Tag: Cincinnati

Categories
News Opinion Politics

Ohio early voting rules work against voters from heavily populated counties

Line for early voting on Saturday, November 3 outside of the Hamilton County Board of Elections. Photograph by David Pepper.

Early voting for this 2012 election season comes to an end today. Those registered to vote, in Hamilton County, will be able to do so by visiting the Board of Elections office at 824 Broadway Street from 8am to 2pm.

According to the Hamilton County Board of Elections, 564,429 people have been registered to vote in Hamilton County – a number slightly higher than that in 2008. The difference between 564,429 voters in 2012, however, is that their early voting days have been greatly reduced.

On top of the reduced number of days to vote early, voters across Ohio are only allowed to cast an early vote at one location per county. This means that voters in heavily populated counties with big cities are subjected to longer waits. So far, voters in Hamilton County have reported up to 4.5-hour-long waits downtown.

Polling numbers show an incredibly tight presidential race that may come down to how Ohio votes on Tuesday. Furthermore, with Hamilton County being the most populated swing county in Ohio, the race for the presidency may end up being decided in Cincinnati. It’s no wonder President Obama (D) held a rally before 13,500 people at the University of Cincinnati last night.

UrbanCincy would like to see all voters offered the opportunity to cast their ballot for every election. It is extremely unfortunate, however, that the cities are at the front line of having voting capacity restricted.

Not only do politicians in Washington D.C. rarely talk about cities, which include the vast majority of Americans, but the fact that a segment of those politicians are actively working to reduce the ability of urban voters to vote is truly disgusting.

While it is too late to change anything for this election, we would like to see the administration of Governor Kasich (R) move quickly to expand early voting for future elections, and expand the number of voting locations in each county based on population totals.

Categories
Development News Transportation

Cincinnati becomes first Ohio city to install green bike lanes

Construction workers installed bright green bike lanes at three conflict points along Ludlow Avenue yesterday. The new green bike lanes are a first for Cincinnati as it continues to work towards making city streets safer for area bicyclists.

According to the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), experimentations with specially colored bike lanes first took place in the mid-1990s. Then, between 1997 and 1999, the City of Portland worked with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to mark 10 conflict areas with blue coloring and accompanying signage. Since that time, the FHWA has determined that green is a more appropriate color for bike lanes on public streets, so as not to be confused with accessibility parking.


The City of Cincinnati used NACTO’s standard design for a truncated bike lane through an intersection as the basis for its green bike lanes on Ludlow Avenue. The installation makes Cincinnati the first Ohio city with green bike lanes.

Green bike lanes have begun to appear in cities throughout North America in recent years to not only mark areas of conflict, but also delineate entire bike corridors. In the Midwest, Chicago has led the charge using green bike lanes for entire cycle track corridors, bike boxes at traffic signals, and at special conflict points.

According to city officials, Cincinnati’s first application of green bike lanes will mark Ludlow Avenue where it intersects with Old Ludlow Avenue, Central Parkway and a driveway entrance to Cincinnati State (map). City planners also say that there will be additional green bike lanes to come.

“We are considering using green markings where the Gilbert Avenue bike lane will intersect with the right-turn lane into the casino,” explained Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) planner, Melissa McVay.

McVay went on to say that City is using NACTO’s design guidelines and specifications for these projects, and that going forward, green bike lanes will be considered at all high conflict areas where motorists must cross a bicycle path.

The idea behind the green markings is to improve the visibility of bicyclists, and in the process, improving safety.

“In this [Ludlow Avenue] case the green lanes help negotiate cars desiring a right hand turn through a bike lane that continues straight ahead,” said Frank Henson, President, Queen City Bike. “By giving the bicycle lanes a different color, motorists realize that, in making their turn, they are crossing into another travel lane reserved for cyclists, and that they must yield to bicycle traffic in order to complete the turn.”

The City of Cincinnati Bicycle Transportation Program has installed 35.8 miles of bicycle facilities to-date, with an additional 289.9 miles planned in a citywide bicycle network.

And when asked about what could be done to continue to improve safety for Cincinnati-area bicyclists, Henson concluded that, “The best thing the City of Cincinnati can do to improve safety for street cycling is to continue to carry out the Cincinnati Bike Plan, improving the network of bike routes, lanes, trails, and paths in the area. Better education and enforcement of traffic law for both cyclists and motor vehicle operators is also necessary.”

We sat down with Melissa McVay on Episode 8 of The UrbanCincy Podcast to discuss Cincinnati’s bike culture – where we stand, how we got here, and what needs to take place next. You can stream that podcast online for free, or subscribe to The UrbanCincy Podcast on iTunes so that you don’t miss an episode.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Urban storytelling event to take place in Walnut Hills this November

On Thursday, November 8, UrbanCincy is partnering with the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation (WHRF) and Teilen to bring Cincinnatians a unique storytelling event to take advantage of the crisp fall nights.

“The idea behind the event is to bring back the experience of gathering with friends and family members around a campfire,” explained Randy Simes, Owner and Managing Editor of UrbanCincy. “It is at these moments where we are able to share stories about ourselves, and learn more about those we care about. The only difference here is that this will be an open event set in a truly urban environment.”


Stories Around The Urban Campfire will take place on November 8 and 29. Graphic designed by Brittany Coyle for UrbanCincy.

Stories Around The Urban Campfire will start at 6:30pm and include approximately one-hour of storytelling, but those attending are encouraged to linger and enjoy the evening at DeSales Plaza (map).

Food and drink will be available for purchase from Suzie Wong’s and Café DeSales throughout the evening, and there will be a temporary fire pit set up for people to gather around.

The storytelling experience will be modeled after what Teilen uses for their other events, where each speaker gets approximately five minutes to share their story. Teilen founder, Joe Wessels, will be on-hand to moderate and keep track of time.

UrbanCincy and Teilen are currently signing up people who would like to speak for approximately five minutes. There is a limited availability of slots, so please sign up as soon as possible by emailing urbancincy@gmail.com or joe@teilenrhine.com.

Stories Around The Urban Campfire will take place next Thursday at 6:30pm, and it will take place again on Thursday, November 29 at the same time and location.

Categories
Up To Speed

In Ohio, Columbus and Cincinnati exceed national average for college graduates

In Ohio, Columbus and Cincinnati exceed national average for college graduates.

As the economy of the United States continues to become more knowledge-based, it is important to have a well-educated work force. The new data, released by the U.S. Census Bureau, shows that Columbus (32.9%) and Cincinnati (29.6%) come in above the national average (28.5%) when it comes to the percent of individuals who are 25 or older with a bachelor’s degree. More from The Business Journals:

The U.S. Census Bureau, which keeps track of everybody’s progress, has just issued its latest update on educational attainment. These are its estimates for the 206.5 million Americans who were 25 or older as of last year. 177.4 million (85.9 percent) hold high school diplomas, and 58.9 million (28.5 percent) also hold bachelor’s degrees…It’s common to find areas where at least 90 percent of all adults have high school diplomas.

Categories
Development News

$450,000 donation from Duke Energy to advance construction at Smale Riverfront Park

Thanks to a $450,000 donation from Duke Energy, the Cincinnati Park Board will be able to move forward more quickly with the development of what was previously called the Main Street Garden at the Smale Riverfront Park.

The area is located immediately south of Great American Ball Park, and is now called the Duke Energy Garden. The narrow piece of park space is expected to be completed by spring 2013, and will connect the Smale Riverfront Park with additional riverfront parkland to the east (Sawyer Point, Bicentennial Commons, Theordore M. Berry International Friendship Park).


The Duke Energy Garden will include 12 “family-sized” porch swings, walking paths, and will help connect the Smale Riverfront Park with additional riverfront parks to the east. Rendering provided.

According to Cincinnati Park Board officials, this connection will be further established with the completion of the Ohio River Trail to Paddlewheel Park in fall 2013.

“The Cincinnati riverfront is more than just an entryway into our community,” Julie Janson, President of Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky, stated at a Monday morning press conference. “It serves as the front porch to Ohio. That’s why Duke Energy, through our foundation, is happy to be able to support the creation of the Duke Energy Garden in the new Smale Riverfront Park.”

According to park officials, the Duke Energy Garden will include 87 trees, thousands of smaller plantings, walking paths, a 150-foot granite seat wall, and 12 “family-sized” porch swings.

The porch swings will be suspended from “undulating” pergolas that will also offer park-users a bit of shade and protection from the elements while enjoying the swings, which have long been anticipated at the park due to their popularity elsewhere throughout the country.


Three additional phases of work are planned to follow the completion of the Duke Energy Garden at Smale Riverfront Park. Image provided.

“Duke Energy’s commitment to the vitality of this region has been demonstrated again and again by the company’s substantial investments in economic development, education, environmental and energy efficiency efforts throughout the region,” said Willie F. Carden, Jr., Director of Cincinnati Parks. “The establishment of the Duke Energy Garden in Smale Riverfront Park is another such gift that will provide a stunning new public greenspace in Greater Cincinnati’s grand new front yard.”

The majority of phase one work at the Smale Riverfront Park was completed in May 2012, but several features of phase one have yet to be funded or built, in addition to future phases of park construction to the west. Some of those features include a transient boat dock, playgrounds, additional gardens and tree groves, a carousel, and more promenades and fountains connecting the central riverfront park with the Ohio River.

Three additional phases of construction work will take place following the completion of the Duke Energy Garden, and it is expected that once fully built out that Smale Riverfront Park will attract approximately 1.1 million visitors annually.