Tag: sustainability

Categories
Up To Speed

California approves $7.9B for high-speed rail

California approves $7.9B for high-speed rail.

The California state Senate approved billions of dollars for what is considered to be the nation’s largest infrastructure project on Friday. Part of the nearly $8 billion of state and federal money comes from Ohio since most of the $400 million Governor John Kasich (R) returned to the federal government was redirected to California’s project. More from the San Francisco Chronicle:

The cost of the high-speed rail line – now estimated at $68 billion – has ballooned since voters approved the bonds four years ago, and public support for the bullet train has fallen as projected costs rose. The high-speed system would connect San Francisco to Los Angeles with trains expected to run as fast as 220 mph.

Categories
Business Development News

Bread & Spice brings vegetarian-focused bakery to Covington

Just over two years ago, Amber Jones realized a dream when she and her husband Jason were able to purchase a historic building in downtown Covington, fix it up, move in to the upper floors, and open a bakery on the first floor. As time progressed, so did Jones’ family and she was forced with making the difficult decision of closing up shop.

Not long after, Jones was in contact with another family-driven entrepreneur interested in operating a bakery out of the 1,000-square-foot space at 212 W. Pike Street.


Bread & Spice along Pike Street in downtown Covington. Photograph by Jake Mecklenborg for UrbanCincy.

“After looking at several restaurant and bakery locations available in Kentucky and Cincinnati, Dawn, my wife, and I decided we really preferred this location,” explained Daniel Tinney, owner of Bread & Spice. “We have both always enjoyed the look and style of older buildings, and we liked the positive neighborhood spirit we found here.”

Daniel operates Bread & Spice with his wife Dawn, and says that the two have waited long enough to pursue a mutual dream of theirs to open a café.

“Through my 20s and 30s I experimented with a variety of cuisines from around the world. I enjoyed savory, slightly spice food, and I learned how to cook them through trial and error,” Daniel told UrbanCincy. “I have been a vegetarian since age 15, and I have often found the options available to vegetarians dining out were either clearly an afterthought, or prepared in a rather bland way.”

To counter that, Daniel explains, that Bread & Spice features a multifaceted menu with a primary focus on vegetarian food that is savory and flavorful.

The Tinney’s celebrated the café’s grand opening on May 9, 2012, and have signed a one-year lease with an option to renew. Bread & Spice is currently open Monday through Friday from 7am to 3pm, Saturday from 8am to 3pm, and is closed on Sundays.

In addition to savory vegetarian options, Daniel notes that the café offers pour-over coffee and baked goods prepared at the store by his wife.

Daily specials and other product information is updated on Bread & Spice’s Facebook Page and Twitter account @BreadSpice daily.

Categories
News Transportation

Living car-free can help you save money, live healthier

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), in partnership with The Sierra Club, The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and public transportation systems across the country will celebrate the 7th annual National Dump the Pump Day tomorrow.

The event is meant to encourage people take public transit instead of driving a car in an attempt to save money. But ditching the personal automobile can not only save you money, it can help you enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

UrbanCincy was recently contacted by creators of an infographic that breaks down the health issues related to driving. It should be something to consider before you hop into that vehicle of yours tomorrow morning, and every morning thereafter.

Killer Commute

Categories
Up To Speed

Mac’s Pizza Pub to provide free electric vehicle recharging station

Mac’s Pizza Pub to provide free electric vehicle recharging station.

Mac’s Pizza Pub in Clifton Heights will become the region’s first restaurant to offer customers a free charging station for their electric vehicles. The move comes as owner Mac Ryan attempts to make the popular uptown restaurant as environmentally friendly as possible. More from the Cincinnati Enquirer:

There’s a parking space next to the patio where you can pull in your electric car and plug in to his dedicated circuit while you go in an have a Macover or a pizza…Owner Mac Ryan uses a Chevrolet Volt for all the restaurant’s delivery and catering business. That’s one of several electric cars that have come to the market recently: the Nissan Leaf is another, and local company AMP has retrofitted jeeps into electric vehicles.

Categories
News Politics Transportation

Cincinnati moves forward with city-wide ‘complete streets’ initiative

Some streets just do not feel safe to walk along. Perhaps it is the lack of space between the cars driving by or even the lack of a sidewalk in some instances. It’s even more precarious for bicyclists who sometimes have the benefit of designated bicycle lanes but most of the times compete with cars to share space on the roads.

It was not always like this. When the automobiles first came around at the dawn of the twentieth century, they had to compete with a lively street scene that included horse drawn buggies, pedestrians and bicyclists. Tensions came to a boiling point in Cincinnati and in 1923 when citizens attempted to pass a ballot initiative limiting the speed of automobiles to 25 miles per hour. The auto industry banded together to defeat the proposition and our streets were never quite the same.


Pedestrians, bicyclists and automobile drivers peacefully coexist on Diversey Street on Chicago’s north side. Photograph by Randy A. Simes for UrbanCincy.

Fast forward to today where Cincinnati City Council’s Livable Communities Committee will listen to an update on the city’s on-going Complete Streets initiative. The movement, which got its start through a motion sponsored by Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls (C) in August 2009, is now an integral part of the on-going, five-day charrette for the city’s Plan Build Live initiative.

Complete Streets are regulations that allow streets to be redesigned to focus on shared use with bicycles and mass transit as well as better conditions for pedestrians. The problem in Cincinnati, and throughout much of the United States, is that people drive past what used to be viable places. The initiative, in theory, would improve conditions for many of the city’s struggling neighborhoods by reorienting them towards the users for which they were originally designed.

“We need to ensure that our neighborhood business districts are destinations and not just raceways through town for commuters,” Vice Mayor Qualls explained in a recent press release.

The standards aim to improve walkability and slow traffic in business districts. This can be done by adding on-street parking, converting one-way roads to two-way traffic, and providing connections through smaller block sizes.

Jocelyn Gibson, an Over-the-Rhine resident who attended yesterday’s brown bag lunch session on Complete Streets thinks it’s a great idea. “It’s not just about adding bike lanes; it’s about creating a more economically viable community by restoring walkable livable streets.”

Some of the focus areas mentioned by consultants Hall Planning & Engineering included the conversion of McMillan Street and William Howard Taft Road into two-way streets and making improvements to the Reading Road corridor. The standards, officials say, are part of the city’s form-based code efforts and planned to be finalized by this summer.

Anyone is welcome to attend the meeting today which will be held at 11am inside City Hall (map).