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UC students working to solve Cincinnati’s urban issues

When it comes to finding solutions to fix the problems our city faces, we can’t overlook the talented minds found at the universities and colleges right here in our city. And for urban design issues, many of these minds can be found at the University of Cincinnati in the fields of urban planning, engineering, architecture and political science.

68 students in these fields have been working on solutions to problems in Downtown, Uptown, Northside, Camp Washington, and other Cincinnati neighborhoods recently, and many will be presenting their findings today at the Turner Building (2728 Short Vine, Corryville) from 1pm to 5pm.

One group focused on improving the interchange between I-71 and Taft/McMillan Streets in Uptown. Their plan adds a giant roundabout connecting Taft & McMillan and adding access to southbound I-71. Their plan also calls for converting McMillan Street through Walnut Hills from a one-way street to two-way.

“The chief part of our business district (located on McMillan Avenue between I-71/Gilbert Avenue and Victory Parkway) was harmed when the city designated McMillan and William Howard Taft as one-way streets years ago,” said Kathy Atkinson, president of the Walnut Hill Area Council. “People speed right through our business district. It’s no longer a destination due to traffic patterns. Top on our list is to have that changed.”

As bold as the students’ plan may sound, there are other, even bolder options for improving the urban landscape of Uptown. Several neighborhoods have been pushing for a completely new interchange to the north at Martin Luther King Drive. This would allow for improved access on the already auto-oriented MLK Drive, while taking much of the traffic demand off of Taft and McMillan streets. Both streets could then be converted to two-way for their entire lengths, making them more pedestrian- and bike-friendly.

Eventually, a streetcar loop could be added to the Taft/McMillian pair, connecting the Clifton Heights and Walnut Hills business districts together while also connecting those areas with the proposed north-south Cincinnati Streetcar line at Vine Street. New businesses and residents would be attracted to this energetic, accessible, multi-modal corridor.

Other students’ plans focused on Broadway Commons, the future site of Cincinnati’s casino; an area in Northside and South Cumminsville that will be affected by the Mill Creek Expressway I-75 construction project; and many other sites throughout the city. Learn more about the students’ plans by visiting the presentation tonight, or read more about the plans online.

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News

Neighborhood Summit Recap

Over 600 concerned local citizens turned up at last weekend’s Neighborhood Summit, Step Two in involving the public in Plan Cincinnati, a new comprehensive plan being drafted by the City. While the meat and potatoes of the event were the small-group sessions focused on seven “Project Elements” (Housing and Neighborhood Development; Economic Development and Business Retention; Transportation and Transit; Health, Environment and Open Space; Historic Preservation; Urban Design; and, Arts and Culture) the highlights of the day were the two featured speakers: Scott Bernstein of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and Anthony Williams JD, former Mayor of Washington D.C.

Williams’ talk was a straight-forward explanation of the Washington D.C. Comprehensive Plan that he oversaw in office, and while his delivery utilized dry wit and the invocation of insights from our Founding Fathers, it was Bernstein’s presentation that fascinated outright, striking at some of the key issues Cincinnati must address with its Comprehensive Plan.

Bernstein spoke predominantly on the drawbacks of an automobile-centric transportation network and two points especially stood out. First, he shared a graph charting the rise and fall of gas prices, followed by a graph almost perfectly shadowing the first line, but on a lag of about six months time: the rate of foreclosures. Our level of fuel dependency is dependent on our living locations, to the point where many people are just plain stuck when gas rises to excruciating price-points.

Expanding on that idea, Bernstein then demonstrated how chasing lower housing costs out away from a city’s center could actually wind up crippling a household’s financial flexibility. Since transportation costs are largely a function of the distance one lives from work, social and educational opportunities, the two expenses ought to be looked at together, and Bernstein showed that in a “Drive Til You Qualify” market — areas that are chiefly auto-dependent — a commitment to suburban and exurban life is also a commitment to increased transportation expenses.

Bernstein demonstrated that, on average, a household saving $6k in monthly housing costs ends up sinking up 77% of their income into housing and transport, combined. Spend that extra $6,000 to live closer to where you learn, work and play, and the average household could end up with over 50% of their income still in their pockets — money which can then spur growth in a diverse local economy. Preemptively addressing the mass-transit critic, who might scoff at New Urbanist cities such as Portland, Bernstein quipped, “People who maybe don’t travel a lot think, Oh, Portland, they’re a ‘fuzzy’ kind of people. Well, yeah: they’re fuzzy all the way to the bank.”

After Bernstein spoke, citizens weighed in on the Project Elements in their respective small groups, offering opinions on how initiatives should be prioritized, and brainstorming ways to achieve goals such as being “a city with inviting and engaging public spaces” and having “economically diverse, mixed-income neighborhoods.”

Even after three such hour-long sessions, the real work is ahead; over the next six months working groups will meet to turn the initial feedback from the Neighborhood Summit into strategies aimed to realize each element. The working groups are open to all. Visit PlanCincinnati.org for more information.

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News

This Week in Soapbox – 2/16

This Week in Soapbox UrbanCincy has the following six stories that you must check out. Read about the changes happening in OTR’s Gateway Quarter, AIA’s Broadway Commons casino charrette, the new Twin Bistro in Covington, Daisy Maes Market’s new healthy program, Cincinnati’s ongoing urban planning, and the sustainability efforts in Cincinnati as led by UC.

If you’re interested in staying in touch with some of the latest development news in Cincinnati please check out this week’s stories and sign up for the weekly E-Zine sent out by Soapbox Cincinnati. Also be sure to become a fan of Soapbox on Facebook!

TWIS 2/16/10:

  • Shaking things up in the Gateway Quarter of Over-the-Rhinefull article
  • AIA to lead Broadway Commons casino charrettefull article
  • Twin Bistro opens restaurant in heart of Covingtonfull article
  • Daisy Maes Market brings on Healthy Breaksfull article
  • What is Cincinnati’s best laid plan? (feature story)full article
  • Sustainability 101: UC Heads the Class (feature story)full article
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News

Brent Spence Bridge replacement designs released

The $2+ billion Brent Spence Bridge replacement designs have been narrowed to six. Parsons Brinckerhoff came up with the following six designs with the objective of creating an “architecturally distinctive” that can become a local landmark while also having a “visual relationship” with the existing Brent Spence Bridge.

The visual opportunity, for those crossing the bridge, to see the surrounding city and landscapes also influenced the final six design options. There is also the complication of the heavy river traffic attempting to navigate the bend of the river and the many supports of another six bridges within the urban span of waterway.

The majority of the options are the cable stayed variety as you might expect with a bridge attempting to be “architecturally distinctive” in the 21st Century. Most of the designs come across as cliche to me, but I do appreciate the single tower cable stayed option (#12) for its uniqueness and profound architectural impact on the riverfront and center city. The other design option that works for me is the arched bridge (#4) as it provides a nice balance to the collective bridge design by offering a bookend to the Daniel Carter Beard “Big Mac” Bridge to the east while also not coming across as trying to hard to be “architecturally distinctive.”

Which design do you like best? And be sure to share your thoughts with Parsons Brinckerhoff by Friday, February 5 before they move forward and narrow the options down to the final three.

Options 4, 6, 7

Options 9, 10, 12
Click any of the images (provided by Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls’ office) to open larger version in new window
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Qualls establishes new subcommittee on ‘Major Transportation & Infrastructure Projects’

Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls has established a new Subcommittee on Major Transportation & Infrastructure Projects as the chair of City Council’s Livable Communities Committee. The new subcommittee will meet monthly at 10:30am in Committee Room B at Cincinnati City Hall (map) to discuss and oversee “additional major transportation projects” in addition to transportation and infrastructure work.

The first meeting of this subcommittee takes place today and will give an overview of major projects like the Cincinnati Streetcar, 3-C High-Speed Rail Corridor, Hopple Street-MLK-Madison Road Corridor, Eastern Corridor, and the I-71/MLK Interchange in addition to Interstate 75 work that the Livable Communities Committee has been overseeing for some time.

Those interested in attending future meetings can mark their calendars for the future monthly meeting dates: February 2, March 2 (at 10am), March 30, April 27, May 25, and June 22. City Hall is well-served by Queen City Metro routes 1, 6, 10, 32, 33, 40X, 49, and 50. To see which route is most convenient for you, and to plan your trip now, use Metro’s Trip Planner.