Tag: bicycles

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Arts & Entertainment News Transportation

2012 MidPoint Music Festival bicycle parking overview

The City of Cincinnati has partnered with the MidPoint Music Festival (MPMF), for the second consecutive year, to offer expanded bicycle parking options.

This year’s MPMF is shaping up to be the biggest yet, and as a result, city officials say that they will convert nine on-street automobile parking spaces into bicycle-only parking stalls. Each stall will include a lockable bike corral that can accommodate up to 12 bicycles comfortably.

The spaces will be temporary in nature, and will be removed at the end of the three-day music festival which begins today.

“We want to encourage festival goers to try going carless this year,” explained Cincinnati’s Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) director, Michael Moore. “With all of the venues located in such a compact area in OTR and Downtown, this is a great opportunity to experience how easy it is to get around town on a bicycle.”

The converted spaces will compliment an existing permanent collection of structured bicycle parking throughout the Central Business District and historic Over-the-Rhine. Those hoping to take advantage of the bicycle parking options during this year’s MPMF can refer to the following map for guidance.

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Up To Speed

Brookings Institution reports that far too many Cincinnati jobs lack transit access

Brookings Institution reports that far too many Cincinnati jobs lack transit access.

A new report from the Brookings Institution reinforces what UrbanCincy reported on 10 months ago. According to the report, 41 percent of the Cincinnati region’s jobs are in neighborhoods completely devoid of public transit. What is perhaps even worse is that the report finds that more than three-quarters of Cincinnati’s working-age population cannot reach a typical job in under 90 minutes. More from the Cincinnati Business Courier:

Businesses must be more aware of public transit service when they decide where to locate, and regions must look at other ways to link suburbs where a growing number of jobs are located…That’s especially important here, where the region has developed major centers of commerce in outlying counties such as Boone in Kentucky and Clermont and Butler in Ohio, said Mark Policinski, executive director of the OKI Regional Council of Governments transportation planning agency.

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Arts & Entertainment Development News

Cincinnati’s new riverfront park immediately exceeding expectations

If you have yet to visit the first phase of the Smale Riverfront Park, then you need to do yourself a favor and go visit the beautiful new park. From a personal perspective, out of all of the new developments along the central riverfront, the new park is by far the best product and is a true civic asset for Cincinnati.

In the latest video update from project manager Dave Prather, he takes viewers on a tour of the now completed features of the Smale Riverfront Park that are open to the public. Prather also gives some insight into the elements that are soon to come including the continuation of the tree grove, Women’s Committee Garden, Adventure Playground, construction of the river’s edge and the transient boat dock.

“We’re proceeding with design and grant application for the transient boat dock, which will be aligned with the Main Street Fountain,” Prather explained in the project video. “That grant application is due the end of July, and award will be announced around early March next year. So we’re planning on next May to present the completed portion of the tree grove and break ground on the boat dock.”

In addition to the boat dock, Prather says that plans call for construction to begin on the Vine Street Steps next May as well, and would complete the framing of the Roebling Suspension Bridge.

One of the attractions of the first phase of the park is the new Cincinnati Bike Center which is now open to bicycle commuters 24 hours a day, and boasts a retail shop that includes merchandise and allows for people to rent various types of bicycles and Segways.

Reports from various media outlets and first-hand accounts highlight the immediate popularity of the park. One problem, according to Prather, has been that visitors want to play in the dramatic water curtain along Mehring Way which was not designed for interaction.

The early summer project update is nearly 13 minutes in length, and is the first video of the series to highlight a finished product.

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News Transportation

Bicycling shifts gears in Cincinnati’s urban basin

Bike Month festivities may have concluded at the end of May, but activities for cyclists in Cincinnati seem to keep growing regardless of the month. The Urban Basin Bicycle Club (UBBC) is one of the newer activities for bicyclists, and features a different night ride every Tuesday.

“The Thursday night rides, which begin and end in Hoffner Park in Northside, with a stop at Fountain Square, seemed kind of backwards,” explained UBBC founder Casey Coston. “Sometimes people from the basin would join the group at the half-way point at Fountain Square, then ride back to Northside and back downtown. It seemed cumbersome.”

To make things easier for the growing number of bicyclists in the downtown area, the UBBC starts each of their weekly rides at Fountain Square, and ends somewhere in Over-the-Rhine or the Central Business District. So far, the bicycling club has ended their rides at a variety of locally owned watering holes including Neon’s Unplugged, Mayberry, MOTR, The Drinkery and The Lackman.

The Urban Basin Bicycle Club gathers on Fountain Square before departing for a ride through the center city. Photograph by 5chw4r7z.

The popularity of these social bicycling groups has grown throughout the city over recent years, with the UBBC boasting close to 500 followers on Facebook, and approximately 20 to 50 people on each of their rides.

The basin has also seen the opening of three new bicycle businesses over the past month. Reser Bicycle Outfitters opened a location on Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine, a new bicycle repair shop just began operations on Central Parkway adjacent to Segway of Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati Bike Center opened at Smale Riverfront Park.

While the new businesses are a sign of progress, Coston cautions that the city still has a long way to go before it rests.

“There is still a lot of hostility towards sharing the road with bicyclists,” explained Coston. “Our bike lines are also something of a decidedly mixed batch. For example, Gest Street inexplicably has bike lanes on both sides; moreover they were filled with debris and sand. Bike lanes that actually mean something and connect you to places that you need to go would be helpful.”

The sentiment expressed by Coston comes just after the public gave the City of Cincinnati a “C” grade on its annual Bicycle Report Card. In that survey, cyclists gave the City the lowest grades for the completeness of its bicycle network, and the respect shown to bicyclists by motorists.

In terms of improving the system, 85 percent of the respondents to the survey said that they would bike more if the City installed more bike lanes.

“We’re working to create a bicycle friendly city, so that Cincinnatians of all ages and abilities can use bicycles for everyday trips,” stated Michael Moore, Director of the Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE), in a prepared release. “This report card is a great tool for publicly measuring our progress.”

In the meantime, those interested in joining the weekly Urban Basin Bicycle Club rides should meet at Fountain Square on Tuesday nights at 6:30pm. The next scheduled ride will take place on Tuesday, July 19. Follow the group on Facebook for updated information about upcoming rides and events.

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Business News Transportation

Cincinnati receives national bicycle award, announces bike share feasibility study

Taipei Bike Share [Randy Simes]

City officials announced today that Cincinnati has been named a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. The award comes after two previous failed attempts, and makes Cincinnati one of three Ohio cities to receive the recognition.

Leaders say the award is as a result of the city’s ongoing efforts to add bike lanes, sharrows, dedicated bicycle parking to streets across the city, and frequently seek feedback from the bicycling community. The designation also illustrates a huge improvement since 2009, when the local community gave the city a “C” in its first bicycling report card.


Cincinnati officials announced today that a bike share feasibility study will begin in June and will be completed by August. Taipei bike share photograph by Randy A. Simes for UrbanCincy.

Since that time, City Council has passed a new bicycle safety ordinance requiring vehicles to maintain a three-foot passing distance when passing bicyclists, and banning cars from driving or parking in bike lanes. Additionally, the city’s Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) has been working to add bicycle parking at special events such as the Midpoint Music Festival and inside parking garages such as at Fountain Square.

Efforts by other organizations have also helped improve the city’s bike friendliness. Three local transit agencies teamed to offer free rides to bicycle commuters on Bike to Work Day in 2011, and non-profit Queen City Bike has offered a list of bicycle-friendly destinations across the region.

City officials and bicycling advocates also took the opportunity today to announce that Cincinnati will begin a bike share feasibility study for the region’s urban core. The process, officials say, will begin in June and be completed by August this year. The work will be done by Alta Planning+Design, which is the same firm that has developed and implemented bike share programs in Washington D.C., Boston and New York City.

“We’re honored to be included among America’s most bicycle-friendly communities,” said DOTE director Michael Moore. “The award, as well as the bike share study, shows the city’s continued commitment and investment to making bicycling a viable transportation option for our residents.”

Bike share programs utilize rental kiosks that typically host 10 to 12 bicycles available to anyone interested in using them. Bike share kiosks across the United States typically accept credit card payments, but best practices around the world allow users to utilize a payment card that is integrated with the region’s bus, rail, and taxicab networks.

Users are allowed to pick up and drop off bicycles at any kiosk location, unlike car share program which require drop-off at the same location as pick-up. Officials say that a website for the bike share program will soon be launched, and will offer those interested a place to learn more and provide their feedback on potential kiosk locations.

EDIT: The original version of this story incorrectly stated that Cincinnati was the only city in Ohio to receive the Bicycle Friendly Communities designation, when in fact it is one of three (Dayton, Columbus).