Dallas caps highway, connects urban neighborhoods

New 5.2-acre park in Dallas caps freeway, connects urban neighborhoods.

Similar to Cincinnati’s plans to cap Fort Washington Way, Dallas has just opened a 5.2-acre park spanning the Woodall Rodgers Freeway. Not only will the park connect Dallas’ downtown with its uptown, but it will also provide a much needed public gathering space for the city which has recently added two other parks to its center city. More from Next American City:

Taking 10 years to plan and $110 million to build, Klyde Warren park is most recent “bridge” to come online in the last seven months, succeeding the newly christened, Santiago Calatrava- designed Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, which opened in March to the tune of $182 million….

Both [of downtown Dallas’ new] parks operate under the auspice of good design as a driver of success. Additionally, they are also regularly patrolled by a private security force and are maintained by private cleaning crews in order to perpetuate the goodness of the design. Though the parks are nice, there is something quaint about them — the prospect of stumbling onto something unexpected is not expected, and raises the question of how to allow an organic “place,” which ultimately defines good public spaces, to evolve.

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What would a trillion fewer driving miles mean?

What would a trillion fewer driving miles mean?.

Despite a stronger economy and more people living in the United States, Americans drove a billion fewer miles in July 2012 than a decade early. The trend of fewer people driving, and existing drivers driving less started in 2004 and has yet to let up. Should trends continue, Americans may be driving a trillion fewer miles annually by 2025. More from Streetsblog:

There are good reasons to believe the current slowdown in driving may persist. A report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group in April showed that youth are leading the trend toward less driving. While the National Household Travel Survey only allows comparison of driving in 2001 and 2009, it shows that Americans aged 16 to 34 reduced their driving miles by 23 percent between those years. Meanwhile, youth are increasing their use of public transit, biking and walking faster than the general population. Changing patterns in the use of information technology and changing preferences for urban living may be major factors in these shifts.

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Up To Speed

Will Philly learn from Cincinnati’s urban casino experience?

Will Philly learn from Cincinnati’s urban casino experience?.

Like Cincinnati, Philadelphia is struggling with what to do with a proposed casino in its center city. Concerns include potential crime, urban design, historical context, and a worry about such a large area of the urban environment being owned and controlled by one entity. More from Next American City:

Blatstein is the latest high-profile developer to throw his hat into the ring, with the 120,000-square-foot “Provence Casino” plan that would transform the former Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News complex. The former offices would house a 125-room hotel and table games, while former loading docks and a parking area would be expanded into additional casino space and a massive commercial area, topped with an extravagant French-themed rooftop “village” and indoor botanical garden. According to Tower, the project will create 5,300 permanent positions for casino workers, in addition to thousands of temporary construction jobs.