When can you tell enough is enough? Is there any hope for our nation if there isn't constant growth? These are the questions I find myself asking when I read stories like this.
Cincinnati Mills, one of the largest retail centers in the region, has seen store after store shutter. This comes after millions of dollars of reinvestment into a massive mall sandwiched in between two others along a mall interstate of sorts.
It really makes you wonder (at least me), do we really need all of this retail space. The same can even be said for urban environments where seemingly every new renovation project, in a mixed-use built area, seems to call for street-level retail with residential or office space above. I suggest that we return the area, where Cincinnati Mills sits, to a natural state. That is obviously an extreme proposal, but at the very least tear down that mall (said in my best Ronald Reagan voice) for some other/better use.
This region is growing much slower than our retail space is expanding...and it seems obvious that the retail locally (and nationally) can not sustain itself by the free market alone. It seems to me that the best alternative would be to let struggling retail space ride off into the sunset. This would allow for values to rise at other retail locations, and we could begin the process of ridding ourselves of our excessive retail space...and who knows, maybe even our over-consumerism.
How long have you been a reader of UrbanCincy?
The retail over-saturation problem
CPS enrollment better than expected
As much bad news as inner-city school districts typically get, Cincinnati Public Schools keeps the positive news coming. In January CPS was profiled on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight show for their improved graduation rates and by eliminating the achievement gap between white and black students.
Photo by Randy Simes - Withrow High SchoolThe news out today is that enrollment numbers are higher than original projections by State demographers. Maybe this is another indicator supporting Cincinnati's claim that population projections, for Cincinnati, are actually higher than projected. It might also be a sign of CPS' improvement and the move back towards public schools by younger families. In either scenario the news is good news.
Bottom line, the excuses for not living in the City continue to go away in Cincinnati.
Related readings on UrbanCincy:
Cincinnati Public Schools making the grade
Get off the juice
Around the Cincy Blogosphere
Aren't quite sold on streetcars yet? Well if that's the case then check out some pretty convincing reasons as to why not to hate the proposed Cincinnati Streetcar.
You can also check out some MuralWorks action happening along Race Street Downtown. Maybe after that you should start planning on where you're going to spend your tax rebate. It might also be time to stop in and say goodbye to a friend.
And since we're in Cincinnati and all, be sure to check out the flying pigs as well.
*You can find links to these great blogs and much more over in UrbanCincy's blogroll in the left column on the site.
Get off the juice
Gas is $3.65/gallon around many parts of the metro, and even higher in other parts of the country. As a result people are starting to combine trips, rethink purchasing that Hummer, and are generally looking for ways to cut their consumption - which is great.
At the same time politicians in DC are doing what they do best which is pretending as if they care about reducing our dependence on foreign oil. $3.59 sounds like a lot, but in reality it is still not high enough to cover the costs of maintaining our beloved road system. State DOTs, across the country, are going bankrupt and the feds are going to be hitting the red very soon.
The rise in prices is simply going to the foreign nations that are providing us the drug that fuels our addiction. At the same time our infrastructure is literally crumbling and we seem to have no backup strategy as to how to deal with modest gas prices (when compared to other developed nations at least).
So what's an average citizen to do with these soaring gas prices and miserable economy? The answer is not pawning off your gold to pay for more gas. I would suggest moving closer to where you work, riding Metro (if possible), or carpool. These are all obvious solutions, but it seems that the location one gets overlooked quite a bit and is the one that can/will make the biggest impact.
Given that most people in this region work either Downtown or Uptown, I would suggest moving into the City of Cincinnati. Crime has been dramatically reduced over the past few years, Cincinnati Public Schools are poised to be ranked as 'Effective' (comparable to most suburban school districts), and there are numerous tax
abatements available to avoid property taxes entirely in some cases up to 20 years...and you could save a lot money on your commuting costs.
Transit Options for Cincy:
Cincinnati Streetcar
Metro
TANK
Light Rail Now
Streetcar passes FC, poised to pass Council
There was an emergency Finance Committee session held today at 9am to hear the compromise motion put forward from Mayor Mallory. This motion puts forth everything that was presented in the original study (Downtown/OTR Circulator route), but also includes the connector piece to Uptown. Essentially the connector piece is now included with Phase 1 and will be built at the same time...adding an additional $35M to the project cost that must be secured now prior to the start of construction.
There was lengthy discussion and John Cranley belabored the finance portions of the plan. Qualls seemed to ask a few questions just to get the responses 'on the record' from City Manager Milton Dohoney and City Architect Michael Moore. Chris Bortz spoke in favor of the project and described this time as, "a time for Cincinnati to be bold."
Jim Tarbel was the only public speaker and referred to the streetcar project as, "the single most important development project right now and over the past decade." John Cranley made sure to quickly point out that he "respectfully disagreed" with Mr. Cincinnati and that he wishes the project success.
When all the dust settled the votes came in and it was a unanimous vote (7-0, Laketa Cole was absent). This will now go on to the full Council today at 2pm at City Hall. When it is approved there the project is given a green light and the legislative approval from City Council. The City will then be able to enter into negotiations with private entities to pay for portions of the project. The snowball has begun its proverbial journey down the hill. Be there at 2pm and afterwards there will be celebrations at City Cellars (908 Race Street) around 5:30pm.
Additional reading on UrbanCincy:
Clyffside, Streetcars, Moerlein...oh my
A challenge for those who demand better
Cincinnati is ready to GO
Cincinnati sleepy no more
Streetcars/Transit should be #1 priority for Cincinnati - Reader's choice
NIMBY Tip of the Month (4.08)
Support the inner-city.
Have you ever wondered why more suburbanites/exurbanites aren't more supportive of inner-city redevelopment, and urban living as a whole? Many of these people move out to say cornfield Butler/Warren County and then get upset when a bunch of other people do the same thing and ruin their good thing.
At the same time these are the first people you will hear chime in with negativity about the Cincinnati Streetcar, The Banks, or anything else going on in the inner-city. I would expect these types of people to be the biggest advocates for urban living and inner-city reinvestment. I mean after all, the more people that stay in the core the less that ruin their good thing, right?
I guess it all boils down to this. The people who live in cities generally like being around lots of other people (to a certain degree), and those that live out in the exurbs are typically the opposite. So all of you residents of Mason, West Chester, Lebanon, etc need to start being inner-city advocates...it will help to get more people in the city with those of us who want them, and it will keep more people away from your pristine suburban lawn. People helping people.
Image Credit:
Downtown West Chester Scares Me by Lookatme Shirts
Buy the Downtown West Chester Scares Me shirt HERE!
Accountability comes a knockin'
City Manager Milton Dohoney is at it again. The City has for too long let developers linger around and stall on potential development sites for a variety of reasons. Most of which aren't good enough reasons for me. Our city has reached the point where we no longer have to bend over backwards for developers. Instead it is about time they (private developers) start living up to their respective end of the agreement.
Dohoney's first bold manuever was to call out Eagle Realty on their lackluster development progress on 5th & Race. The City had essentially given Eagle Realty the land for nothing and simply ask that they develop something on an already cleared plot of land, and arguably one of the most prime pieces of real estate in the CBD. Dohoney said enough was enough, and informed Eagle that the City was taking away their development rights to the site.
Now on a much less prominent property, but equally as disturbing, Dohoney has once again taken the bold action of demanding that a developer live up to their end of an agreement. At 33 W. Fourth Street (corner of 4th & Race), the City gave a lease to MMF Realty with the expectations that they would redevelop this site. Well 3.5 years have passed and virtually nothing has occurred at the site.
In the mean time the City has heard from several other developers who are interested in developing the site themselves. Sounds like a win, win to me. Take this property off of MMF Realty's hands - who clearly doesn't want to do anything - and sell it off to another developer who is willing to do the job. It's great to have a City Manager like Milton Dohoney around who actually has the backbone to stand up for the City and say enough is enough.
Related readings on UrbanCincy:
Cincinnati's Mark Twain complex
A challenge for those who demand better
Keep the heart strong
Neighborhoods are what makes cities great, and strong/unique neighborhoods is one of Cincinnati's greatest attributes. With that said, those neighborhoods stand little to no chance at survival without a strong core...and in Cincinnati's case that couldn't be more true.
Cincinnati's center city is more important to the Cincinnati region more so than most other regions. The reason is pure and simple...a higher percentage of the region's jobs are in the core, and more so than in most regions (sans Pittsburgh, Boston, and a couple others).
We need to constantly work at maintaining our strong neighborhoods, but we can never lose sight of what enables those neighborhoods to be what they are. Cincinnati's center city is the economic engine that keeps our neighborhoods great.
It is understandable for neighborhoods to get upset over what they may perceive as special treatment towards the center city in terms of attention and investment, but really when we invest in our core (see streetcars) we are also investing in the rest of our great neighborhoods.
Photo Credit:
Celebration! by Alex Peppers
Part of the Capture Cincinnati collection
Fight the hypocrisy
The local media outlets have never been shy of notifying the public on how long it has taken to get things going on The Banks, nor have they been hesitant to smear every person/agency related to the project - attributing said delay to them. At the same time the many local naysayers and/or skeptics have been openly critical of politicians, government, non-profits, and even those who support reinvestment in our region's core. These same people and entities have not hesitated in questioning $25M in City money for a streetcar system in our region's core.
I do not have a problem with people who wish to keep things in check and/or question authority, but what I do hope is that these same people place the same amount of scrutiny on other things. If we are going to question $25M of public dollars for streetcars, then I surely hope that we question the $2.5B that will be spent on roadway projects this year alone. These roadway projects are not subject to public vote and are simply funded with little public debate or dialog.
Additionally as we all know, The Banks has been 9 years in the making...and the local media has had no qualms with pitting Nky v. Cincinnati in the past, so I hope this same level of scrutiny is passed along to another comparable project in Nky - Newport Ovation.
I applaud local leaders for their dedicated work on The Banks and the Cincinnati Streetcar project. These types of projects are not easily done and often times take many years to accomplish. Keep up the good work.
Photo Credit: Cincinnati Enquirer/Gary Landers
A challenge for those who demand better
Are you tired of the same old stall, do-nothing politics? Do you yearn for a day where
It should be noted though that this process has been stagnant now since October 24, 2007. It has been five months since any real action has been made by city council or the finance committee. In terms of inflationary costs alone this inaction has cost taxpayers roughly $2.12 million. John Cranley and Roxanne Qualls have been working very hard to keep this process from moving forward, and they have succeeded now for five months.
I urge you to demand change from our local leaders and let Cranley/Qualls know that you do not stand for the same old stall and do-nothing politics of old. These actions are costing the taxpayers money, city staff time and exhausting the many pro-bono efforts that have been made by local citizens.
If you stand for change let them know and share this message with as many people as possible. Let the politicians know that they aren’t going to grandstand/posture on the taxpayer’s dime. Let them know that the time for politicking is over, and most importantly, let them know that your support hinges upon this.
- Roxanne Qualls
801 Plum St. Rm 352
Cincinnati, OH 45202-1979
Phone: (513) 352-3604
Fax: (513) 352-3621
roxanne.qualls@cincinnati-oh.gov
- John Cranley
801 Plum St. Rm 356
Cincinnati, OH 45202-1979
Phone: (513) 352-5303
Fax: (513) 352-4657
john.cranley@cincinnati-oh.gov
Finance Committe Vote 3/24/08
Cincinnati City Council is poised to approve City Manager Milton Dohoney's plan to build the streetcar.
City Council's Finance Committee will vote at 1:00p on Monday, March 24th to approve the streetcar financing plan in principle and authorize the city administration to meet with private and other governmental partners to secure the remaining funds. If passed on Monday, the motion will be approved by the full City Council at its regular meeting on Wednesday, March 26th at 2:00p.
This process has taken a little longer than expected, but the extra due-diligence has strengthened the plan. The vote next week won't authorize the sale of bonds or the purchase of streetcars, but it creates the framework in which those things will happen over the next year or so. We're on track, so to speak, to have the first streetcar operating in 2011. Who knows, maybe we'll have the first car start running on April 29th, 2011 - that would be 60 years to the day when streetcars stopped running in Cincinnati.
WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE TO SHOW UP AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. Should this pass get ready for some celebration(s) Monday night.
Cincinnati City Hall is located at 801 Plum Street, and Council Chambers are on the Third Floor.
Hope to see you on Monday.
Bill Cunningham is a fool
A little while back you got the UrbanCincy stance on the trashy talk-radio in Cincinnati that unfortunately boasts someone as idiotic and simply rude/crude as Bill Cunningham. Instead of restating the same points I have already made...I'll let you check out what others are saying.
Cincinnati's Mark Twain complex
Is Cincinnati ready to shed the Mark Twain complex? That infamous quote seems to rear its ugly head too often, and unfortunately is seemingly reinforced by the moves/actions of local politicians, businesses and residents.
I’ve been called “viciously optimistic” about Cincinnati before, but I know when to call a duck a duck. The Banks is going to happen and it will be sooner rather than later, but it has taken us a decade to get this far. Cincinnati finally told Eagle Realty to take a walk after wasting years of time with the valuable 5th & Race location.
Cincinnati is on the cusp of a vote on the Cincinnati Streetcar proposal. This is something that many cities are looking into, but we are one of the furthest along in the development process. Cincinnati, yes CINCINNATI has the opportunity to do something that cities like Atlanta, Washington D.C., Portland and Columbus (to name a few) are all trying or have done the modern streetcar push.
Well what do you know…a couple of weeks before the Finance Committee is to vote on the proposal John Cranley publicized a 9-page list of questions – questions that have been answered by city staff and City Manager Milton Dohoney. These answers will be presented at the Finance Committee hearing on February 25th…however it seems VERY unlikely that it will budge Cranley on his views one bit.
To throw another wrench in the works, Roxanne Qualls suggests that another route altogether might be a better idea. You know nothing is more productive than waiting until 5 days before the hearing and suggesting that we start from scratch.
I won’t bore you with why the current proposal is solid, and why I think these politicians are simply employing stall tactics…but rather I will make the bold statement that Cincinnati shed this Mark Twain complex and start proving to our citizens that we can do big things, and we can do them quickly/efficiently.
Image Credit:
Twain With Pipe from the Kingwood College Library
With a face like this...
How can you not like polar bears. Well, Maurice Smith from Walton, Kentucky isn't a big fan. From the 2/14 Enquirer:
BUSH RIGHT TO PUT OIL ABOVE POLAR BEARS
Thank God President Bush is concerned about the supply of oil for our country. The radical global warming extremists are willing to destroy the entire country and our economy for the sake of polar bears, even though the polar bear
population is much larger than it has been for years. A major portion of the cost of a gallon of gas is to satisfy environmental extremists.
Maurice W. Smith
Walton
A Model for Regional Cooperation: The Library
The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County should serve as a great reminder of what this region can accomplish if it works together. They have everything you want--Books, CDs, DVDs, Children's Programming, et.al. Some people might complain there is no Blockbuster Downtown, but if there were it would be outgunned by a free public service.
The Library ranked as the 8th best system in the United States in 2006. It is also the ninth largest, in the country, in terms of total volumes.
Without a regional library, the citizens of Cincinnati would have a library with perhaps half the volumes, and the citizens of smaller outlying communities, like Addyston, might not even have a library at all. But through regional cooperation we have one of the best library systems in the country. Everyone benefits from the better services and lower operating costs of having a single library system for the county rather than 49 separate smaller libraries. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts.
Imagine how we could improve services and lower taxes, throughout the county, with greater consolidation. Instead of having the 56th largest city surrounded by minor municipalities, we would be the 13th largest city in the United States and the largest in Ohio; improving our national clout and the quality of life for all of Cincinnati-Hamilton County's residents.
Reducing Cincinnati's greenhouse gases
The City of Cincinnati has established a Climate Protection Steering Committee (PDF 48kb) to help the City figure out how it can be more environmentally responsible and to examine the City's Climate Action Plan.
Study results have shown that Cincinnati has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions since 2000, and is 6% more carbon efficient than the national average. That's great, but more can be done...MUCH more.
The newly established Committee has recommended that Cincinnati:"...reduce its GHG emissions by 10% by 2012 (short term goal); 40% by 2027 (mid term goal); and 86% by 2050 (long term goal)."
This long-term goal also falls in line with what most scientists consider the necessary reduction (80% by 2050) in order to stabilize the planet's climate at a "tolerable level." So how do we accomplish this...well the second highest source of GHG emissions, in Cincinnati, is transportation. At the same time Cincinnati has no rail transit
alternative for local/regional commuting patterns. It seems that it might be about time to start looking into such alternatives.
External Links:
Ohio Hub Plan (regional rail)
Cincinnati Lightrail
Cincinnati Streetcar
Graph Credit:
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Ohio Hub Plan Advocacy
All Aboard Ohio is the statewide advocacy group for regional high-speed rail, and they have now introduced a new online petition. Their goal with this is to, “forward the link to this online petition to every email address in Ohio leading up to our LegislativeSummit on April 30th.” Primarily what they're advocating for is the development of the Ohio Hub Plan.
Another thing you could do is write letters to your congressional representative and/or your related member in Senate. We need to bind together and work towards accomplishing this goal. Sign the petition, it literally takes about 30 seconds.
Cincinnati is ready to GO
The Growth & Opportunities Survey for the City of Cincinnati (aka GoCincinnati) has finally been released - all 98 pages of it. I will venture to say that the majority of people will not read the report, and if you do, it will probably consist of skimming...so I have taken the liberty of reading it for you, and here is my report on GoCincinnati.
The report seems to offer a two-fold solution. First, the City should focus on its strengths (i.e. walkable communities, urban areas, culture, etc) for mid/long-term growth strategies. Secondly, the City needs to eliminate the edge that currently exists for suburban communities over the city in attracting office/retail/residential growth.
The analysis is overall not flattering, but does report a stable industrial market that is holding strong against regional competition...and that with a little more attention could easily establish itself as the premier industrial market for a couple of categories (i.e. Flex/R&D space and Green Industrial Parks). There are currently only 18 green industrial parks in the nation, and the potential of turning Queensgate into one poses possibly the greatest opportunity, and the ability to position Cincinnati as, "a global leader in 'green development' via the rehabilitation of these spaces." (pg. 34)
The report also places a large emphasis on creating a multi-modal transportation system...which can be started with the streetcar proposal. The report states, "It is strongly recommended that the streetcar line be completed between Downtown, Uptown, and OTR in the 1st phase of its construction. There is probably no infrastructure investment that will have more long-term tax generation and economic development benefit to the city than this streetcar line." (pg. 40)
Another key area of emphasis is on converting obsolete office space, in the CBD, into non-office uses...primarily in the form of residential spaces. This would allow for rates to creep up and possibly create demand for new speculative office construction, additionally it would inject even more people into the center city.
One final key note of mine was the recommendation of a joint Cincinnati and Hamilton County development authority. The report proposes that it be called the Cincinnati USA Development Authority (CUDA). It is recommended that the operations of the Port Authority be expanded to include all of the city/county. It also noted that this expansion, of the Port Authority, has already begun during this report process.
For any more information you'll just have to read the report yourself...it's good for you. All in all, I find this to be fantastically informative and well done. This is something that Cincinnati should really embrace and attempt to position itself strategically for economic and population growth.
Full Report (PDF 4.97mb)
Image Credit:
www.cincystreetcar.com
Who's cutting these deals?!?
There have been a couple of troubling reports lately that have left me dumbfounded. The first was the report about the land on The Banks site controlled by the Freedom Center. I'll break it down for you real quick in case you missed it...Essentially the Freedom Center comes to town and Hamilton County officials just up and give them a patch of prime real estate directly in front of the museum. Furthermore, The Banks Working Group then promised the Freedom Center $1M for the property should the developers want it (and why wouldn't they).
Well what do you know...the developers wanted to use the prime real estate. So then Freedom Center officials say great, we'll take our $1M now. What I don't get is who in the heck ever wrote this deal...and why?!?! There were no contingencies, nothing. Luckily the Freedom Center decided to give it back out of good will.
The second is this news about the deal Hamilton County signed with Butler County for housing overflow inmates at the Butler County Jail. Essentially that deal forced Hamilton County to pay for 300 beds/night whether we used them or not. This bothers me doubly because Hamilton County leaders screwed the pooch on yet another deal, and Butler County officials knew they had Hamilton County at their mercy so they went for the throat. Shame on both parties for such poor and irresponsible leadership...whatever happened to the interests of the taxpayers...and what ever happened to regional cooperation?
BTW, I wonder if Hamilton County will give me some land that I've been eying out.
Image Credit:
CityBeat.com
Recycle Cincinnati
The City of Cincinnati has been working hard lately on improving the options for recycling in the city. One of the most recent efforts includes new recycling drop-off points throughout Downtown. Locations include the Main Library of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County on Ninth Street; the corner of Third and Butler streets; the corner of Third Street and Central Avenue; and the Cutter Street parking lot off Court Street. There is also a new recycling program for Bengals tailgating.
Did you also know that City of Cincinnati residents living in a single family home or an apartment building with less than 5 units can have a recycling bin delivered at no cost! You can request your bin by filling out an online form or by calling the City of Cincinnati at 591-6000.
In addition to these new locations to recycle the city also offers four drop-off locations for recycling. You can find out more information regarding acceptable items for recycling and the specific locations of drop-off points in the City of Cincinnati HERE! There is also a number of locations across Hamilton County that are drop-off points for residents.
Further Reading/Information:
Rumpke
Keep Cincinnati Beautiful
Live Green Cincinnati
Hamilton County Recycles
Cincinnati Freecycle
