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News Politics Transportation

Cincinnati’s auto-dependency and how to improve

Cincinnatians, like many people in America, are stuck in their cars. We were a nation that developed in a dense, walkable fashion (see East Coast and most Midwestern cities). As the industrial revolution took hold cities increasingly became places synonymous with disease, overcrowding, pollution, and overall poor living conditions. Throw in a few skewed federal policies (The American Dream, Eisenhower Interstate System, Urban Renewal) and you have yourself a rapidly changed nation.

So over the years we have continually built our cities to be more like machines rather than the living/breathing places they ought to be. All of a sudden public right-of-ways were no longer the public domain, but rather the cleared land for fast/efficient vehicular travel. Established neighborhoods made way for new interstates and ‘The American Dream’ of everyone owning their own suburban dwelling, away from the troubles of the inner-city, became firmly implanted in the minds of every American.

In 2000, over 81% of commuters in the Cincinnati region’s 5 largest counties (Hamilton, Butler, Clermont, Warren, Kenton) got to their job by driving alone. Public Transportation accounted for a mere 3.2% which wasn’t much higher than the 2.7% that worked from home. Hamilton County predictably finished as the most diversified county in terms of means of commuting, but even its numbers were nothing to write home about.

Breakdown of the Cincinnati region’s 5 largest counties – Graph by UrbanCincy, data from U.S. Census

I expect that these numbers will look a little different with the 2010 Census data, but I also don’t expect it to be dramatically different. As oil prices have soared, inner-city school districts improved, crime plummeted, and overall quality of life improved…our public transportation system has lagged behind. Similarly things like carpooling/ridesharing and walking/biking, that can see improved participation through relatively inexpensive measures, have also not seen much change/improvement over the past 8-10 years.

Part of the answer could be the proposed streetcar system, an improved bike/scooter infrastructure, possibly a light rail system, expanded bus service with new/innovative programs (real-time arrival information) that make the system easier to use. All of these must be done and more. Another item that I propose is that businesses/institutions offer financial incentives for their employees to bike/walk, bus (transit), or carpool to work.

This can be done relatively cheaply and could potentially have a major pay off. As we continue to improve our city/region we can not afford to forget about our transportation system and habits. We can only be as strong as our weakest link, and this is an area that has long been ignored.


Read my full proposal for a Walk/Bike, Bus, Carpool to Work incentive program HERE!

Categories
News Politics

Regionalism in Cincinnati

Guest Editorial by Steve Johns, Executive Director of Citizens for Civic Renewal

It is not very often that the Cincinnati Enquirer does a story on regionalism. To get more than one on the same day – now that is impressive! The Enquirer identified how the Greater Cincinnati region’s fire service is broken due to gaps and overlaps in fire coverage. Fire departments in the region are unevenly spread, leaving many areas heavily overlapping each other, while some are not as covered as they should be. This would make one think that a more regional fire department could more efficiently provide fire protection to the region.

With the economy slowing down, communities are looking for ways to cut costs. Merging certain fire departments that are redundant in location can increase efficiency without compromising the service and response times. Fire department consolidation is beginning to pick up momentum. For example, CCR has been working with the Village of Mariemont on merging its fire department with the Little Miami Joint Fire and Rescue District (part of Columbia Township, the Village of Fairfax, and the Village of Newtown). The fire chief of Mariemont is nearing retirement and the two current fire stations are almost a stone’s throw away. The merge opportunity coincides with the construction of a new fire station in the near future. Other communities have already taken this initiative and merged fire departments, such as Indian Hill-Madeira and Deer Park-Silverton.

In the current climate where regional cooperation or shared services can elicit a knee jerk reaction, opportunities like retirements, new local leadership, or financial stress still are the primary catalysts for change.

But that’s not all! There are some other major catalysts for “common sense” mergers. In the last biennial budget bill, the State of Ohio created a fund that jurisdictions can use to complete studies dealing with local government efficiency. The Government Efficiency and Cooperation Project (GCEP) has applied for these funds through the Center for Local Government a non-profit organization designed to improve public service delivery. The Center wants to study the possibility of sharing local government services around Tax Administration, 911 Communications, Public Health, Heavy Equipment Maintenance and Use and Building Code Enforcement. Mariemont (with assistance from CCR) also applied for these funds to finalize studies dealing with the fire department merger with the Little Miami Joint Fire and Rescue District.

Other efforts are underway to give this entire movement lasting staying power. The Ohio Commission on Local Government Reform and Collaboration is a fifteen-member group that was created by House Bill 562 Section 701.20. The Commission will not only look at ways to restructure and streamline local government but examine the services that are better provided at state or regional levels and even considering legislative changes to enable efficiencies and cost savings. At the regional level, Agenda 360 is looking for ways to take the work of GCEP beyond Hamilton County and into Butler, Clermont and Warren Counties.

Regionalism truly is picking up momentum in Greater Cincinnati and the potential benefits are huge. Rightsizing the number of engine companies in Hamilton County is estimated to save $21 million just in equipment costs alone. Applying these savings to rebuilding local infrastructure or lowering tax rates can make us more competitive both locally and regionally with the rest of the world.

In October 2004, Steve Johns became the Executive Director of Citizens for Civic Renewal – a ten year old non-profit dedicated to empowering citizens and serving as a catalyst for civic action in Greater Cincinnati. Steve has previously worked for planning agencies in Maryland, Ohio, Alabama and Texas. Overtime Steve has become more and more interested in public relations’ role in engaging citizens and challenging them to create plans for the future.

Steve counts as one of his greatest accomplishments the Electronic Town Hall Meeting held for Hamilton County’s Community COMPASS (Comprehensive Master Plan And StrategieS) where over 1,000 people participated in an all day strategic planning meeting. Steve now lives in Hyde Park with his wife, Kristen and two daughters.

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News

Over-the-Rhine Revisited: Designing Infill for Historic Districts

On Thursday, September 4th, the Mercantile Library will be hosting an informative session regarding Over-the-Rhine and the challenges facing new development in the historic neighborhood. Over-the-Rhine Revisited: Designing Infill for Historic Districts will be held at 5:30pm at the Mercantile Library (GoogleMap).

The session is a continuation of discussion that started at the January 2008 charrette and is being hosted by AIA Cincinnati, Architecture Foundation of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Preservation Association, Mercantile Library, and the Over-the-Rhine Foundation.

Light refreshments will be served , but reservations are required. The session costs $8 for members and $10 for non-members. You can make reservations by either calling 513.621.0717 or by emailing mercantileinfo@mercantilelibrary.com.



Images from Architecture Foundation of Cincinnati – http://www.architecturecincy.org/Programs/charrette.html

Categories
News

Point A to Point B – How UrbanCincy readers get to work

Not a big surprise here from July’s poll. The majority of UrbanCincy readers commute to work by car (47% of 327 total respondents). A strong response came from those who walk and/or bike to work, as well as those riding the bus for their means of transportation. Combined those two categories made up for roughly 32% of the total responses.

That actually is a better breakdown than I expected, and to top it all off there were 14% of you who selected the ‘insert rail here’ option. So if you really break it down as car vs. alternative transportation then there was actually a pretty decent response. The comparison would then be 47% (156 total votes) to 46% (155 total votes).

How did you vote, why did you vote the way you did? Most importantly what do you see as an important tool to help tip the scales even further and get people out of their cars? I think the streetcar is an important first step that will further reduce the need for an automobile in the urban core. For commuting purposes light rail needs to be considered again, and soon.

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Arts & Entertainment Business Development News

What is a city to you? (part two)

In the first part of What is a city to you? we covered the basics and overall what is thought of when we hear the word city. In that breakdown one of the items I mentioned is that cities are places of diversity. So what exactly does that mean, diversity?

Well for one thing it goes far beyond race. Diversity in cities means diversity of streetscapes, architectural styles, building heights, activities, and most importantly people. The built environment elements are fairly easy to understand and grasp. Different building heights, architectural styles, and streetscapes all help make a place interesting and unique — exactly what a city should be.

Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine – Photo by Randy Simes

People are the most interesting part of this equation…as their variations are limitless. It is important to have the greatest diversity of people as possible. Diversity of backgrounds, races, creeds, wealth/stature, age, and gender. The greater the variety of types of people creates a greater variety of events and encounters that might occur within a city.

No matter how great the buildings, public spaces, and venues it means nothing without the people. People are what make cities great. They make cities exciting, interesting, unique, enlightening, lively, edgy, thought provoking, and at times places of crime. But whether good or bad, these feelings are caused by the people who created the environment…and it is in cities where you get the most varied and sporadic of these feelings. What could be better than the diversity of feeling and emotion?