Tag: Politics

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News Politics Transportation

Cincinnati’s I-75 is worst commute in Ohio; one of worst in Midwest

Cincinnatians traveling along the Interstate 75 corridor can now go to bed at night knowing that they drive the worst stretch of interstate in Ohio, and one of the worst in the entire Midwest according to a recent analysis by The Daily Beast.

The Daily Beast ranked the nation’s metropolitan areas with the worst rush-hour congestion based on peak hour Travel Time Index (TTI) for each particular highway segment. Once the 75 worst metropolitan areas were determined, the worst highway in each area was defined according to the most hours of bottleneck congestion. For Cincinnati, I-75 racked up 86 hours of weekly congestion with the worst bottleneck occurring at Exit 10 (map) for southbound traffic. The worst bottleneck stretches on average some .46 miles, with speeds of approximately 21mph, and adding up to 16 hours of bottleneck time each week.

Worst Commutes in the Midwest:
#9 – Kennedy Expressway, Chicago (712 hrs)
#17 – I-494, Minneapolis-St. Paul (184 hrs)
#34 – I-94, Milwaukee (50 hrs)
#36 – I-75, Cincinnati (86 hrs)
#39 – Edsel Ford Freeway, Detroit (174 hrs)
#42 – I-90, Cleveland (59 hrs)
#45 – I-270, St. Louis (89 hrs)
#52 – North Freeway, Columbus (14 hrs)
#56 – I-65, Indianapolis (19 hrs)
#58 – I-70, Kansas City (47 hrs)
#67 – I-271, Akron (4 hrs)
#69 – I-75, Dayton (46 hrs)

What becomes particularly problematic for Cincinnati is ODOT’s approach to handling congestion. This past fall ODOT spokesperson Liz Lyons told the Cincinnati Enquirer, “the main gist is widening, adding more lanes for traffic to flow easier,” when it comes to handling the congestion and daily gridlock on Ohio’s worst stretch of interstate.

Cincinnati’s stretch of Interstate 75 is the most congested in Ohio, and one of the worst commutes in the Midwest. Interstate 75 congestion photos from Scott Beseler, Nick Daggy, and Jake Mecklenborg respectively.

The reality is that ODOT’s plan to add, at most, one lane of traffic to this section of I-75 will do nothing more than cause tremendous headaches over the course of its construction and not achieve any congestion savings. The direction of transportation planning in the 21st Century is all about mobility options. Our aging population and the new workforce both desire increased mobility options more so than the immediate convenience of an automobile.

European cities are far ahead when it comes to creating mobility options, but in America there are a few examples where mobility has been placed as the top priority when it comes to transportation planning. Interestingly enough, the cities that have done this are among those trying to make up the most ground on cities like older built cities like Cincinnati that have inherent mobility advantages.

Cincinnati’s extensive street grid and compact neighborhoods that were built prior to the Eisenhower Interstate System offer lots of positives upon which to build. Additionally, Cincinnati’s aging demographics and 21st Century employment sectors represent a real opportunity to not only reduce congestion, but remove the need for automobiles altogether. Multi-modal transportation options like the Cincinnati Streetcar will promote neighborhoods in which people can live closer to their jobs and be only a short train ride away from their job, shopping, or entertainment destination.

So the question is whether Midwestern cities like Cincinnati will continue to try to solve 21st Century problems with 20th Century solutions, or will policy makers here finally have that “ah-ha” moment and start planning our transportation networks around options?

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News Politics Transportation

SORTA re-elects board members

The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) has named the 2010 board members that will oversee the operations and direction of Metro – Cincinnati’s primary bus operator. Both Chair, Melody Sawyer Richardson, and Vice Chair, William Mallory Sr., have been re-elected to their positions.

Richardson has served on the board since 2003 and has acted as SORTA chair since 2007 while Mallory Sr. has served as Vice Chair since 2008. During Richardson’s tenure as Chair, she has helped advance several initiatives including:

  • grow*Metro community involvement process to refine Metro’s capital plan
  • A new federal lobbying effort to secure funds for replacement of buses past their useful life
  • SORTA Board strategic planning process
  • Inclusive SORTA budget process that sought input from elected leaders and community partners
  • Diversification of Metro services through the addition of articulated (accordion) and hybrid buses
  • Expansion of the Everybody Rides Metro foundation

Also during that time Metro has faced extraordinarily difficult budget shortfalls due to what local leaders call a “failed” funding source and a difficult economy. As a result fares have been increased, service reduced, and ridership has even declined during this tumultuous time for transit agencies across the nation.

“Most people recognize the bus funding model is a failure,” said Cincinnati City Council member Chris Bortz in a recent interview with the Cincinnati Business Courier. “There are going to be those that are resistant to any new tax structure. But we’ve got to think through it.”

The solution, seen by many, is a county-wide funding structure instead of one that only focuses on Cincinnati’s Earnings Tax. As SORTA’s re-elected Chair and Vice Chair focus on long-term plans for the transit authority there needs to be serious discussions about how to permanently right this ship and make Metro a financially stable transit operator.

You can stay connected with the latest news and updates from Metro on Twitter @CincinnatiMetro.
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News

Finance Committee to decide on critical $3.5M for Cincinnati Streetcar

Today at 3pm, Cincinnati City Council’s Finance Committee will debate whether to set aside $3.5 million, from the sale of city streetlights to Duke Energy last year, for the Cincinnati Streetcar. When the sale initially took place, the $3.5 million commitment seemed like a sure allocation for the Cincinnati Streetcar, but with a new City Council in place the issue is being debated once again.

Supporters of the Cincinnati Streetcar are encouraging the public to come and speak at the meeting, or at the very least show up in support of the Cincinnati Streetcar. Within the next month or so Cincinnati should find out if it will receive the necessary federal and state funds to make the project a reality, and allocating this $3.5 million is a clear indication of the local support for the project.

Local support is critical when applying for federal and state funding, and the lack of clear local support can often cost projects valuable dollars. So while the previous City Council indicated its support and committed the $3.5 million for the Cincinnati Streetcar, the same does not hold true for the new City Council elected this past November and it could spell serious trouble for the transportation project.

The Finance Committee will meet in the City Council Chambers located at Cincinnati City Hall (map). 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.

Categories
News Politics Transportation

Cincinnatians continue to show strong support for rail transit

This past Wednesday night, dozens of transit supporters gathered for the Cincinnatians for Progress (CFP) holiday party and victory celebration at City Cellars downtown. The meeting came just over a month after Issue 9, the Anti-Passenger Rail Amendment, was soundly defeated by Cincinnatians at the polls. In the campaign, CFP out-raised, out-canvassed, and outsmarted the special interest groups looking to hold back our city.

At the meeting, rail advocate John Schneider discussed the status of the Cincinnati Streetcar plan and other transit projects regionally and nationally. Cincinnati is getting closer to making its Streetcar plan a reality, with the possibility of receiving funding from several state and federal sources. Any one of these awards could fully fund the project; and depending on the amount, later phases of the plan could even be fast-tracked.

[LEFT] John Schneider speaks to the crowd at City Cellars. [RIGHT] The crowd gathered at City Cellars showing their support of rail transit in Cincinnati.


The 3C Corridor project, which would give Cincinnatians a rail link to Columbus and Cleveland, was also discussed. Schneider said Ohio is in a position to receive federal funding, depending on what strategy is used to develop our national inter-city rail infrastructure. That’s because Ohio is the most dense U.S. state without rail linking its major cities.

As the special interest group known as COAST ducks away and tries to regroup after being blasted in the November 3rd election, transit supporters continue to rally and maintain a strong and loyal base of supporters that are indicative of the larger voter population in Cincinnati.

Formed in response to Issue 9, Cincinnatians for Progress grew quickly and gained true grassroots support. Chairs Joe Sprengard and Bobby Maly explained that thanks to this support, the organization will continue to exist as a pro-growth, pro-transit group supporting our city and urban core.

If you are looking to help make the Cincinnati Streetcar reality you can do so by doing one or more of the following:


(Video courtesy of 5chw4r7z.)

Categories
News Politics

Are police force reductions needed in Cincinnati?

With the new members of City Council now sworn in, the debate surrounding the City’s annual budget has once again gotten heated. Much of the debate this year swirls around layoffs instead of city services like in past years. More specifically the debate is over who should be laid off.

A significant change took place on November 3rd, when Charlie Winburn (R) made his way onto City Council in place of Greg Harris (D). The change represents a shift in power when it comes to the budget discussions which previously had a 5-4 majority in favor of cutting some of the public safety budget which, instead of being trimmed in past years, has actually grown.

In the past I asked the question as to whether we actually know how many police officers we need in order to maintain a safe city, or if anybody actually knew the answer to that question. The natural answer always seems to be add more police officers and continue to increase their budget, but common thought should be examined when we are discussing people’s jobs and livelihoods.

I am of the mindset that much more than shear force is responsible for public safety. After school programs, mentoring, crime prevention initiatives, and job programs are all proven tactics that can be used in maintaining public safety. With that said, a good way to measure quantifiables is to compare yourself to peer cities.

Click chart to open larger version in new window

After some research it turns out that while Cincinnati lost 8 percent of its population from 1990 to 2010, the City has actually grown its police force by 21 percent over that same time. If you factor in the proposed police force reduction that number would change from a 21 percent increase to a 9 percent increase, and once again, while our population declined 8 percent.

If no police reduction is made in the 2010 budget, Cincinnati will have 1,135 sworn police officers which represents 340 police officers for every 100,000 residents. If the proposed police force reduction were to happen then Cincinnati would still have 1,023 police officers representing 307 for every 100,000 residents.

When looking at how this compares with our peer cities, Cincinnati ranks at the very top of the list of police officers per 100,000 residents even with the proposed police force reduction.

It can be easy to say lets not ever cut our public safety spending, as it is the most core function of government, but as people’s jobs and livelihoods are on the line we owe it to them to at least examine the situation from an objective standpoint and make the best decision for the residents of Cincinnati.

There are also good programs at risk during these budget discussions. It would not only be unfortunate, but also irresponsible, to cut spending on the City’s recycling program that would reduce costs and actually grow revenues. It would be similarly irresponsible to cut spending on the Comprehensive Plan, Climate Protection Action Plan, or any other initiative that is laying the groundwork for economic development that grows revenues and reduces expenses.