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Ohio Fails to Show Improvement in Latest Infrastructure Report Card

We take for granted that bridges, roads, highways, water treatment facilities and dams will function as expected and take us to where we need to go. But our nation’s aging infrastructure has long been in decline as money is diverted from maintenance to construction of new projects, many times for politicians eager for the photo op of a ribbon cutting event.

Recently, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its latest report on the current state of the nation’s infrastructure. The last such report, issued in 2009, had given the country a rating of D. This year’s report showed the nation’s rating had improved to a D+ grade.

“Our country’s association of civil engineers continues to do the yeoman’s work of sounding the alarm on our country’s infrastructure — the roads, rails and waterways that we depend on to move our goods from place to place and get us where we need to go each day,” James Corless, Director of Transportation For America (T4A), stated in a prepared release.

I-75 Reconstruction
Work on the multi-billion dollar repair and widening of I-75 through Cincinnati proceeds, but the project still has yet to receive the full funding it needs to be completed. Photograph by Jake Mecklenborg for UrbanCincy.

As the nation sifts through a backlog of infrastructure replacement projects, national policy has shifted away from funding such critical infrastructure needs as budgetary concerns linger.

The current transportation bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), offers no new funding for investments in transportation alternatives to relieve congested corridors or encourage smart solutions to these complex problems.

“It’s a sad reality that little has changed since the last report card in 2009,” Corless continued. “Has anything in Washington changed to drastically improve the condition of our roads, bridges and transit systems in the four years since?”

Without new revenue sources, Corless says, the funding problem is only poised to get worse as revenues continue to decline from the federal gas tax, which has not been raised since 1993. Such a lack of necessary revenues may soon leave the federal government unable to perform basic infrastructure maintenance.

Local Implications?
In both 2009 and 2013, the ASCE gave Ohio a C- grade in their infrastructure report card. While the grade places Ohio ahead of the national average, it still translates to 2,462 structurally deficient bridges and approximately 42% of its roadways in “poor” or “mediocre” quality.

While the State of Ohio raised its gas tax in 2006, the extra revenues have not been enough to keep pace with the demand for larger transportation projects like the expansion of I-75 through Cincinnati, the  Brent Spence Bridge project, and the long-planned MLK Interchange project, which all currently stand unfunded or only partially funded.

“Some other states aren’t waiting for billions that are unlikely to come and are thinking about ways to make their dollars do more. Like Massachusetts, where the DOT director issued a goal of tripling the number of trips taken by foot, bike and public transportation — reducing the load on roads and bridges that are among the oldest in the country,” explained Stephen Lee Davis, T4A’s Deputy Communications Director.

Ohio Infrastructure

The City of Cincinnati has been working towards improving some of its worst-rated infrastructure since the last report card was issued in 2009. Since that time, Cincinnati’s Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) has performed a $22 million rehabilitation of the W. Eighth Street Viaduct and is in the midst of a $55 million replacement of the Waldvogel Viaduct which connects the west side with the center city via the Sixth Street Expressway.

Additionally, Cincinnati’s 3,500-foot-long Western Hills Viaduct also is considered structurally deficient. Replacing a span that is nearly twice as long as the longest Ohio River span, and crosses the Midwest’s second busiest rail yard, will be one that is both difficult and costly.

Cincinnati officials say that they are currently studying whether a rehabilitation of the existing 82-year-old, double-decker viaduct or a replacement will be more appropriate.

“That is one of those kind of icons in the Mill Creek Valley that you like to look at,” noted Michael Moore, Cincinnati’s DOTE Director, on The UrbanCincy Podcast. “But we will need to be very cognizant of how we spend the public’s money in making sure we have a good safe mode to get across that area.”

Moore says that the department hopes to wrap up the study on how to fix the Western Hills Viaduct early this spring. Once that is complete, he says that there will be a good idea on how to accomplish that. Where the funding might come for such a large project, however, is still up in the air.

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Business Development News

Cincinnati Aims to Use P3 to Upgrade Parking Assets, Leverage Economic Development

Last week, Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney unveiled the city’s plans for modernizing its parking assets through what he called a public-public partnership.

The plan calls for a 30-year lease on thousands of on-street parking meters, and a 50-year lease on 2,363 spaces in five city-owned garages and four city-owned lots. The deal includes an initial $92 million upfront payment, and an estimated $3 million annual installment payment.

The other public partner in the deal is the Port Authority of Greater Cincinnati, who would oversee the operation of the parking assets. Xerox would work with the Port Authority to manage on-street spaces, while Denison Parking would help manage the garages and lots. The financing muscle behind the deal would be AEW Capital Management and Guggenheim Partners.

City officials note that the collection of private partners will be known as the ParkCincy Team.

Organizational Structure
The organizational structure under the proposed parking asset deal would keep the City of Cincinnati in charge. Provided.

In addition to the complex financial structure of the deal, the City of Cincinnati will see its parking assets dramatically modernized in the coming years. All on-street parking meters will be replaced by electronic meters that accept credit cards, and will be monitored to allow for those searching for a parking space to get real-time information on parking availability.

Several parking structures throughout the center city will also be overhauled. The crumbling Pogue’s Garage at Fourth and Race Streets will be torn down and replaced by a 30-story residential tower with a 1,000-space parking garage that will reserve more than half of the spaces for public use. Across the street, the 500-space Tower Place Garage will be renovated and expanded into the existing and vacant Tower Place Mall by another 500 spaces.

The improvements to be made to the Pogue’s Garage site and Tower Place Garage are being assisted by $12 million in city financing made available through the lease’s upfront payment.

Current-vs-Proposed
The proposed deal would significantly simplify the City’s accounting responsibilities with regards to its parking assets, but it would shift the bulk of annual revenues to the ParkCincy Team. Provided.

As part of that $12 million deal, the Port Authority will work with the developer to construct the planned $14.2 million 725-space parking garage, near the Horseshoe Casino at Seventh and Sycamore Streets, in place of the deteriorating parking garage at that site. The new garage’s development, meanwhile, is expected to jump-start the adjacent development of the proposed 115-room Holiday Inn & Suites.

In order to make the deal worthwhile for the Port Authority and the ParkCincy Team, parking meters will be in effect from 8am to 9pm downtown, and 7am to 9pm in other neighborhoods. Parking rates will remain the same downtown, but rates will increase to $.75 an hour once meter upgrades have been made.

Mayor Mallory’s Administration reviewed the bids and decided to take a lesser upfront payment in order to avoid some of the pitfalls experienced in Chicago, as pointed out by critics of Cincinnati’s deal. The City of Cincinnati sacrificed roughly $50 million in order to maintain control over certain aspects of the parking inventory including first ten minutes free at downtown meters, free parking on Sundays and holidays, and oversight on rate increases and enforcement.

One very crucial aspect is that the city will retain control over the price of parking, which will be determined by a board made up of City and Port Authority representatives, and rate increases will be capped at 3% annually.

In addition to the $12 million for the development at Fourth and Race Streets, the remaining $80 million from the upfront lease payment will go towards the following items:

  • $20 million to jump-start the Martin Luther King Drive Interchange at I-71;
  • $4 million to accelerate the next phase of Smale Riverfront Park in order to be complete in time for the 2015 All-Star Game;
  • $3 million to acquire the Wasson Corridor right-of-way;
  • $6.3 million to bring the City’s reserve savings account to its goal of 8%;
  • $25.8 million to balance the City’s 2014 budget; and
  • $20.9 million to balance the City’s 2015 budget.

City officials hope the $20 million for the MLK Interchange will accelerate its construction, but is contingent upon the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). The project, officials say, will have a $750 million economic impact and create between 5,900 and 7,300 permanent jobs.

Should ODOT officials turn down the deal, City officials have said that they are prepared to redirect the funds to a 2,500-job “mega deal.”

The administration’s parking modernization and lease agreement requires approval from the Planning Commission and City Council before being finalized. The Planning Commission will vote on the matter this Friday at 9am, with a full City Council vote expected shortly thereafter.

Randy A. Simes contributed to this story.

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Up To Speed

Has the United States given up on building subway systems?

Has the United States given up on building subway systems?.

Everyone knows that America’s roadways and bridges are crumbling, but the United States has also seemingly given up on its subway systems. Atlanta’s subway system was the last subway system started in the U.S., and its construction commenced in 1979. Since that time no other American city has been able to figure out the financing of a subway system with the disappearance of federal funding support. More from Governing:

The rapid pace of subway construction, especially in developing countries, has driven the number of systems in the world to more than 190, according to the Economist. One reason for the boom has to do with government stimulus programs that followed the financial crisis, allowing investment in subway construction to soar. One country that’s noticeably absent from the project lists that appear in trade publications is the U.S.

With transit funding still uncertain, given the lack of a stable, dependable funding stream from Congress, all but a handful of cities have decided to stay clear of such money-draining projects…Some might argue that we don’t need such large-scale transit systems, which are not only expensive to build but expensive to run. Indeed, debates over the pros and cons of a subway system have killed many plans while delaying some construction projects for decades, not just in the U.S. but in other countries as well. Still, we can’t ignore the fact that the U.S. is becoming an increasingly urbanized country, with more people working and living in cities every year.

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Up To Speed

People love parks, so why do politicians balk at funding them?

People love parks, so why do politicians balk at funding them?.

Cincinnatians are fortunate to have one of the nation’s best park systems. But as we are finding out more and more in the era of tightening budgets, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find funding for public pools, dog parks, maintenance and other general services. So, just why is it that people so often balk at public park spending? More from Next City:

Last November, the Philadelphia City Council approved a $2.67 million increase to funding for the Department of Parks and Recreation. The decision was roundly cheered by residents and the advocacy groups that had long pushed for the cash infusion…And that was just to secure, as Bornfriend mentioned, “a start.” The funding increase is still far less than the additional $17 million a year that Mayor Michael Nutter said, while campaigning for his current office in 2007, was required for basic maintenance of the city’s park system alone.

And that, in a nutshell is the problem: Everyone loves the idea of parks and rec centers, but no one likes actually paying for them. Parks and Recreation services have long been whipping boys of city councils and municipal budget-makers across the country, with funding cuts being less politically charged than those to emergency services and less immediately noticeable than, say, libraries. With long-standing national and global economic uncertainty eating into municipal revenues, cuts to park budgets have become more frequent and pronounced.

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Up To Speed

Cincinnati named finalist to become WWF’s 2013 Earth Hour City Capital

Cincinnati named finalist to become WWF’s 2013 Earth Hour City Capital.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has put together a list of the cities participating in the Earth Hour City Challenge. Within that list, WWF lists Chicago, Cincinnati and San Francisco as the three finalists in World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour City Challenge for 2013. More from World Wildlife Fund:

The cities were chosen by WWF and global management consultancy Accenture in recognition of the steps their community has taken to prepare for increasingly extreme weather and transition towards a 100% renewable energy future. The finalists were selected among 29 of the most forward-thinking cities in the country which have all committed to minimize their carbon footprint and ready their communities for the dangerous local consequences of climate change.

Cincinnati is developing a power aggregation agreement that would make it the largest city in the U.S. to supply its energy entirely from renewable sources and committing to reducing carbon emissions two percent annually for 42 years. The city is also working with residents, businesses and community leaders throughout the city to adopt climate-smart policies; expanding current tree planting efforts, promoting metro ridership, educating students about sustainability and conducting energy audits for local non-profits.