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Development News Transportation

Cincinnati kicks off Uptown street rehabilitation projects

The City of Cincinnati is starting several street rehabilitation projects in Mt. Auburn, Walnut Hills Clifton Heights and Corryville. Auburn Avenue, Burnet Avenue, McMillan Street, Vine Street and William Howard Taft Road will all be affected by the various improvements totaling $2.3 million.

Depending on each street’s current condition they will receive partial- or full-depth repairs followed a process that will grind off the existing asphalt. According to Don Steins, Senior Engineer with Cincinnati’s Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE), the partial and full-depth repairs will last approximately two weeks.

From there, crews from Little Miami Construction Company will replace deteriorated curbs, construct curb ramps, sidewalks/driveway aprons where necessary, adjust utility castings, and resurface all of the pavement area. All of the street rehabilitation work should be completed by early August, 2010.

Steins noted that this time line might very well change with the potential addition of other Clifton Heights streetscaping work, and said that the DOTE is encouraging drivers to use alternative routes during the reconstruction process. While reconstruction takes place there will always be some degree of access for drivers, and during morning and evening rush hour times all lanes will be open to traffic.

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News

This Week in Soapbox – 4/6

This Week in Soapbox, UrbanCincy has the following seven stories to check out. Read about an innovative solar project in Oakley, Price Hill’s showcase of homes, the newly dubbed Cincinnati Restaurant Row, a new medical building in Corryville, boutique bowling coming to Nky, and two feature stories this week focusing on Cincinnati’s status as a king of beers and the city’s art collective consciousness.

If you’re interested in staying in touch with some of the latest development news in Cincinnati please check out this week’s stories and sign up for the weekly E-Zine sent out by Soapbox Cincinnati. Also be sure to become a fan of Soapbox on Facebook!

TWIS 4/6/10:

  • Brazee Street Studios installing innovative tubular solar panelsfull article
  • Price Hill to showcase community, impressive housing stockfull article
  • New urban retail specialists developing a plan for Cincinnati’s center cityfull article
  • Medical building rising in Uptown’s Corryville neighborhood full article
  • Boutique bowling lounge to open at Newport on the Levee full article
  • King of Beers (feature story)full article
  • Cincinnati’s Art Collective Consciousness (feature story)full article
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News

2010 Tunes & Blooms concert series at the Cincinnati Zoo

The annual Tunes & Blooms concert series at the Cincinnati Zoo starts tomorrow at 6pm. Just as in the past, this series features local music in a very unique setting and promises to be a great way to get back outside and enjoy the Spring season in Cincinnati.

Presented by CityBeat and WNKU, Tunes & Blooms is a free weekly concert series put on each and every Thursday evening throughout the month of April. The bands that come to play at the Zoo are some of the most respected and admired local acts and they promise to put on quite a show. The kickoff event this week features both Chuck Cleaver’s Wussy as well as local indie pop sensation Pomegranates. A fairly unique pair, this promises to be quite a show on a night where the weather should be nothing but spectacular.

There are a few other things you should know about Tunes & Blooms which has five incredible shows over the next month. First off, admission to the Zoo is free after 5pm and the shows start around 6pm. While parking is $7, it is a good deal whether you drive a car over or jump on the Metro lines 1, 46, or 78. Secondly, the event will happen rain or shine. Tomorrow’s weather looks very promising, but as Spring carries on it is a great reminder that regardless of what the weather is there will still be music happening at the Zoo each Thursday.

We are lucky enough to have five Thursdays in April this year, and the schedule is packed for each one. Stop over and enjoy some free music at the Zoo as one way to get back outside and enjoy all that Cincinnati has to offer. You will find the schedule of shows for this year’s Tunes & Blooms below.

April 1 – Wussy + Pomegranates
April 8 – Comet Bluegrass All Stars + Rumpke Mountain Boys
April 15 – The Newbees + The Seedy Seeds
April 22 – Faux Frenchmen + Psychodots
April 29 – Jake Speed & the Freddies + The Turkeys
Categories
Development News Transportation

UC students working to solve Cincinnati’s urban issues

When it comes to finding solutions to fix the problems our city faces, we can’t overlook the talented minds found at the universities and colleges right here in our city. And for urban design issues, many of these minds can be found at the University of Cincinnati in the fields of urban planning, engineering, architecture and political science.

68 students in these fields have been working on solutions to problems in Downtown, Uptown, Northside, Camp Washington, and other Cincinnati neighborhoods recently, and many will be presenting their findings today at the Turner Building (2728 Short Vine, Corryville) from 1pm to 5pm.

One group focused on improving the interchange between I-71 and Taft/McMillan Streets in Uptown. Their plan adds a giant roundabout connecting Taft & McMillan and adding access to southbound I-71. Their plan also calls for converting McMillan Street through Walnut Hills from a one-way street to two-way.

“The chief part of our business district (located on McMillan Avenue between I-71/Gilbert Avenue and Victory Parkway) was harmed when the city designated McMillan and William Howard Taft as one-way streets years ago,” said Kathy Atkinson, president of the Walnut Hill Area Council. “People speed right through our business district. It’s no longer a destination due to traffic patterns. Top on our list is to have that changed.”

As bold as the students’ plan may sound, there are other, even bolder options for improving the urban landscape of Uptown. Several neighborhoods have been pushing for a completely new interchange to the north at Martin Luther King Drive. This would allow for improved access on the already auto-oriented MLK Drive, while taking much of the traffic demand off of Taft and McMillan streets. Both streets could then be converted to two-way for their entire lengths, making them more pedestrian- and bike-friendly.

Eventually, a streetcar loop could be added to the Taft/McMillian pair, connecting the Clifton Heights and Walnut Hills business districts together while also connecting those areas with the proposed north-south Cincinnati Streetcar line at Vine Street. New businesses and residents would be attracted to this energetic, accessible, multi-modal corridor.

Other students’ plans focused on Broadway Commons, the future site of Cincinnati’s casino; an area in Northside and South Cumminsville that will be affected by the Mill Creek Expressway I-75 construction project; and many other sites throughout the city. Learn more about the students’ plans by visiting the presentation tonight, or read more about the plans online.

Categories
News Politics Transportation

UC*Metro Improving Incrementally

The UC*Metro program has seen a number of changes since its introduction in 2007. Unfortunately, most of these have made the program more difficult to use or more expensive for riders. However, one upcoming change will make the program a little simpler.

Starting in Spring Quarter 2010, Metro will print the photo and name of the purchaser directly onto new fare cards. This means that riders will no longer have to show a separate UC ID card in addition to their UC*Metro fare card when boarding. Spring Quarter cards are available for purchase starting today. There is no need to have new photos taken, as existing UC ID photos will be used.

When the program was introduced in 2007, UC*Metro provided all University of Cincinnati students with free rides on any Metro route by simply showing their UC ID. Currently, the program costs $40/quarter for students ($120/quarter for employees) plus 25 cents or more per ride, depending on the route.

If you’re a University of Cincinnati student, faculty or staff member, is using UC*Metro a good deal for you? Or does the complexity and per-ride cost make it not worth your time?