Tag: public policy

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Cincinnati Expects New Semi-Automated Trash Collection System to Save Money, Prevent Injuries

The City of Cincinnati will phase in a new system of trash collection, over the next few months, that city officials believe will ultimately save taxpayer money, increase worker safety and improve its trash collection efficiency.

For most people trash collection is a matter of setting out a trash bin, either in front of a building or in an alley, and the next day city trash collectors come and haul the trash away. This will continue to the be standard practice as the city moves forward with its new system, but the way the trash collectors come and haul the trash away will change.

Instead of using manual labor, automated toters will be used to pick up trash from new larger trash bins. The new carts will be the same type of 65-gallon bins that are currently used for city recycling, which has been experienced better-than-expected success since being introduced in October 2010 in conjunction with RecycleBank.

Cincinnati Trash Carts
New trash carts have been received by the City of Cincinnati and will start being distributed today. Image provided.

“By implementing standardized trash carts, Cincinnati joins cities across America that have seen tangible benefits to modernizing their trash collection systems,” Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney stated in a prepared statement.

Dohoney has been proposing ideas to modernize the city’s approach to collecting trash for several years in an attempt to reduce annual operating costs largely driven by worker injuries due to heavy lifting. City officials say that the new semi-automated system will eliminate the need for trash collectors to lift the trash cans, and thus improve overall safety.

Dohoney’s efforts over the past several years also included the proposal to levy a trash collection fee in order to help balance out the costs to operate the city’s large trash collection program. This proposal, however, went to the ballot box in November 2011 and voters banned the City of Cincinnati from being able to levy such a fee by a slight margin.

The new program enhancements will start rolling out today, and city officials say that more than 90,000 households are due to receive the new 65-gallon, black trash bins between now and August.

The trash bins will be delivered according to the day of trash pick-up with Mayor Mark Mallory (D) personally delivering the first one this morning to a homeowner in West Price Hill. Those with Monday trash pick-up should be receiving their new bins this month.

While city officials expect the new semi-automated system to save taxpayer money in the long-run, they also hope to experience even greater savings as they transition to one-person collection crews.

“Trash carts will help create a safer work environment, and that means we save taxpayers’ money by reducing costly injuries,” said Michael Robinson, Director of the Department Public Services. “They’re also going to help keep Cincinnati’s neighborhoods cleaner because of the attached lids and wind-resistance.”

Even though most residences will benefit from the new service, the City says that it will not be able to extend the new method to commercial and multi-family buildings with five or more units. In a response to a resident complaint, Larry Falkin, Director of the Office of Environmental Quality, explained that the change is due to multi-family buildings being run by either out-of-town property owners or by condominium associations that typically contract out for their own trash collection services.

“Many people want to receive services from government, and many people do not want to financially support government. Government can not increase services, or even maintain services, with declining revenues,” stated Falkin.

While the demands on manual labor will decrease as a result of the new system and transition to one-person crews, city officials note that those individuals will be transitioned to perform other city services.

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Business Development News Transportation

Cincinnati Proposes Eliminating Parking Requirements in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine

The City of Cincinnati will hold a public conference this evening about proposed amendment to the zoning code that would deregulate parking requirements throughout the center city.

According to city officials, the amendment would create new ‘Urban Parking Districts’ and remove the current regulations that mandate how many parking spaces must be provided for any new development or for any project that is modifying the use of an existing structure.

The efforts to get rid of the parking requirements throughout the center city have been ongoing for years.

In June 2010, city officials moved forward with new legislation that allowed for a 50% parking reduction for residences located within 600 feet of a streetcar stop. Then in March 2012, Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls (C) introduced a motion, which was co-sponsored by six other council members, to eliminate all parking requirements throughout the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine.

Over-the-Rhine
Over-the-Rhine’s existing historic fabric is at risk of further demolitions, due to current parking requirements, as investment continues to pour into the neighborhood. Photograph by Randy Simes for UrbanCincy.

Last March, UrbanCincy examined just how these off-street parking mandates are stifling growth and investment in the center city, which was largely built before the advent of the automobile. The requirements have led to not only increased costs for small businesses, but they have also led to an excess of parking in these neighborhoods.

The parking regulations also make it particularly difficult to redevelop smaller historic buildings like the ones found throughout Over-the-Rhine.

“Requiring parking for historic structures that have never had parking is incentivizing their demolition. This puts the property owner in a really difficult position; he must either find parking for the building, demolish it or let it languish in perpetuity.” Nashville city planner, Joni Priest, told UrbanCincy last March. “If a property owner wants to rehab an historic building – a building that marks the character of a neighborhood and contributes to the fabric of the city – all incentives, including the elimination of parking requirements, should be considered.”

Parking requirements have also contributed to the increased costs of redevelopment in these historic neighborhoods.

Last April, Chad Munitz, Executive Vice President of Development and Operations of the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC), estimated that existing parking mandates cost developers, on average, $5,000 for one surface parking space and $25,000 for a structured parking space. The increased cost associated with that parking, Munitz says, is then passed on to the consumer and raises the price of a residential unit by as much as $25,000.

The City of Cincinnati’s Planning & Buildings Department will host the public conference this evening at 5:30pm at Two Centennial Plaza, which is located at 805 Central Avenue downtown, and is well-served by a number of Metro bus routes (plan your trip). City officials say that the meeting will take place on the 7th floor, Suite 720 in the Martin Griesel Room A.

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Business News Politics

Roxanne Qualls Directs Administration to Develop Solar Financing Mechanisms

Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls (C) put forth a motion last week that calls on the mayor’s administration to establish new financing mechanisms for expanding the city’s solar energy capabilities.

Qualls says that she hopes the City of Cincinnati can work with local organizations like Green Umbrella, Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, and the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance (GCEA) to develop Property Assisted Clean Energy (PACE) financing.

When City Council approved the Green Cincinnati Plan in 2008 it included a target of installing solar energy on one out of every five rooftops, both residential and commercial, by 2028. Qualls believes that working with GCEA and Green Umbrella will be critical in establishing a viable solar rooftop program and facilitating power purchase or lease agreements for solar energy installations that will be critical towards reaching 2028 benchmark.

“These are steps we can take now to help to not only save money on our energy bills today, but to build a globally-competitive local green economy and a lasting green legacy for our children,” stated Qualls.

Cincinnati Zoo Solar Panels
The Cincinnati Zoo’s solar canopy is the largest publicly accessible urban solar array in the U.S. Image provided.

According to the vice mayor’s office, such a program would work by using third-party financing tools to overcome existing financial barriers for those interested in installing solar energy systems on their building. Similar programs are already in places around the nation, and Qualls believes a Cincinnati program could save consumers money on their utility bills, promote local jobs, and offer numerous environmental benefits.

“If Cincinnati adopted a goal to get 10% of its energy from solar by 2030, and just my small business met that demand, I’d have to hire 450 electricians tomorrow and keep them hired for the next 17years,” explained Matt Kolbinsky, Program Manager for SECO Electric.

The City of Cincinnati is already experiencing positive gains from its efforts to transition towards the use of green energy following the formation of an electricity buying group formed in 2012 that is now saving residential and small commercial users 23% on their monthly bills.

The electric supply contract put in place last April by the City also calls for 100% of the energy supply to be backed by Renewable Energy Credits. The move made the city one of the largest in the United States to do so, and earned it a spot as a finalist for the 2013 U.S. Earth Hour City Capital award.

The new motion, however, comes on the heels of a town hall meeting hosted by Xavier University’s Sustainability Committee, on the topic of solar energy, where more than 100 people attended. To capitalize on the momentum, Qualls has requested that the administration bring legislation on the matter back to council within 60 days.

“Cincinnati has all the right ingredients to go solar,” said Christian Adams, Clean Energy Associate for Environment Ohio who organized the town hall meeting last Tuesday. “From Findlay Market to the Cincinnati Zoo, the Queen City is leading the charge statewide for homegrown solar power and we can see that Cincinnatians are taking note of their city’s leadership on this issue.”

Green Umbrella has already established a Renewable Energy Action Team that has outlined how a residential solar rooftop program might work in Cincinnati, but the organization says that ongoing public feedback will be critical to future success.

“Building a solar powered Cincinnati is possible, but it will take all of us standing up to support these programs and calling for more,” Adams concluded. “Vice Mayor Qualls’ solar vision is striking a chord with Cincinnatians and people across the Queen City are waking up to the potential for a homegrown solar powered future right here in southwest Ohio.”

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Arts & Entertainment News Politics

Lee Fisher to Discuss the Future of Cities at UC’s School of Planning

The University of Cincinnati’s School of Planning will host Ohio’s former Lieutenant Governor and current CEOs for Cities President, Lee Fisher, next Thursday.

The event will start at 4pm with Fisher explaining what CEOs for Cities does and what they stand for. Organizers also say that those who attend will also hear about civic activists can work with professional architects, planners, designers and artists in a collaborative way to change their communities.

While serving as Lieutenant Governor, Fisher was perhaps most well-known for his economic development work and the implementation of the Ohio Hubs of Innovation & Opportunity to foster urban-based collaborations between businesses, colleges and universities, and research institutions.

Cincinnati was named an Ohio Hub of Innovation & Opportunity for Consumer Marketing in July 2010.

Fisher’s interest in these collaborative approaches to building up cities aligned him perfectly with CEOs for Cities which helps lead these types of discussions and has becoming a prominent voice on these topics over recent years. Specifically though, leadership at CEOs for Cities believe that great cities are not simply places that are born, but are rather made and improved over time.

“A living place is someone’s success,” Paul Grogan, who founded CEOs for Cities in 2001 with Richard M. Daley. “These are matters of choice and skill, not laws of physics.”

This work of enhancing cities has spread throughout North America to more than 60 cities, and CEOs for Cities currently has offices in Chicago, Cleveland and Washington D.C.

Following the speech, organizers say that the audience will get an opportunity to meet and discuss their ideas with Fisher during a reception to be held at 5:10pm.

The main event will kick off at 4pm on Thursday, April 4 inside the Kaplan Auditorium (Room 5401) at UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning. The event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

The University of Cincinnati is well-served by Metro bus service (plan your trip), but those taking personal automobiles should be able to find cash parking in the nearby Clifton Court Garage.

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News Politics Transportation

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.