Tag: Transportation

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Development News Transportation

UC Planning, Engineering Students Propose Hamilton Avenue BRT Corridor

Hamilton Avenue BRT CorridorLast fall UrbanCincy partnered with the Niehoff Urban Studio on an event that highlighted the work of an interdisciplinary group of students. That semester engineering and planning students focused on urban mobility and looked at bikeways and bus rapid transit ideas within the city.

Each of the student groups presented their final research and findings to fellow academics and industry experts from around the region. We then gathered a group of transit and bike experts to engage in a panel discussion about the student’s proposals and about transportation in the region in general.

Throughout the course of the day, we asked members of the public who attended to vote on their favorite proposal. The winner was a bus rapid transit corridor along Hamilton Avenue that focused heavily on a transit-oriented development (TOD) in Northside where The Gantry is now being built.

The six-person team consisted of Tyler Kiefer, Benjamin Lafferty, Christopher Murphy, Michael Orth and Michael Walsh from the College of Engineering & Applied Science and Alexander Cassini from the College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning.

First and foremost, the group said that their Hamilton BRT Line would most closely resemble Cleveland’s highly publicized HealthLine, which is the highest-rated BRT line, by far, in North America. The group also examined lines in Pittsburgh and Kansas City.

One of the main reasons for the comparisons to Cleveland is the similarities between the corridors. In both Cincinnati and Cleveland, the corridors connect neighborhoods under-served by transit to institutional services, while also providing greater mobility.

“The 2010 U.S. Census has shown how the population along Hamilton Avenue has less access to quick and reliable means of transportation when compared to the stats of Cincinnati and Ohio as a whole,” explained Masters of Community Planning student Alexander Cassini. “This lack of mobility directly affects citizens’ access to essential services and employment opportunities.”

Their research found that Metro’s #17 bus route, which most closely aligns with their proposed BRT corridor, currently averages weekday ridership of about 4,500 people. Furthermore, they found that approximately 17% of the households along the corridor have no car, 10% of the commuters identify as bus riders and there are 6,387 people living per square mile.

The proposed BRT corridor runs from Downtown to North College Hill, and the engineering and planning students saw this particular corridor as a major opportunity to spread investment and attention from the center city to additional neighborhoods that would take advantage of the BRT route’s 12 stations spaced out between one-half mile to three-fourths of a mile apart that would ensure faster and more efficient service. Each of the 12 station locations, Cassini notes, was selected due to its significant population and employment nearby.

“Northside and North College Hill are historic places in the city and present a great opportunity for Cincinnati to keep growing as a city,” noted civil engineering student Michael Orth.

Orth went on to say that while one of the positives of this corridor was the amount of people and businesses it could positively impact, the area’s congestion was also one of the team’s greatest challenges, stating, “There is very little room to implement a bus only lane throughout the corridor, which would be ideal for a BRT line.”

To help address this situation the group said that they envision a bus only lane, or a hybrid lane for buses and cars depending on the hour, through the congested portions of the route. Although not recommended, if a hybrid lane was determined to not be satisfactory Orth said that further study could be done to examine whether there would be enough benefit to remove on-street parking in order to provide for a consistent, dedicated bus only lane.

Other technology to help facilitate the quick movement of buses along the corridor would include arrival detection at traffic signals so that the lights can change in order to accommodate an approaching bus.

Existing Metro bus service, they said, would largely be redeployed to avoid redundancy, but some would remain since local buses stop more frequently – potentially creating a corridor of localized bus and express BRT service.

Hamilton Avenue BRT in Metro*Plus Context
One area where the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) has already begun enhancing bus service is along Montgomery Road, which connects Downtown with the Kenwood area. That new Metro*Plus service, while not full BRT, is a step in the right direction according to the University of Cincinnati students, and has already seen ridership triple since its upgrade.

“Metro*Plus service is good but it is only the first step towards a true BRT system for the Cincinnati metropolitan area,” Cassini cautioned. “Metro*Plus service can be even more efficient, and effective if totally dedicated lanes and other additional features are added.”

Reading Road, where Metro began operating articulated buses in 2010, is actually the region’s most heavily utilized bus corridor with Hamilton Avenue coming in second and Montgomery Road third. If Metro is to continue to build out its enhanced bus service, or full-on BRT operations, then Hamilton Avenue may very well be the next logical choice.

What helped the group’s proposal stand out from other presentations was its focus on the TOD in Northside. With a $13 million mixed-use project coming out of the ground on that site now, the group reflected on their own proposal.

While the team had collectively noted the large, clean open space as being one of the huge benefits of the site, it also made it particularly valuable in their opinion. As a result, several of the group members, while encouraged about the private investment, were also a bit underwhelmed by the Indianapolis-based Milhaus Developers’ architectural design.

Both Cassini and Orth mentioned that they would be interested in working full-time in the transportation industry someday, but for different reasons. When asked to briefly compare the wide variety of transportation projects current in the planning or development stages around the region, there was a uniform response that their excitement is for the Cincinnati Streetcar.

“Although the planned streetcar line does not expand sufficiently in our eyes, we believe it would be an incredible economic development booster for Cincinnati’s downtown and overall urban core,” Cassini explained. “The overall transportation efforts around Cincinnati will eventually pay off to form a comprehensive and more easily navigable system than today.”

The Niehoff Urban Studio is currently working with a new set of students on designs for the Wasson Corridor, which runs through several of Cincinnati’s eastern neighborhoods. This is another topic that was examined by one of the interdisciplinary groups of planners and engineers last year. UrbanCincy is once again partnering with the Niehoff Urban Studio and will be organizing a similar showcase and panel discussion in 2014.

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Business Development News Politics Transportation

After Another Day of Chaos at City Hall, Council Votes to “Pause” Streetcar Project

Today was the day that would show the true colors of those members of council freshly sworn into office. They were faced with a decision of voting to continue and finish construction of the Cincinnati Streetcar project, or voting to pause and essentially cancel the project altogether.

A shifting landscape continued to alter the debate and make the whole vote more intriguing, and thus more revealing. Yesterday a confidential document was leaked, that courts had ordered remain confidential, and showed that city attorneys felt the city might lose its case against Duke Energy for the cost of relocating utilities along the streetcar line. Many suspect the document was leaked by Mayor John Cranley’s (D) administration. Such a legal loss would cost the City the $15 million it currently has set aside in escrow.

On Monday, the Haile/U.S. Bank Foundation had offered up private money to fund the independent financial review of the project, which was then matched by an anonymous contribution on Wednesday that would also cover the costs of construction to continue while that study was conducted. Both offers were turned down by Mayor Cranley and the five members of City Council who ultimately voted to pause the project indefinitely.

Cincinnati Streetcar Financial Summary

Acting City Manager Scott Stiles also informed City Council that such an action to “pause” the project would cost the City between $2.6 million to $3.6 million per month due to contractual obligations – a number that exceeds the total amount it costs to merely continue construction activities.

An official vote to continue or cancel the $133 million project is expected to come following the conclusion of the financial review.

Some city officials believe the move will result in the Federal Transit Administration pulling $40 million in unspent money from the project and beginning debt collection on the $5 million already spent by the city – thus increasing the local cost share for city taxpayers. Others believe that the way in which the 11 approved ordinances have been written give the City a limited amount of time before the federal government acts.

During the hearing there were times that both Vice Mayor David Mann (D) and Councilman Kevin Flynn (C) seemed to be conflicted. They had both campaigned on their skepticism of the project, but vowed to carefully review the facts and figures associated with cancelling the project at such an advanced stage. Those promises, however, appear to have been not much more than lip service in order to appease their progressive base of supporters.

What actually happens next is anyone’s guess. A lawsuit has been threatened by a Cincinnati resident and attorney alleging Councilman Christopher Smitherman (I), who was one of the five voting against the streetcar today, has a conflict of interest and therefore has committed wrongdoing by voting or engaging in official discussion on the matter.

Additional legal action may come from citizens trying to block today’s action by council that prohibits citizens from placing the matter on the ballot for a third time. Outside of that, both CAF and Prus appear poised to file lawsuits against the city for breach of contract.

If streetcar supporters are successful at getting the matter put on the ballot, such an issue could be placed before voters as soon as 90 to 120 days following that motion. Although, it is expected that the Federal government could still pull their investment during that time regardless.

Atlanta Streetcar Construction
As politicians continue to bicker over Cincinnati’s $133M streetcar project after six years, Atlanta blazes ahead with construction of its own $69M streetcar project near Centennial Olympic Park. Image provided to UrbanCincy.

What makes the whole matter more startling is the apparent change of heart from the city’s powerful business community. Earlier today, the Business Courier reported that leadership at companies including Procter & Gamble, Frost Brown Todd, CBRE, Otto M. Buding Family Foundation, Haile/U.S. Bank Foundation, Greiwe Development Group, Grandin Properties, Blue Chip Venture, Jack Rouse Associates and Fifth Third Bank all expressed specific interest in either finishing the streetcar project or moving forward with a comprehensive regional rail transit system.

The Cincinnati Enquirer has also changed their position in recent weeks calling on the new mayor and council to finish the project.

All this combined with the change of position by P.G. Sittenfeld (D), who is now in favor of finishing the streetcar project, have seemingly empowered the active pro-streetcar groups causing some to urge for a recall of Mayor Cranley. Recall election or not, streetcar supporters are stating the battle is not over after today’s expected vote.

Who knows what will happen next, but what happened this week defies logic. In a matter of just three days, the new mayor and council have undone all the work that has taken place over the past six years to get the streetcar project to this point. Some may call that rushed, chaotic and reckless, and we would be inclined to agree with those people.

We know many of our readers are very passionate about this issue and very much want to see the first phase of the streetcar not only completed, but eventually expanded city-wide in a manner that compliments regional rail and bus transit. We will be getting together at the Moerlein Lager House tomorrow from 5:30pm to 8:30pm for our monthly URBANexchange event, and we would love for you to join us and share your feelings and discuss what you think will or should happen next.

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Up To Speed

New app allows users to tell their Congressional reps about inadequate transport

New app allows users to tell their Congressional reps about inadeqate transport.

Do you find yourself frustrated by traffic congestion, lack of bike lanes or sidewalks, inability to take a bus or train to your destination? Well, Building America’s Future has released an updated version of their ‘I’m Stuck!’ app that allows people to directly send messages to their Congressional representatives – urging them to start funding the necessary improvements to make our communities mobile and safe. More from Streetsblog Capitol Hill:

Among the new features of their app redesign, BAF has added a way to tell Congress you need better bicycle infrastructure… According to BAF, the app has been downloaded 11,000 times and 3,500 messages have been sent to Congress. The old version didn’t let them track how many were complaining about sitting in traffic versus how many were complaining about inferior transit. And as we mentioned last time, you’ll have to customize your message if you want to make sure Congress knows that you’re not asking for more car lanes but rather a transit line that would get you off the road altogether. And remember, distracted driving rules apply.

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Business Development News Politics Transportation

December 2, 2013: The Day Chaos Ruled City Hall

In what Nathaniel Livingston described as the most bizarre day at City Hall since now Mayor John Cranley (D) chaired over the Law & Public Safety Committee meeting shortly before the 2001 Race Riots broke out, City Council approved a confusing collection of 11 ordinances that will go for a final vote on Wednesday.

The confusion was due to a number of reasons. First, Mayor Cranley presided over the committee hearing, which does not normally take place as it is not the mayor’s role. Cranley then encouraged the committee to move forward with its proceedings before adopting any rules to govern the committee. Finally, Cranley then introduced 11 separate ordinances that had not been provided to the public or to the members of the committee, and instructed votes on each of them anyway.

Each of the 11 ordinances is slightly different, but each includes appropriations so that they cannot be challenged by referendum under state law. This goes against a campaign promise of Cranley and all incoming members of city council who stated over and over again that they respect the citizen’s right to referendum.

In the past, John Cranley, Amy Murray, Christopher Smitherman and Charlie Winburn have all talked about a “sacred” right to referendum, but appear to be opposed to one in this instance.

Each of the 11 ordinances squeaked by with a 5-4 majority – including Councilman Christopher Smitherman (I), who is currently being accused of having a conflict of interest that should prevent him from either voting or engaging in official discussion on the project. Here is what each of the ordinances would do, if passed on Wednesday:

  1. Item #201301490: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to construction and implementation of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain an independent financial review of the total costs associated with continuation of the Cincinnati Streetcar System; and further REPEALING Ordinance No. 392-2013.
  2. Item #201301491: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to its reimbursement agreement with Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company, LLC, related to construction of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain a financial review of the total costs associated with continuation or suspension of the Cincinnati Streetcar System.
  3. Item #201301492: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to its reimbursement agreement with Time Warner Cable Midwest, LLC, related to construction of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain an independent financial review of the total costs associated with continuation or suspension of the Cincinnati Streetcar System.
  4. Item #201301493: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to its reimbursement agreement with Level 3 Communications, LLC, related to construction of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain an independent financial review of the total costs associated with continuation or suspension of the Cincinnati Streetcar System.
  5. Item #201301494: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to its contract with CAF USA, Inc. related to design and fabrication of streetcars for the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain an independent financial review of the total costs associated with continuation or suspension of the Cincinnati Streetcar System.
  6. Item #201301495: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to its contract with LTK Consulting Services, Inc. related to construction of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain an independent financial review of the total costs associated with continuation or suspension of the Cincinnati Streetcar System.
  7. Item #201301496: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to its contract with Messer/Prus/Delta Railroad JV related to construction of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain an independent financial review of the total costs associated with continuation or suspension of the Cincinnati Streetcar System.
  8. Item #201301497: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to its contract with Parson Brinkerhoff, Inc. related to construction of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain an independent financial review of the total costs associated with continuation or suspension of the Cincinnati Streetcar System.
  9. Item #201301498: AUTHORIZING the City Manager to take all steps necessary and proper to suspend construction and implementation of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible, in the best interests of the public peace, health, safety and general welfare of the City of Cincinnati.
  10. Item #201301499: AUTHORIZING the City Manager to take all steps necessary and proper to negotiate the suspension of the Intergovernmental Agreement Between the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority and the City of Cincinnati related to the Cincinnati Streetcar System in the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible, in the best interests of the public, peace, health, safety and general welfare of the City of Cincinnati.
  11. Item #201301500: AUTHORIZING the City Manager to take all steps necessary and proper to negotiate the suspension of the Cooperation Agreement for Relocation of Utilities between Duke Energy Ohio, Inc. and the City of Cincinnati in the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible, in the best interests of the public peace, health, safety and general welfare of the City of Cincinnati.

For reference, Ordinance No. 392-2013 repealed in the first item listed above is the ordinance that was passed by City Council last week requiring phase one of the project to be finished. The final kicker was a motion filed by Councilmembers Mann, Winburn, Smitherman, Flynn and Murray that stated:

Item #201301501: WE move that the City Manager immediately suspend all work related to the streetcar as permitted under existing contracts, and immediately begin an analysis of the costs of continuation versus cancellation.

This all took place a day after CAF, the firm manufacturing Cincinnati’s streetcar vehicles, stated that they have incurred great expenses for this project and intend to pursue full compensation for their work from the city.

Prus Construction has now also indicated that they will be greatly impacted by a decision to cancel the project and appear poised to file major lawsuits against the city.

In Wisconsin, Talgo just recently filed a second lawsuit for $65.9 million against the State of Wisconsin after it canceled its inter-city rail project. In addition to that, Talgo has already been awarded $40 million as a result of the state backing out of its contract. The total contract amount, meanwhile, was only worth $47.5 million.

At the same time as all of this unfolded, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced that they were freezing their $45 million investment, which they had signaled they would do and would move promptly to recoup all of their funds should Cincinnati move to pause or cancel the project, and were prepared to begin debt collection immediately on any money already spent. This news came with great concern for Councilmember P.G. Sittenfeld (D) who fears that the action from FTA may have negative impacts for the region’s bus system.

“I’m concerned about a path toward damaging the most basic of transportation needs,” Sittenfeld told the Business Courier on Monday. “I think this could eventually lead to harming bus service.”

What was also announced today during all the commotion was that the Haile Foundation offered to pay 100% of the costs for any study needed to study the finances of the project so that it could move forward. Had the new council accepted that offer, there would have been no need to appropriate funds with each of the 11 ordinances, thus eliminating the possibility of a citizen referendum.

The Haile U.S. Bank Foundation went on to say that canceling the project would cause the philanthropic organization “pause” and would force them to “reconsider whether the city can be a trusted partner.” The letter further stated that such reconsideration would affect their planned investments at Smale Riverfront Park, Music Hall, Findlay Market and other redevelopment projects.

Going against this offer to fund a financial study were Vice Mayor David Mann (D) and Councilmember Kevin Flynn (C) – both of whom campaigned on the promise to carefully consider the facts and figures associated with cancelling the project before making a decision. Insiders believe both will hold their line despite the flood of evidence suggesting a cancellation of the project would be a financial disaster for the City.

If one or the other were to switch their vote in light of this information on Wednesday, then the streetcar project would have a 5-4 majority on City Council and the matter would be settled. If they hold their line, it appears that a slew of lawsuits, potential referendums, injunctions and a potential recall election could all transpire over the course of 2014. Happy New Year!

The day ended after a nearly eight-hour council session that left many more confused than when they arrived. The standing room only crowd – where 68 of the 71 members of the public who spoke were in favor of the project – left dejected and feeling a bit hopeless facing a defiant mayor utilizing every trick to block any chance of a citizen referendum.

The thought is that should the project go to a referendum for a third time that it would win with voters for a third time. The prospects of huge and lengthy lawsuits, the loss of a $45 million federal investment, the destruction of the relationship with the federal government and private investors, and the fact that it is estimated it may only cost $400,000 more to just finish the project would not sit well with voters.

Already, Sittenfeld and The Enquirer have switched their stance on the matter and have encouraged the mayor and city council to finish the project.

The question now is whether the facts and figures presented to date will be enough to sway either David Mann [david.mann@cincinnati-oh.gov] or Kevin Flynn [kevin.flynn@cincinnati-oh.gov], or will the Cranley Administration have the courage to allow a direct referendum on the matter?

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News Transportation

Streetcar Spurs Unsubsidized Growth in Portland

Streetcar stop at South Waterfront

Portland is often cited as the “go to” city for rail transit and good planning initiatives. As someone who had ridden a fair share of streetcar, light rail and subway systems, I traveled to Portland with a dose of skepticism. TV shows like “Portlandia” showcase the quirky and often times absurd hipster culture that has blossomed in the city despite chronic problems with homelessness.

For a Cincinnatian, downtown Portland is a showcase of what could have been for downtown Cincinnati. A brief detour into Pioneer Place mall shows the potential of the failed Tower Place mall in downtown Cincinnati. A block away there is a downtown Nordstroms, something downtown Cincinnati failed to land in the 1990’s. A few blocks away, there is a downtown Target and TJ Maxx. The city’s retail scene is vibrant and its eclectic arrangement of food trucks and bicycle infrastructure add to that vibrancy.

It seems strange that these similarly sized metropolitan regions have realized two very different fortunes. One is of success through investing in transit infrastructure, the other struggling to make gains so far without it. This is why the construction and success of the Cincinnati Streetcar project is so vital.

Twenty-five guests of the Alliance for Regional Transit, spearheaded by John Schneider, toured Portland last month to ride the various modes of transit in the city and tour the different areas along the city’s expanding streetcar system. This is the 30th group Schneider has led out to Portland and also the largest.

Schneider has not always been a fan of rail transit. Citing the availability of bus transit, he was often critical of the need for rail in cities like Cincinnati. After the formation of Downtown Cincinnati Inc. (DCI), however, a survey was conducted where rail transit was found to be the top priority for downtown residents and visitors. He was assigned as the head of the Transportation Committee and tasked with bringing rail to the region, something he scoffed at at the time.

When recounting this story, he told the group in Portland that he had ridden several systems until one day he was riding a train in St. Louis and it finally clicked. The self-identified Republican has been a supporter ever since.

The tour began at the South Waterfront district, located at the southern end of the North-South (NS) Streetcar line. It is a new neighborhood that serves as the residential and office extension off the Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital, which is landlocked at the top of the adjacent hill.

The $1.6 billion development started in 2004 and is home to thousands of residents. An aerial tram serves as a direct connection between the South Waterfront and the hospital. The tram also offers dramatic views of the city and the surrounding Cascades mountain range.

The east side of Portland, opposite the Willamette River, is primarily dominated by auto-oriented developments, however there is evidence that the recently opened Central Loop (CL) Streetcar line is having a positive impact on development in the area. A $250 million upscale apartment development has already begun construction at the junction between the streetcar and light rail lines at NE 7th Avenue and NE Holladay Street in the sleepy Lloyd District.

The next phase of the Portland’s streetcar system will connect the end of the CL Line in the east end to the end of the NS Line near the South Waterfront. To accomplish this the city is building a $134.6 million cable-stayed rail, bike and pedestrian only transit bridge that will open in 2015.

The tour also took the group through the Pearl District, which is the oft-touted renovated warehouse distinct in Portland.

While there are many comparisons to Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, it would be an unjust assumption because Over-the-Rhine features a greater amount of remaining abandoned and underutilized mixed-use multi-family buildings than the Pearl District. The Pearl District has seen over $2 billion in development, but it has largely been new construction built on sites that once were once occupied by rail yards and warehouses.

During the tour the group was introduced to different leaders who shared their perspective of Portland’s progress on its streetcar system.  People like Paddy Tillett, Principle at ZGF Architects, who is with the firm that helped spearhead the effort to establish the transit mall in downtown Portland.

“People were calling it a toy train and saying that we already had light rail,” Tillett told the group. “Even TriMet didn’t want to operate it.”

However Portlanders soon came to embrace their streetcar system, which is now in its fifth phase of construction. Tillett continued, “The streetcar helps extend peoples walking distance, it is not supposed to serve as point-to-point transit. Today it has a dedicated ridership and is helping demonstrate how streetcars can play an important role in public transit around the country.”

The tour was capped off with a meeting with Portland Mayor Charlie Hales (D). Hales told the group, “We no longer have to provide subsidies for downtown development.”

Mayor Hales also stated that it took fifteen years for developers to begin  reducing the size need of parking structures for development.

Portland is a beautiful city with vibrancy and life. However, this vibrancy was hard fought over the last three decades. The construction of the transit mall, TriMet light rail and the streetcar were huge gambles that ultimately paid off, and took Portland from a sleepy waterfront lumber town to a place where people move to even if they don’t have jobs lined up. Portland’s problems are ones born from success, not failure and even those problems are good to have.

At today’s council meeting, Cincinnati’s new political leadership will be making decisions regarding the continuation of construction of the Cincinnati’s streetcar system. The new mayor and city council will have to decide whether to continue the same hit or miss approach to development in the urban core, or decide to embrace a system that has a proven track record of success in many cities throughout the country and the world.

Cities like Portland are where the future is headed, Cincinnati’s new leaders should take heed.