GoOTR 5k + Summer Celebration
The next big event will take place Saturday morning in historic Over-the-Rhine. The sixth annual GoOTR 5k will begin at 10am, and will raise money for the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce. While online registration has closed, those interested can still register in person today from 5pm to 7pm, 11am to 7:30pm on Friday, or immediately prior to the race on Saturday starting at 8:30am.

Festival-goers enjoy the 2009 OTR Summer Celebration. Photograph by Randy A. Simes for UrbanCincy.

The race is the first leg of the Cincinnati Triple Crown. The winner will receive a custom trophy from Rookwood Pottery and the rights to continue on their hunt for Triple Crown glory at the Hyde Park Blast and Downtown Dash.

The accompanying OTR Summer Celebration will take place immediately following the completion of the race along Vine Street between 12th and 13th streets. Officially starting at 4pm, the street fair will include local merchants and live music from Wussy, Josh Eagle and the Harvest City, Shiny and the Spoon, The Cincy Brass, Young Professionals Choral Collective, Pones Inc., and a special performance from the Blue Wisp’s Young Lions and their legendary jazz drummer Philip Paul.

Smale Riverfront Park Grand Opening
On Friday evening, city officials and community leaders will celebrate the grand opening of the first phase of the Smale Riverfront Park. The new park is the latest piece of Cincinnati’s central riverfront transformation. The completed first phase includes the area along Mehring Way between the Roebling Suspension Bridge and Great American Ball Park, and includes the Moerlein Lager House, an event lawn, multiple water features, monuments and the new Bike Mobility Visitors Center.

The bike center is seen another step forward for the city’s bike program after recently receiving an award from the League of American Bicyclists. The facility features bike rentals, shower stations, lockers and indoor bicycle parking, along with a knowledgeable staff at the center to perform bicycle repairs.

The grand opening celebration will begin at 6:15pm at the Schmidlapp Event Lawn, and will feature live music, free UDF ice cream, and a fireworks show at dusk. Those looking for a sneak peek of the new park can view the most recent construction progress video on YouTube.

While the discussion will be aimed at large economic trends, local business leaders see the conference as an opportunity to better position the Cincinnati region for additional foreign investment.

“While this conversation has been ongoing in our region, we are providing a platform for community stakeholders to connect and discuss how we can work to grow our skilled labor work force on both sides of the Atlantic,” EACC executive director Anne Capel stated.

Sites like the former Newport Steel property offer land for potential expansion of the region’s skilled labor workforce. Photograph by Randy A. Simes for UrbanCincy.

According to local business leaders, one of the ways in which the United States in general, and the Cincinnati region specifically, could improve is through better training and coordination between academic institutions and businesses.

“There is a great need for skilled manufactures like machinists and mechatronics,” explained HAHN Automation CEO, and EACC President, John Baines. “And a common complaint from European business leaders is that they can’t find this kind of talent.”

Baines went on to say that a key difference between Europe and the United States is the prevalence of apprenticeship programs. Such programs, he says, give Europeans a leg up in skilled manufacturing since, in some cases, people have been working in the fields since they were 13-years-old. Cincinnati-area business and community leaders are hoping that this year’s EACC conference will help change all that and close the gap between workforces.

“Skilled trade is a great way to go,” said Baines whose company opened its North American headquarters in Hebron, KY in 2001 and currently employs 50 people. “You are able to avoid debt by working while you study, and get both theoretical and practical experience.”

He says that the EACC is trying to encourage skilled manufacturing companies throughout the region to develop apprenticeship programs of their own, and hopes that academic institutions will stay up-to-date with technological advances and skills training needed by the industry.

The issue is so important to Baines and HANH Automation’s North American operations based out of Hebron, KY that he says the company is working on its own apprenticeship program that will hopefully be in place in no more than one to two years.

“I hope business leaders will walk away [from the conference] seeing the value in these apprenticeship programs,” Baines concluded. “It is important that community leaders appreciate the value of skilled labor and see it as a good career path. It’s a very respectable career with good pay, and an almost guaranteed job should you have the right training.”

The 2012 EACC Skilled Labor Workforce Conference will host more than 200 attendees today and will feature speakers from academic, public and private sectors. Keynote addresses will be given by Karen Eizey, director of the Skills for America’s Future program at The Aspen Institute, and Joerg Ernst, executive vice president of global business at Siemens AG.

“We are grateful that Gov. Kasich sees this project as an important investment for the economic development of our region,” Janson said Thursday. “Tolls are one of many funding options being considered, but until the funding plan is developed, there is not a preferred funding option.”

“Christian Moerlein was way up here,” said Greg Hardman, the managing partner of the $10-million restaurant and CEO of the revived Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. He raised his hand way above his head to indicate Moerlein’s standing. Lowering his hand to his belt, he said, “this is where the list of the other great brewers in town starts.”

Leaders say the award is as a result of the city’s ongoing efforts to add bike lanes, sharrows, dedicated bicycle parking to streets across the city, and frequently seek feedback from the bicycling community. The designation also illustrates a huge improvement since 2009, when the local community gave the city a “C” in its first bicycling report card.

Cincinnati officials announced today that a bike share feasibility study will begin in June and will be completed by August. Taipei bike share photograph by Randy A. Simes for UrbanCincy.

Since that time, City Council has passed a new bicycle safety ordinance requiring vehicles to maintain a three-foot passing distance when passing bicyclists, and banning cars from driving or parking in bike lanes. Additionally, the city’s Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) has been working to add bicycle parking at special events such as the Midpoint Music Festival and inside parking garages such as at Fountain Square.

Efforts by other organizations have also helped improve the city’s bike friendliness. Three local transit agencies teamed to offer free rides to bicycle commuters on Bike to Work Day in 2011, and non-profit Queen City Bike has offered a list of bicycle-friendly destinations across the region.

City officials and bicycling advocates also took the opportunity today to announce that Cincinnati will begin a bike share feasibility study for the region’s urban core. The process, officials say, will begin in June and be completed by August this year. The work will be done by Alta Planning+Design, which is the same firm that has developed and implemented bike share programs in Washington D.C., Boston and New York City.

“We’re honored to be included among America’s most bicycle-friendly communities,” said DOTE director Michael Moore. “The award, as well as the bike share study, shows the city’s continued commitment and investment to making bicycling a viable transportation option for our residents.”

Bike share programs utilize rental kiosks that typically host 10 to 12 bicycles available to anyone interested in using them. Bike share kiosks across the United States typically accept credit card payments, but best practices around the world allow users to utilize a payment card that is integrated with the region’s bus, rail, and taxicab networks.

Users are allowed to pick up and drop off bicycles at any kiosk location, unlike car share program which require drop-off at the same location as pick-up. Officials say that a website for the bike share program will soon be launched, and will offer those interested a place to learn more and provide their feedback on potential kiosk locations.

EDIT: The original version of this story incorrectly stated that Cincinnati was the only city in Ohio to receive the Bicycle Friendly Communities designation, when in fact it is one of three (Dayton, Columbus).

The first Cincinnati-area location to receive this enhanced Google Maps feature is Arnold’s Bar & Grill. The historic downtown establishment can be viewed in all its glory with users being able to examine bar and dining areas, along with the famous courtyard and second floor.

Google’s new Business Photos feature takes users inside businesses, like Arnold’s Bar & Grill, through their Google Maps platform.

“Instead of just passing by on Google Maps Street View, you will be able to walk right in and tour the entire place in full 360, just as you would in normal street view,” explained Arnold’s Bar & Grill general manager, Chris Breeden.

The photography work was done by Cincinnati-based Alias 360 Photos. The company, owners say, is a new offshoot from the more established Alias Imaging, and is a certified member of Google’s Trusted Photographer program.

To use Google’s new Business Photos feature, simply go to the street view in front of Arnold’s and double-click on the doorway. Once inside, you will be able to navigate the establishment in the same fashion you would a normal street view.

Google’s indoor, 360-degree views were first announced in May 2010. Any business interested in having their interiors photographed for inclusion can do so by applying online.

They’ll hear innovators from San Francisco to Songdo, South Korea, share stories of building smarter technology infrastructure, training, attracting and retaining talented young workers and creating a vibrant community of entrepreneurs. The meeting also lets local organizers Eric Avner and David Ginsburg spotlight how far our region has come since the men joined the group in 2004.

While those aspirations were well intentioned, they were also quite modest. Initial service would have had trains traveling at top speeds of 79 miles-per-hour between Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. In an effort to keep upfront capital costs low, simple stations were also proposed along the corridor’s length.

In a city like Cincinnati, which boasts one of the grandest passenger rail stations in the United States, the 3C Corridor proposal left Union Terminal off the map in order to avoid the costly approach into the station through the congested Queensgate rail yard.

Cincinnati’s famous Union Terminal serves light Amtrak service and museum-goers today. Photograph by Jake Mecklenborg for UrbanCincy.

America used to build big things. Ohio used to build big things. This, it appears, is no longer the case, and it makes one wonder if the United States is even capable of building inspirational and useful structures like the Miami and Erie Canal, Union Terminal, or Interstate Highway System again.

The fall from grace may not be as noticeable if it were not for the exact opposite trends playing out across Asia, where the economic scale is tipping.

Hong Kong’s $1.3 billion West Kowloon Terminus Station will serve as a dramatic entryway into the global city from mainland China. Renderings provided by Aedas.

In contrast to the modest, and failed, 3C Corridor, leaders in Hong Kong will soon realize an extension of China’s high-speed rail network into the heart of their city. A 16-mile link will be built from Hong Kong’s Kowloon district to the region’s border with Shenzhen.

Most notable is that the entire 16-mile, $8.6 billion stretch will be underground and terminate in what will become the world’s largest underground high-speed rail station. It is a critical link that will open up those on the mainland to Hong Kong via the entire 87-mile-long Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Link.

Passengers arriving in Hong Kong will not only be treated to a center city arrival at 124 miles-per-hour, but also an arrival to a truly inspirational structure meant to not only provide a critical service, but awe those exposed to it. The investments will halve the amount of time it takes to travel between Hong Kong and Guangzhou, and will be completed in 2015.

America has also been an inspirational place for people around the world, and America has always built and done things that inspire us all. It appears that current policy makers may be content with resting on those past successes instead of investing in the country’s future, and ushering the United States into another generation of global leadership.

The 10,000-square-foot restaurant will be the first stand-alone commercial tenant at The Banks, and will be located immediately in front of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center at the corner of Walnut Street and Freedom Way. Project officials say that the new structure will have an urban, industrial design featuring an open floor plan, exposed pipes, warm moods and stainless steel accents.

The Banks development has exceeded expectations in its first phase of development, and may soon break ground on phase two. Photograph by Randy A. Simes for UrbanCincy.

“Yard House will be a great addition to The Banks,” stated Scott Stringer, executive vice president at Carter, in a prepared release. “We are committed to making sure The Banks becomes a destination with unique entertainment and eating options. Yard House helps us recognize that vision.”

The restaurant was originally started along Los Angeles’ famed Long Beach waterfront nearly 16 years ago and has since spread across the United States to 38 select cities. In addition to this being Yard House’s first location in Ohio, it will become only their second Midwestern location with the other being located in Chicago.

The location is one of two buildable sites in front of the NURFC intended for restaurants, and will be located across from Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse which is currently under construction.

With phase one of development almost entirely occupied, speculation will now turn to when the second phase of construction will get underway. Cincinnati Mayor Mallory has already hinted that groundbreaking could take place this summer.

The counter-intuitive result is that cities that are doing well economically are able to pay for improved transit services whereas those with many economic problems — the ones where transit is often needed most — are left to cut operations dramatically. Thus regional inequities are reinforced.