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News Transportation

Streetcars/Transit should be #1 priority for Cincinnati – Reader’s Choice

Your votes have been cast and have spoken loud and clear. By a wide margin the readers of UrbanCincy have stated that streetcars and/or other rail transit should be the #1 priority for Cincinnati.

The poll had a 162 total votes with 50% (81) voting for the rail transit option. Redevelopment of OTR and completion of The Banks finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. Interestingly enough public education received the least amount of votes (even behind public safety). So anyone want to elaborate on why they voted for what they did?

BTW, if you would like to receive regular emails regarding what’s happening with rail transit in Cincinnati sign up for the listserv. All you have to do is send an email HERE expressing your interest to be included on the listserv, and presto magico you’ve got hot off the presses emails regarding transit in Cincinnati.

www.cincystreetcar.com
www.citystreetcar.net
www.pro-transit.com

Categories
News

Support the Bearcats!


I am the first to start complaining about how I think the Bearcats got screwed in the bowl selection process. I don’t buy the “Cincinnat fans don’t travel well” mentality…especially when you’re comparing us to USF and UConn fans. We beat both in heads up competition and have a better BCS ranking than UConn and are essentially tied with USF. Sure there are some other ridiculous reasons (not anything related to the quality of play) that were factored in, but I’ll save those for another time I guess.

The bottom line is that Cincinnati needs to start supporting these Bearcats so that there will be no doubt in future bowl selection processes. We’ll be playing in the PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, AL against the 4th place team from C-USA (Southern Miss). Lets get out there in large numbers and cheer our Bearcats on to what is sure to be an absolute blowout victory.

If you are a student, the Athletics Department is looking to get some sponsorships and get a really good financial deal for students to go to the game. What you need to do is call the ticket office, send UC Bearcat a message on Facebook, or go online. Just give your name and UC student ID number and you’ll be put on a list of interested students. THE MORE THE BETTER!

Bearcat Ticket Office:
1-877-CATS-TIX
Order Online

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News

Experience the holidays Downtown

Well there’s tons to do Downtown this holiday season as there is every year. There is the ice rink, the best Santa in the region, train display, free horse-drawn carriage rides, free trolley rides, live music all over the place and TONS of great restaurants. There is also a new Downtown Visitors Center set up in the lobby adjacent to Joseph A. Banks.

In addition to the new information center, there are a couple of other new things this holiday season. There is the new Downtown Gift Card which is valid at over 100 places Downtown. This can be purchased online (at DCI’s website) or at the new Visitors Center. There is also a new Rookwood Pottery Commemorative Plaque. This too can be purchased at the Visitors Center or at Macy’s Fountain Place. You can find more information HERE regarding both items and the details for each.

There is also a great Holiday Guide for everything going on Downtown this holiday season. It includes specific details for everything you’ll want to cover this year. You can also find a list, with details, of all the highlights of things going on Downtown…and if you’re visiting and need something to do; check out some of the Downtown Itineraries.

External Links:
Downtown Cincinnati Inc.
Fountain Square
Downtown Holiday Photos (by me)

Categories
News

Recycle Cincinnati

The City of Cincinnati has been working hard lately on improving the options for recycling in the city. One of the most recent efforts includes new recycling drop-off points throughout Downtown. Locations include the Main Library of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County on Ninth Street; the corner of Third and Butler streets; the corner of Third Street and Central Avenue; and the Cutter Street parking lot off Court Street. There is also a new recycling program for Bengals tailgating.

Did you also know that City of Cincinnati residents living in a single family home or an apartment building with less than 5 units can have a recycling bin delivered at no cost! You can request your bin by filling out an online form or by calling the City of Cincinnati at 591-6000.

In addition to these new locations to recycle the city also offers four drop-off locations for recycling. There are also a number of locations across Hamilton County that are drop-off points for residents.

Further Reading/Information:
Rumpke
Keep Cincinnati Beautiful
Live Green Cincinnati
Hamilton County Recycles
Cincinnati Freecycle

Categories
News Transportation

Improving Cincinnati’s bike scene

Cincinnati is great…it’s a very walkable city that has interesting streetscapes that do not completely bend over backwards to accommodate the automobile. I also feel that Cincinnati has a pretty strong bicyclist contingent… but with that said, I also think we should be doing a lot more to provide safe bicycle networks and parking facilities.

Portland is a city that is often thrown around as a poster child for a lot of things. But you know what…they simply do a lot of things right, and bicycling is one of those. You can request free bike racks, from the city, and even check out their standards if you so choose to install your own. Portland even has a master bike plan that has routes and parking facilities mapped out.

Bike Oasis Covered Bicycle Parking Facility
www.streetsblog.org

 

Now this has me asking myself…what could be done in Cincinnati to improve the bicycle situation here. Sure we have racks installed randomly, but Cincinnati’s existing bicycle plan seems to be lacking. Furthermore I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a covered bicycle parking facility in this city, or even a plan to install one. With Portland’s bicycle parking options you can actually even request to have a facility installed that would provide on-street bike parking…taking up roughly 1.5 on-street parking spaces, and it would provide parking for 12 bikes.

All in all, it seems like something worthwhile for the city to pursue. You could reduce traffic congestion, air pollution, improve fitness levels, offer greater amounts of parking options and just make the city a more attractive place for those who choose to travel by bike. Given the recent progress of streetcars it would seem to be an attractive opportunity for the city to pursue.

Bicycling in Cincinnati:

MoBo Bicycle Co-op
Bike Trails in the Tri-State
Trail Yeah
Trek Cincinnati
Morning Glory Bike Ride