Tag: urban design

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News Politics

Cincinnati to take part in fifth annual international PARK[ing] Day

The third Friday in September marks the 5th annual Park[ing] Day, celebrated across the globe. From San Francisco to San Juan and in between, people will be taking over ordinary parking spaces to demonstrate the need for more public space in cities.

PARK[ing] Day started as a collaborative art project with the group REBAR in San Francisco. What was one group’s side project has turned into a global phenomenon, as people across the continents have teamed up to take back the asphalt, if only for one day.

According to the group’s website, “The mission of PARK[ing] Day is to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of urban human habitat … at least until the meter runs out!”

PARK[ing] Day has since been adapted and remixed to address a variety of social issues in diverse urban contexts around the world, and the project continues to expand to include interventions and experiments well beyond the basic “tree-bench-sod” park typology first modeled by REBAR.

In recent years, participants have built free health clinics, planted temporary urban farms, produced ecology demonstrations, held political seminars, built art installations, opened free bike repair shops and even held a wedding ceremony! All this in the context of this most modest urban territory – the metered parking space.

Cincinnati has participated in the movement for the past four years with community members setting up in the Central Business District, Over-the-Rhine, and Uptown neighborhoods. These Cincinnatians have taken the few basic guidelines for PARK[ing] Day to create an open-source project and creation completely of their own making.

Last year UrbanCincy was on the scene as several parking spaces throughout Over-the-Rhine were transformed. UrbanCincy will once again be back this year with its own space (or two) outside of Park+Vine (map) from 10am to 4pm.  I hope you will come and join me at our little community space.

Cafe de Wheels will be just down the road at Court and Vine streets offering a free beverage, with the rest of their purchase, to those who mention PARK[ing] Day.  Get your food there and then bring it up to our urban oasis where we will have a couple tables, chairs, and more.  Plus at the end of the day, you can keep the fun going by helping Park+Vine move to their new location on Main Street at 6pm.

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Development News Transportation

Cincinnati officials select Vine Street route for uptown streetcar connection

City officials have announced that Vine Street has been chosen as the path for the Cincinnati Streetcar to reach the uptown area. The decision comes after a comprehensive study was conducted to determine which route would best connect downtown with uptown, while also best managing the steep hillsides there.

“Our direction from city council has always been to ‘connect the dots,’ but to do so in a way that was fiscally responsible,” stated Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney in a prepared release. “The Vine Street route accomplishes that.”

The Vine Street route is estimated to cost $20 million less in capital costs, offer $250,000 in savings annually in operations, pose fewer engineering challenges, and also offer greater options for future expansions than the West Clifton Avenue alternative. According to City officials, Vine Street and West Clifton Avenue stakeholders have been meeting to discuss the alternatives for months, and that the group had been informed of the final decision yesterday.

One of the primary objectives of the study was to determine how to best navigate the steep hillside leading to and from the uptown area. In this case, Vine Street’s maximum 6.7 percent grade scored much better than West Clifton Avenue’s maximum 8.9 percent grade. The project team said that while United Streetcar/Oregon Iron Works, Siemens, Inekon, Kinkisharyo, and Bombardier all could build modern streetcars to handle such grades, the preference was for engineering simplicity.

In addition to the engineering aspects, many streetcar supporters believe the selected route to get uptown will present greater opportunities long-term.

“The Vine Street route will offer the fastest service between Cincinnati’s two largest employment centers,” said Brad Thomas, Founder, CincyStreetcar.com. “The route also presents the greatest opportunity for future expansions including extensions west to Clifton Heights, north to Avondale and Corryville, or east to Walnut Hills.”

To date, the city has secured $114.5 million out of the total $128 million to build the entire first phase running from Cincinnati’s central riverfront to its uptown neighborhoods. The modern streetcar system will be the first of its kind in the Midwest and one of only three like systems in the United States. The first construction is expected to begin fall 2010 with the first passengers riding in early 2013.

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Month in Review

Month in Review – August 2010

Queen City Square

During the month of August, UrbanCincy published several articles laying out a long-term vision for the city.  David Cole compared Cincinnati to Chicago, pointing out what we should—and shouldn’t—learn from our neighbor to the northwest.  Jake Mecklenborg analyzed the Eastern Corridor rail plan and explained why it might not currently be the best plan for Cincinnati.  Randy Simes reported on Cincinnati’s success in completely remaking its riverfront, and criticized Peter Bronson’s piece attacking The Banks and the Cincinnati Streetcar.

UrbanCincy’s top 5 articles for the month of August were:

  1. Unraveling the urban differences of Cincinnati and Chicago
    The first and most obvious difference between Cincinnati and Chicago is one of sheer scale. While driving through Indiana on the way to Chicago from Cincinnati, the transition from rural cornfields to suburban sprawl began while I was still a good 40 miles away from the Chicago Loop. Here in Cincinnati, 40 miles in any direction from Fountain Square would be considered far into the hinterland.
  2. Breaking down Cincinnati’s Eastern Corridor passenger rail plan
    At first glance it would appear that implementation of commuter rail service on the Oasis Line should require nothing more than the purchase of commuter trains and the construction of a connection between the end of active tracks and the Riverfront Transit Center. Unfortunately, the poor condition of the existing track limits traffic to a maximum twelve miles per hour.
  3. Jean-Robert’s Table to open in downtown Cincinnati August 10th
    Unanticipated construction delays, and personal reasons pushed back the original opening of Jean-Robert’s Table for the famed Cincinnati chef. The new restaurant is Jean-Robert de Cavel’s first since parting ways with long-time restaurant partners Martin and Marilyn Wade.
  4. Cincinnati’s dramatic, multi-billion dollar riverfront revitalization nearly complete
    Several decades ago Cincinnati leaders embarked on a plan to dramatically change the face of the city’s central riverfront. Aging industrial uses and a congested series of highway ramps was to be replaced by two new professional sports venues, six new city blocks of mixed-use development, a new museum, a central riverfront park, and parking garages that would lift the development out of the Ohio River’s 100-year flood plain.
  5. Cincinnati’s old money attacks the future with the promise of a failed past
    What was interesting about Bronson’s story is that he took a platform for which he enthusiastically touted the new tower and how it was accomplished, and turned it into an opportunity to lob attacks at other major projects like the Cincinnati Streetcar and The Banks development along the central riverfront. It took Bronson no more than eleven sentences before he dove head-first into his attack of both projects.
Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Cincinnati needs its own version of ‘Little Big Berlin’

These types of videos have become all the rage lately, and rightfully so. They are simply stunning in their production quality and the overall content they capture.

Little Big Berlin does a particularly good job capturing the human element found within cities. The video showcases Berliners functioning within their city. Many of the scenes are playful, but others are just typical day-to-day functions made intriguing by the essence of this videography.

The video utilizes “tilt-shift” to create the miniature effect, and is set to the music of “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” by Franz Liszt. I do not know how to achieve this kind of product myself, but I do know that someone in Cincinnati needs to do this for our city.

Categories
Development News Transportation

City adding bike lanes to Central Parkway, Spring Grove Avenue, Linn Street

As summer draws to a close, Cincinnati city officials will be installing several miles of new dedicated bike lanes and sharrows. According to the Cincinnati Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE), crews have already introduced bike lane symbols along Spring Grove Avenue, between Crawford Avenue and Mitchell Avenue, and will be completing the separation line later this week.

Other city streets to be improved later this summer include Central Parkway, between Brighton Place and Hopple Street, and Linn Street from W. 6th Street to Gest Street.  In total, the projects account for approximately two-and-a-half miles of new bicycle facilities.

“We know that Spring Grove Avenue is already a major bicycling corridor, and we hope that the addition of bicycle lanes will encourage even more people to try using a bicycle for casual trips,” said Curtis Hines, Spring Grove Avenue project manager.

According to Hines, the timing is perfect as all of the streets receiving the new bike lanes and sharrows were already scheduled for routine maintenance work.

“We’re committed to building streets with all users in mind, so we plan to continue incorporating bike lanes in as many street improvement projects as possible.”

The new bike lanes and sharrows come shortly after Cincinnati City Council approved dramatic new bicycle policies that include new safety regulations, parking requirements, and a comprehensive Bicycle Transportation Plan that calls for 445 miles of on- and off-street bicycle facilities to be installed by 2025.