Tag: urban design

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Up To Speed

New 5.2-acre park in Dallas caps highway, connects urban neighborhoods

New 5.2-acre park in Dallas caps freeway, connects urban neighborhoods.

Similar to Cincinnati’s plans to cap Fort Washington Way, Dallas has just opened a 5.2-acre park spanning the Woodall Rodgers Freeway. Not only will the park connect Dallas’ downtown with its uptown, but it will also provide a much needed public gathering space for the city which has recently added two other parks to its center city. More from Next American City:

Taking 10 years to plan and $110 million to build, Klyde Warren park is most recent “bridge” to come online in the last seven months, succeeding the newly christened, Santiago Calatrava- designed Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, which opened in March to the tune of $182 million….

Both [of downtown Dallas’ new] parks operate under the auspice of good design as a driver of success. Additionally, they are also regularly patrolled by a private security force and are maintained by private cleaning crews in order to perpetuate the goodness of the design. Though the parks are nice, there is something quaint about them — the prospect of stumbling onto something unexpected is not expected, and raises the question of how to allow an organic “place,” which ultimately defines good public spaces, to evolve.

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News Transportation

Zipcar expands Cincinnati offerings to Downtown, Over-the-Rhine

Yesterday, Mayor Mark Mallory (D) announced that Zipcar was expanding its car sharing service in Cincinnati to the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine.

“Partnering with Zipcar here in Cincinnati is an excellent opportunity to reduce congestion and parking demand, save people money, and provide access for people who would otherwise not be able to go about their day-to-day activities,” Mayor Mark Mallory said.

Until recently, Zipcar had only been available in big cities with more comprehensive mass transportation options; however Zipcar began testing its service with University of Cincinnati students and faculty last year. The initial service has blossomed into the full service being announced today.  Three “pods” of two cars each will be located in both neighborhoods as well as the two University of Cincinnati locations.

Driving a Zipcar requires a membership which can be obtained through their website. From there, members reserve a car for a certain amount of time and use it during the day. Members then use a key card or their smartphones to gain access to the designated car. Rates on Zipcar vehicles in Cincinnati start as low as $8.50 per hour and $69 per day. Gas, reserved parking spots, insurance, roadside assistance and up to 180 miles per day are included in the hourly and daily Zipcar rates on all Zipcar vehicles. Cars can be reserved for time periods as short as an hour or for up to several days.

Users of smartphones such as iPhones and Android devices, may download the Zipcar mobile application to make reservations, lock and unlock the vehicles as well as honk the horn to help locate the vehicle. Members can also use Zipcar’s “Reserve a Zipcar” app on Facebook to view available Zipcars and make, extend or cancel a reservation all from their Facebook account. Reservations can also be made over the phone or by using the Zipcar website.

The introduction of Zipcar could bring car sharing closer to reality city employees as well. As previously reported by UrbanCincy, the City of Cincinnati has been investigating ways  to reduce its city-owned fleet and instead use car-sharing services such as  Zipcar for certain city departments. This idea may gain some traction as City Council moves into budget season and begins to look for ways to close this year’s budget gap.

It had also been recently mentioned as a policy point by City Councilmember P.G. Sittenfield (D) in a recent e-mail. In it he states, “our fleet must more precisely match the need, and we should ensure that we are optimizing car-sharing and minimizing fleet that sits idle.”

City officials have disclosed to UrbanCincy that utilizing the car sharing service will allow the city to reduce the number of pool cars the city owns.

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Up To Speed

Will Philly learn from Cincinnati’s urban casino experience?

Will Philly learn from Cincinnati’s urban casino experience?.

Like Cincinnati, Philadelphia is struggling with what to do with a proposed casino in its center city. Concerns include potential crime, urban design, historical context, and a worry about such a large area of the urban environment being owned and controlled by one entity. More from Next American City:

Blatstein is the latest high-profile developer to throw his hat into the ring, with the 120,000-square-foot “Provence Casino” plan that would transform the former Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News complex. The former offices would house a 125-room hotel and table games, while former loading docks and a parking area would be expanded into additional casino space and a massive commercial area, topped with an extravagant French-themed rooftop “village” and indoor botanical garden. According to Tower, the project will create 5,300 permanent positions for casino workers, in addition to thousands of temporary construction jobs.

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Development News Transportation

Cincinnati becomes first Ohio city to install green bike lanes

Construction workers installed bright green bike lanes at three conflict points along Ludlow Avenue yesterday. The new green bike lanes are a first for Cincinnati as it continues to work towards making city streets safer for area bicyclists.

According to the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), experimentations with specially colored bike lanes first took place in the mid-1990s. Then, between 1997 and 1999, the City of Portland worked with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to mark 10 conflict areas with blue coloring and accompanying signage. Since that time, the FHWA has determined that green is a more appropriate color for bike lanes on public streets, so as not to be confused with accessibility parking.


The City of Cincinnati used NACTO’s standard design for a truncated bike lane through an intersection as the basis for its green bike lanes on Ludlow Avenue. The installation makes Cincinnati the first Ohio city with green bike lanes.

Green bike lanes have begun to appear in cities throughout North America in recent years to not only mark areas of conflict, but also delineate entire bike corridors. In the Midwest, Chicago has led the charge using green bike lanes for entire cycle track corridors, bike boxes at traffic signals, and at special conflict points.

According to city officials, Cincinnati’s first application of green bike lanes will mark Ludlow Avenue where it intersects with Old Ludlow Avenue, Central Parkway and a driveway entrance to Cincinnati State (map). City planners also say that there will be additional green bike lanes to come.

“We are considering using green markings where the Gilbert Avenue bike lane will intersect with the right-turn lane into the casino,” explained Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) planner, Melissa McVay.

McVay went on to say that City is using NACTO’s design guidelines and specifications for these projects, and that going forward, green bike lanes will be considered at all high conflict areas where motorists must cross a bicycle path.

The idea behind the green markings is to improve the visibility of bicyclists, and in the process, improving safety.

“In this [Ludlow Avenue] case the green lanes help negotiate cars desiring a right hand turn through a bike lane that continues straight ahead,” said Frank Henson, President, Queen City Bike. “By giving the bicycle lanes a different color, motorists realize that, in making their turn, they are crossing into another travel lane reserved for cyclists, and that they must yield to bicycle traffic in order to complete the turn.”

The City of Cincinnati Bicycle Transportation Program has installed 35.8 miles of bicycle facilities to-date, with an additional 289.9 miles planned in a citywide bicycle network.

And when asked about what could be done to continue to improve safety for Cincinnati-area bicyclists, Henson concluded that, “The best thing the City of Cincinnati can do to improve safety for street cycling is to continue to carry out the Cincinnati Bike Plan, improving the network of bike routes, lanes, trails, and paths in the area. Better education and enforcement of traffic law for both cyclists and motor vehicle operators is also necessary.”

We sat down with Melissa McVay on Episode 8 of The UrbanCincy Podcast to discuss Cincinnati’s bike culture – where we stand, how we got here, and what needs to take place next. You can stream that podcast online for free, or subscribe to The UrbanCincy Podcast on iTunes so that you don’t miss an episode.

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Development News

$450,000 donation from Duke Energy to advance construction at Smale Riverfront Park

Thanks to a $450,000 donation from Duke Energy, the Cincinnati Park Board will be able to move forward more quickly with the development of what was previously called the Main Street Garden at the Smale Riverfront Park.

The area is located immediately south of Great American Ball Park, and is now called the Duke Energy Garden. The narrow piece of park space is expected to be completed by spring 2013, and will connect the Smale Riverfront Park with additional riverfront parkland to the east (Sawyer Point, Bicentennial Commons, Theordore M. Berry International Friendship Park).


The Duke Energy Garden will include 12 “family-sized” porch swings, walking paths, and will help connect the Smale Riverfront Park with additional riverfront parks to the east. Rendering provided.

According to Cincinnati Park Board officials, this connection will be further established with the completion of the Ohio River Trail to Paddlewheel Park in fall 2013.

“The Cincinnati riverfront is more than just an entryway into our community,” Julie Janson, President of Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky, stated at a Monday morning press conference. “It serves as the front porch to Ohio. That’s why Duke Energy, through our foundation, is happy to be able to support the creation of the Duke Energy Garden in the new Smale Riverfront Park.”

According to park officials, the Duke Energy Garden will include 87 trees, thousands of smaller plantings, walking paths, a 150-foot granite seat wall, and 12 “family-sized” porch swings.

The porch swings will be suspended from “undulating” pergolas that will also offer park-users a bit of shade and protection from the elements while enjoying the swings, which have long been anticipated at the park due to their popularity elsewhere throughout the country.


Three additional phases of work are planned to follow the completion of the Duke Energy Garden at Smale Riverfront Park. Image provided.

“Duke Energy’s commitment to the vitality of this region has been demonstrated again and again by the company’s substantial investments in economic development, education, environmental and energy efficiency efforts throughout the region,” said Willie F. Carden, Jr., Director of Cincinnati Parks. “The establishment of the Duke Energy Garden in Smale Riverfront Park is another such gift that will provide a stunning new public greenspace in Greater Cincinnati’s grand new front yard.”

The majority of phase one work at the Smale Riverfront Park was completed in May 2012, but several features of phase one have yet to be funded or built, in addition to future phases of park construction to the west. Some of those features include a transient boat dock, playgrounds, additional gardens and tree groves, a carousel, and more promenades and fountains connecting the central riverfront park with the Ohio River.

Three additional phases of construction work will take place following the completion of the Duke Energy Garden, and it is expected that once fully built out that Smale Riverfront Park will attract approximately 1.1 million visitors annually.