Randy is an award-winning urban planner who founded UrbanCincy in May 2007. He grew up on Cincinnati’s west side in Covedale, and graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s nationally acclaimed School of Planning in June 2009. In addition to maintaining ownership and serving as the managing editor for UrbanCincy, Randy has worked professionally as a planning consultant throughout the United States, Korea and the Middle East. After brief stints in Atlanta and Chicago, he currently lives in the Daechi neighborhood of Seoul’s Gangnam district.
Hive13 has been settling in to their versatile Camp Washington space where the growing group has brought Cincinnati its very own hackerspace to life. This past Saturday the group hosted a party and open house where Soapbox Cincinnati was able to get a glimpse inside.
Shepard Fairey has already made an impactful and lasting impression on Cincinnati. Tonight the contemporary artist will be at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) for the opening night of his first museum retrospective and will display an “extensive exploration” of his 20-year career.
The retrospective is mounted in two parts – one at the CAC itself, and the other can be seen in several locations around the city in the form of mural projects. The CAC galleries will have around 250 pieces of Fairey’s work displayed ranging from his Andre the Giant piece to his iconic Obama HOPE image. Most notably though Fairey will display his brand new mural custom-made for the CAC’s prominent lobby space.
Fairey has also released an exclusive screen print (right image) of the world famous Zaha Hadid-designed Contemporary Arts Center which has been described as “the most important new building in American since the Cold War” by the New York Times. The limited edition screen print is available for purchase at the CAC.
The opening night celebrations will take place tonight at the CAC from 6pm to 11pm and include a cocktail reception, discussion with Shepard Fairey, and an opening party which will feature a DJ set by Shepard Fairey himself. The opening party is free and open to the public starting at 8pm.
This Week in Soapbox UrbanCincy has the following six stories that you must check out. Read about the changes happening in OTR’s Gateway Quarter, AIA’s Broadway Commons casino charrette, the new Twin Bistro in Covington, Daisy Maes Market’s new healthy program, Cincinnati’s ongoing urban planning, and the sustainability efforts in Cincinnati as led by UC.
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!
TWIS 2/16/10:
Parking just got a little tougher for students at the University of Cincinnati. Traffic Engineers from the City’s Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) have now eliminated on-street parking during rush hour commutes along Martin Luther King Drive heading between Woodside Drive (entrance to Burnett Woods) and Clifton Avenue (map).
The westbound stretch of roadway has been precariously without parking meters and is one of the most sought after off-campus parking locations for students at UC’s College of Business and College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning. While the eastbound side does have parking meters, the rates are extraordinarily low and are not on pace with nearby parking rates on-campus, in Burnett Woods, on other off-campus streets or garages.
The move comes after the City completely removed on-street parking from the both directions of MLK Drive between Woodside Drive and Jefferson Avenue, and is seemingly part of the larger effort to grow MLK Drive to a much more auto-oriented street than is currently present.
DOTE officials state that the new parking regulations are intended to “improve traffic flow” and “reduce traffic accidents” along the six-lane stretch of roadway. The new regulations prohibit parking eastbound on MLK Drive Monday through Friday from 6am to 9am and westbound from 3pm to 6pm.
Two years ago Cincinnati City Council member Chris Bortz proposed that the City should more intensely regulate advertising benches seen placed along Cincinnati’s sidewalks. The intent of Bortz’s effort was to clean up the city’s streets by ridding them of these often unsightly bench billboards that bring in around $900 a year per bench.
After Bortz’s proposal took effect the City removed some illegal bench billboards that were not properly permitted and paying the $30/year fee to the City for using the public right-of-way. With more than 1,000 of these benches located across the city there is a huge revenue opportunity being missed.
The problem is that these bench billboards are often not well maintained and create an unappealing aesthetic where they are located. Many of the benches located near bus stops tend to collect trash which then must be managed by the City. When Bortz discussed the issue in 2007 he stated that he would like to see the benches replaced with “rod iron” style benches that would help clean up the appearance around bus stops and the city’s neighborhood business districts.
Bench Billboard photograph by Jake MecklenborgThe issue is one that closely aligns with First Amendment rights, but a recent Federal Court decision that found a new right-of-way encroachment ordinance in Covington constitutional gives the issue new life. The court ruled that Covington can regulate items such as advertising benches, vending machines, and newspaper stands to meet certain size and aesthetic standards.
“This is a great step in the right direction that helps the City reduce sign pollution and encroachments in the public right-of-way,” said Covington City Manager Larry Klein. “The ordinance allows the City to continue its beautification efforts, and ensures that the public can traverse City sidewalks safely.”
Local governments can carefully craft content-neutral without the fear of acting unconstitutionally. When doing so the government must regulate in a way that does not involve the suppression of speech and violate the First Amendment. The government must also illustrate that the law serves an important objective (like aesthetics according to the Covington ruling) and is crafted in a way that allows for alternative means of communication.
Cincinnati should regulate bench billboards and other items placed in the public right-of-way more heavily. At the very least the City should charge more for the use of their valuable real estate to capture a greater revenue stream. Policies that move Cincinnati forward in such a direction could steer the way for more aesthetically pleasing benches and newspaper stands, and help accomplish the very things City Council member Bortz outlined in 2007.