Tag: planning

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First public Revive I-75 meeting this Thursday

Once in a generation does a city get an opportunity as great as what Cincinnati has before it right now with the redesign of Intestate 75. In the mid-Twentieth Century the interstate ripped through some of Cincinnati’s most densely populated neighborhoods and has permanently cut those urban communities off from one another. When I-75 was built it even destroyed the character of the famous Crosley Field when it ripped through the West End beyond the outfield walls and quickly turned the urban neighborhood into an auto-dependent no-man’s land that left the ballpark isolated.

Cincinnati’s once remarkable West End neighborhood prior to its demolition for I-75

Today, city leaders and urban designers have a chance to finally heal those 50-year-old wounds that are still evident throughout Cincinnati’s West End, Camp Washington, Northside, Queensgate, and western Central Business District. In order to take advantage of this opportunity, Cincinnati City Councilmember Roxanne Qualls has pushed for a comprehensive look at the corridor which has led to the selection of Urban Design Associates (UDA) to develop a plan that will energize and improve the quality of life in the study areas.

“It is important to recognize the opportunity to connect and reconnect the neighborhoods and their assets relative to Interstate 75,” said Charles Graves, Director, Department of City Planning. “By linking the neighborhoods to the interstate, the City of Cincinnati will be able to capitalize on new opportunities and strengthen existing assets.”

The Revive I-75 Cincinnati Focus Area Plans will look to do just this by working with neighborhood leaders on urban design plans that will focus on New Urbanist techniques and attempt to return the neighborhoods to the form they were originally built. In order to accomplish this Pittsburgh-based UDA will rely on heavy public involvement, through a series of public meetings, to get the best understanding for the urban spaces and neighborhoods they are dealing with.

The first of such meetings will take place on Thursday, November 12 from 6pm to 8pm at Cincinnati State (map) in the Advanced Technology & Learning Center Auditorium on the second floor. Parking will be available in the Central Parkway Garage on campus, and Metro bus service is also available. Plan your trip now using Metro’s Trip Planner.

If you’re unable to attend the meeting, and would still like to share your thoughts, then please call the Department of City Planning at (513) 352-4845 or email info@reviveI-75cincinnati.com.

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This Week In Soapbox 10/27

This Week in Soapbox (TWIS) you can read about fundraisers being held this week for Over-the-Rhine Community Housing and Northside urban redevelopment corporation, a new study with positive economic results for Mt. Auburn, a new art gallery and studio space in Covington, two brothers working in OTR on interesting rehab projects, and the potential to revive the Interstate 75 urban landscape as it is reconstructed in the coming years.

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!

When you have a chance there are also two really great feature articles in this week’s issue. Matt Cunningham writes about home grown food movement happening in Cincinnati, while Feoshia Henderson writes about Cincinnati’s energy alliance that is making “green” benefits, economic gains.

TWIS 10/27:

  • Over-the-Rhine Community Housing uses fundraiser for diverse development – full article
  • New Mt. Auburn study shows great potential for Uptown – full article
  • Northside redevelopment corporation seeks funding to continue affordable, green development – full article
  • Pike Street art gallery reopens as The BLDG with fresh new approach – full article
  • Urban Design Associates to create vision that will revive Cincinnati’s I-75 corridor – full article
  • C.A.R. Construction’s latest project in OTR celebrates history, passion – full article
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Getting to Know Andrew Bench

UrbanCincy recently had a chance to catch up with a new friend of ours that we met back in early September at a lunch over at Findlay Market. Andrew Bench is brand new to town and has seen quite a bit of the developments in rail transit first hand around this country of ours. He has worked in the rail transit industry for twelve years and has been in construction for a total of two decades. He has had a chance to settle into Cincinnati over the last six weeks since we last saw him, and we were interested to check in with him and get his initial observations about his new surroundings.

Living in Downtown Cincinnati – It’s amazing how small the city blocks are here especially compared to the last city I was in (Salt Lake) which makes the urban core so walkable. Five blocks here is about the same distance as two and a half blocks in Salt Lake. I do find it frustrating that there are no easy grocery options in downtown. I don’t always have a car and aside from the Over-the-Rhine Kroger and Findlay Market there isn’t much else available. If even just the streetcar was in place I would be able to get on and ride it up there, and get to other options such as the Kroger at the University. A few years from now I’d be able to ride over the river to Kentucky. The options are endless really.

Regarding Rail Transit in Cincinnati – A phrase from the poem titled Maud Muller written by John Greenleaf Whittier sums up the whole situation. It says “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: “it might have been!” I think Cincinnati has the potential for a rail transit system that would spur redevelopment. Imagine a streetcar connecting neighborhoods to the core, light rail connecting the suburbs, and high speed rail for those trips to Columbus and even further.

An example of How it All Fits Together – We were in Portland for our annual meeting a few years back and we were waiting for the streetcar. Along it came, and it was packed, but everyone got out where we were because it was the MAX connector which is their light rail to the suburbs. Clearly people were using the combined streetcar and MAX to commute to and from work downtown. I was just in Portland earlier this year and there is still new development happening on the streetcar line ten years after the first phase opened up!

Salt Lake is More Progressive Than Cincy – The typical response is “NO WAY!” But they have a $2.6B program underway that is scheduled to be finished by 2015. It includes a mix of rail transit and after living there it is clear that they are thinking about the future, not just for right now. They are investing heavily in rail transit to solve problems and attract young folks to their city, essentially making sacrifices now for future generations. They fought and fought the light rail but now the cars are jammed pack and all the outlying cities not along the route are asking to be included.

About Issue 9 – Issue 9 is about options and if it passes the city will be crippled for years to come. It’s about all kinds of rail transit options for the city of Cincinnati which in turn could make the Metro more useful and profitable if it is paired up right to compliment the rail transit choices. Cincinnati really does have the potential for redevelopment and growth and need to look at this issue as if they are solving for future transportation problems for their kids.

Come out and help defeat issue 9 by joining a few of your UrbanCincy writers at the Cincinnatians for Progress phone bank at 1344 Vine Street tonight! Last week we had quite a crowd and hope for the same tonight! Just comment on the post if you want to join us. Please plan on bringing your own phone along though as there are only a few down there.

In the meantime, enjoy this video from our friends at Soapbox Media. Andrew let us know it was his favorite one of the all the No on Nine videos making the rounds.

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The Best Cincinnati Streetcar Video Yet

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News Politics Transportation

The Pedestrianization Acceleration of Cincinnati

If anyone has had the experience of traveling throughout Europe, you may have noticed a predominant feature in their center cities not found in typical American cities: pedestrian only thoroughfares. Many of these thin ‘streets’ have been around for decades, as European’s slowly took back their medieval centers and placed pedestrian access and connectivity in the forefront. Places like Paris, Copenhagen and Amsterdam have all created such places in their center cities, and, coupled with modern transit systems, have formed vibrant, provocative, and eclectic urban places.

Venizelou Square in Iraklion, Greece (photo by Randy A. Simes)

On a recent trip to Crete (known to be conservative by European standards) I again noticed an abundance of pedestrian only streets. After talking to a few locals, it was brought to my attention that many of these pedestrian thoroughfares were relatively new to the large city of Iraklion, and that they had finally come on board to the notion of pedestrianizing their center city, following western and northern European standards. This got me thinking; if even the most conservative western European places are completely pedestrianizing their center cities, it’s only a matter of time before the United States does the same.

Actually, the United States is already beginning to come on board with this trend, proven with the recent news that New York City has been experimenting with pedestrian only plazas in Times Square and Herald Square. Even Indianapolis, Indiana has started a significant road diet, as seen in their downtown Cultural Trail, where road lanes are slowly disappearing and making way for multi-use, pedestrian/bike facility zones.

Indianapolis’ Cultural Trail (photo from Indy Cultural Trail)

These trends indicate American’s are warming up to the idea of pedestrian only thoroughfares and ‘pedestrian malls’ in their downtown’s, an idea initially rejected by American’s in the 1960’s and 70’s. In 2009, America is continually becoming an urban-oriented society and our cities need to start planning for a pedestrian acceleration that I believe will occur in our urban centers.

Cincinnati needs to understand this and start planning for the future to stay competitive in attracting the creative class. Luckily for Cincinnati, the city already has an amazing built environment suitable for pedestrian-only thoroughfares and malls; found in amazing Over-the-Rhine. A number of the neighborhood’s streets, especially the east-west routes, are thin, intimate, and well connected, making them ideal for pedestrian only access.

So what can we do now to get ready for the pedestrianization acceleration that will eventually dominate the American urban landscape? In the immediate term, we can choke down car-centric streets like Liberty and Central, increasing sidewalk widths, adding bicycle lanes, and decreasing vehicular speeds. In the long term, we need to develop a strong multi-modal transportation system for the city.

Not surprisingly, pedestrian only zones cannot withstand themselves without being supported by a modern, multi-modal transportation system. You simply cannot expect people to live in a car free environment if they do not have attractive public transportation options. If Over-the-Rhine is ever going to become pedestrianized, we must promote modern transportation options such as the Cincinnati Streetcar. If Cincinnati doesn’t offer these options, good luck keeping up with the impending pedestrianization acceleration and good luck attracting the creative class! Please don’t rely on luck for a successful Cincinnati, please vote NO on Issue 9 on November 3rd.

Greg Meckstroth holds a Geography degree from the Ohio State University along with a Masters in Community Planning from the University of Cincinnati. Greg currently works as a planner with an urban design firm in Indianapolis.