Earlier this month Metro officials looked for public input on how to balance their budget and deal with potentially massive service cuts and/or fare hikes. After weighing the public’s input Metro officials have now come up with a proposal that will represent a 12 percent service reduction combined with fare increases to balance the budget that is facing a $16+ million shortfall.
“We listened to our customers, both at the public meeting on Oct. 2 and through surveys. Most were willing to accept a fare increase with a smaller service reduction, which is the option we are recommending,” said Marilyn Shazor, Metro’s CEO. “Our goal has been to preserve as much service as possible for our customers. But we’re facing a $16 million shortfall next year and the money only stretches so far. We are required by law to have a balanced budget.”
The fare increases, proposed by Metro, are subject to Cincinnati City Council approval, but if passed, will prevent a larger 20 percent service reduction which will save 1 million rides annually and 55 full-time jobs. The new proposed fare increases would result in the following:
Zone 1, base fare: $0.25 increase (Zone 1, City of Cincinnati)
Zone 2 fare: $0.40 increase (Zone 2, Hamilton County)
Transfer charge: $0.25 increase
Monthly passes: Increase monthly pass and Fare Deal sticker prices to reflect fare increases
Zone 1 pass discount: Eliminate the $5 monthly pass discount
Paratransit service would also be affected under the new proposal. Metro officials have not yet come to a conclusion, but the following options are on the table whether the fare increases are proposed or not.
ADA service only: Provide service only at the level required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (Access currently provides limited service to some “grandfathered” customers that goes beyond what the ADA requires)
ADA maximum fare: Increase fares to the ADA-allowable fare (twice Metro’s fare for a comparable trip)
Cincinnati’s new tallest building, the Great American Tower at Queen City Square, continues to climb upward as it now appears to be over the half-way mark in terms of total height. Meanwhile, The Banks is climbing above street level, the new street grid continues to develop, and the underground parking garages that will lift the development out of the flood plain are pretty much completed for phase 1 of the billion dollar mixed-use development. The first of the multi-floor residential buildings with street level commercial space should be rising within the coming weeks.
Here are a series of pictures taken over the last week or so of some of the progress being made on both developments happening Downtown. Aside from the few taken from the upper deck at Paul Brown Stadium, they are mainly a street view of where things stand these days.
Last week the city of Cincinnati announced changes to its current curbside recycling program. Members of City Council, Mayor Mallory and representatives from Rumpke and the Office of Environmental Quality gathered at the original LaRosa’s pizza location on Boudinot Avenue to make their announcement. In partnership with Rumpke Recycling, the City will now collect more items than ever before including all plastic bottle types (still no lids), jugs and pizza boxes (no leftover pepperoni or banana peppers please). Additionally, households can put out multiple recycling bins if their recycling needs exceeds the single green bin.
Download the list of acceptable recycling materials and guidelines to keep around the house or post for your tenants.
Please be sure to rinse out and dry all jars, jugs and bottles before placing them in your bin. Bottle caps are not currently accepted in the City recycling program, however, plastic lids (i.e. milk jugs) can be taken to any Aveda Institute for recycling. Metal lids (i.e. spaghetti sauce jars) can be recycled at any scrap dealer in the area who accepts steel.
For those residents who do not currently have curbside recycling services (households who have private trash service dumpsters) can collect their recyclables and take them to various recycling drop off locations around the city. Signage at the drop off centers will be updated within the next few weeks to reflect the changes in materials accepted.
Rumpke has not expanded these changes to the entirety of its service area. These changes are only reflected for the City of Cincinnati. According to Sue Magness from the Office of Environmental Quality, “Technically, the new sorting facility is still under construction and they are temporarily warehousing the materials. So Rumpke will expand as new contracts are established (as in the case of the City), or after the installation of the “state of the art” equipment is complete.”
The announcement comes on the heels of tumultuous budget discussions that backtracked on a funding promise that would have provided new larger recycling carts for Cincinnatians and gotten the city started with a RecycleBank program that rewards users for the amount they recycle. Those upgrades to the City’s recycling program would have paid for themselves almost immediately through the higher payments the City would have received from Rumpke Recycling for higher recycling volumes.
Cincinnati Recycling Program Announcement photograph by Jenny Kessler.
This Week in Soapbox (TWIS) you can read about fundraisers being held this week for Over-the-Rhine Community Housing and Northside urban redevelopment corporation, a new study with positive economic results for Mt. Auburn, a new art gallery and studio space in Covington, two brothers working in OTR on interesting rehab projects, and the potential to revive the Interstate 75 urban landscape as it is reconstructed in the coming years.
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!
When you have a chance there are also two really great feature articles in this week’s issue. Matt Cunningham writes about home grown food movement happening in Cincinnati, while Feoshia Henderson writes about Cincinnati’s energy alliance that is making “green” benefits, economic gains.
TWIS 10/27:
Over-the-Rhine Community Housing uses fundraiser for diverse development – full article
New Mt. Auburn study shows great potential for Uptown – full article
Northside redevelopment corporation seeks funding to continue affordable, green development – full article
Pike Street art gallery reopens as The BLDG with fresh new approach – full article
Urban Design Associates to create vision that will revive Cincinnati’s I-75 corridor – full article
C.A.R. Construction’s latest project in OTR celebrates history, passion – full article
UrbanCincy recently had a chance to catch up with a new friend of ours that we met back in early September at a lunch over at Findlay Market. Andrew Bench is brand new to town and has seen quite a bit of the developments in rail transit first hand around this country of ours. He has worked in the rail transit industry for twelve years and has been in construction for a total of two decades. He has had a chance to settle into Cincinnati over the last six weeks since we last saw him, and we were interested to check in with him and get his initial observations about his new surroundings.
Living in Downtown Cincinnati – It’s amazing how small the city blocks are here especially compared to the last city I was in (Salt Lake) which makes the urban core so walkable. Five blocks here is about the same distance as two and a half blocks in Salt Lake. I do find it frustrating that there are no easy grocery options in downtown. I don’t always have a car and aside from the Over-the-Rhine Kroger and Findlay Market there isn’t much else available. If even just the streetcar was in place I would be able to get on and ride it up there, and get to other options such as the Kroger at the University. A few years from now I’d be able to ride over the river to Kentucky. The options are endless really.
Regarding Rail Transit in Cincinnati – A phrase from the poem titled Maud Muller written by John Greenleaf Whittier sums up the whole situation. It says “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: “it might have been!” I think Cincinnati has the potential for a rail transit system that would spur redevelopment. Imagine a streetcar connecting neighborhoods to the core, light rail connecting the suburbs, and high speed rail for those trips to Columbus and even further.
An example of How it All Fits Together – We were in Portland for our annual meeting a few years back and we were waiting for the streetcar. Along it came, and it was packed, but everyone got out where we were because it was the MAX connector which is their light rail to the suburbs. Clearly people were using the combined streetcar and MAX to commute to and from work downtown. I was just in Portland earlier this year and there is still new development happening on the streetcar line ten years after the first phase opened up!
Salt Lake is More Progressive Than Cincy – The typical response is “NO WAY!” But they have a $2.6B program underway that is scheduled to be finished by 2015. It includes a mix of rail transit and after living there it is clear that they are thinking about the future, not just for right now. They are investing heavily in rail transit to solve problems and attract young folks to their city, essentially making sacrifices now for future generations. They fought and fought the light rail but now the cars are jammed pack and all the outlying cities not along the route are asking to be included.
About Issue 9 – Issue 9 is about options and if it passes the city will be crippled for years to come. It’s about all kinds of rail transit options for the city of Cincinnati which in turn could make the Metro more useful and profitable if it is paired up right to compliment the rail transit choices. Cincinnati really does have the potential for redevelopment and growth and need to look at this issue as if they are solving for future transportation problems for their kids.
Come out and help defeat issue 9 by joining a few of your UrbanCincy writers at the Cincinnatians for Progress phone bank at 1344 Vine Street tonight! Last week we had quite a crowd and hope for the same tonight! Just comment on the post if you want to join us. Please plan on bringing your own phone along though as there are only a few down there.
In the meantime, enjoy this video from our friends at Soapbox Media. Andrew let us know it was his favorite one of the all the No on Nine videos making the rounds.
