The tweets were blowing up about this the other night. Nice form and nice results, but I think the announcers are right. It’s going to be hard to live with Chad after this successful performance.
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Author: Randy A. Simes
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.
Signal timing can be a great thing. It can move automobiles and bicyclists more efficiently through the city while also providing for a safer, more predictable traffic patterns for pedestrians. In order to achieve this success and a safe right-of-way for automobiles, bicyclists and pedestrian then this timing needs to be done at the right speed. What is that speed though?
In New Haven, CT they are moving forward with a signal timing project that will keep downtown speeds there between 25 and 30mph. But many Complete Street advocates would argue that 25mph is too fast. Studies have shown that a pedestrian hit at 20mph has a 5 percent chance of death, while a pedestrian hit at 30mph has a 45 percent chance of death. These findings have led to many cities looking towards urban traffic speeds in the 15 to 20mph range (bicyclists travel around the 12mph mark).
Personal experience makes me say that posted speed limits do very little to manage speeds. Signal timing does seem to work out of the appeal avoided stop-and-go traffic. Urban environments, when well designed, also will naturally reduce traffic speeds in most cases. This is a reaction of mental comfort levels for drivers. When there are lots of people around, buildings and other structures close to the street, and plenty of things to observe drivers tend to naturally slow down – self-regulating in a way.
With that said there are streets in Cincinnati that are in need of reduced traffic speeds. Aside from the typical residential streets that people always seem to clamor for lower speeds, what streets would you like to see made safer for bicyclists and pedestrians by reducing traffic speeds? My top pick would be the Calhoun/McMillan network. The parallel streets are complimentary of one another and both have large pedestrian and bicyclist volumes. Due to their straight orientation, one-way traffic flow, limited traffic-calming designs, and lack of a completely built out urban streetscape the speeds are very high and very unsafe for anyone other than automobile drivers.
This weekend, both sides of the Ohio Riverbanks were bustling with festivals. The Black Family Reunion was happening on the Ohio side of the river, and the Great Inland Seafood Festival was happening on the Kentucky side. Having visited the Black Family Reunion festivities before, a visit to see what the KY side of the river had to offer seemed in order.
That being said, I was impressed that the vendors had such a varied amount of foods available. From the lobster rolls, to the coconut shrimp and the seafood medley, the spread had something for everyone. There were about 15 seafood vendors there, and all had multiple iterations of seafood available. I expected there to be Cajun food available, but was surprised to see not one but two Greek seafood vendors (I think from the same family).
There were other non-food booths there – folks selling sunglasses, a Skoal booth, and another tent had jewelry and knit items along with ice cream and sno-cones and of course there was plenty of alcohol for those who wanted it. There was also a music stage, and music was planned for much of the festival by a variety of acts including a Beatles cover band.
Photo from Midnight Special
When we showed up, it was towards the end of the night, and as the heat was dying, people were coming out to partake in the food. They had 1-pound lobsters for sale for $10.95, but (unsurprisingly) they sold out Saturday afternoon. The vendors really seemed to enjoy interacting with the crowds, and their booths all were decorated in a whimsical manner (pirate’s flags, giant fish on the signs, etc.). Maybe I don’t dabble in seafood nearly enough, but we did not see local vendors that we recognized other than Bella Luna. I’m not sure why Washington Platform, Bonefish or even Mitchell’s were not there, but my only guess could be that the extra expense would not be worth it to them financially.
Before coming out, I checked the local papers (City Beat, Metromix, KY Enquirer), and from what I could see there were no print ads for the festival, just mentions in the weekend calendars of events. Beyond those papers, I really didn’t see much advertising for this festival, which may have been due to the economy. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived the “Newport Ambassadors” had been sent home, so we really couldn’t get much info from them about the history of the festival.
Some of the long-time vendors there told me that the crowds were smaller this year, but that could have been due to multiple reasons. From what we were told, in the past it was tied to a boat festival on the Ohio River, and last year turn out was very good. However, the boat show was cancelled this year due to the economy, and it’s anyone’s guess as to if it will come back at all. If that’s the case, my vote would be to move this to either late spring or early fall – for me, the thought of buying fresh seafood in 90 degree heat just doesn’t appeal, and I LOVE seafood! Personally, I don’t understand the reasoning behind having a festival like the Great Inland Seafood Festival during the hottest month of the year.
As festivals go, this one was definitely a different one than many of the festivals we have during the summer. While the programming around it was pretty nominal (aside from live music), it definitely had a more relaxed feel than the Taste of Cincy and most of the other events in the downtown Cincinnati/riverbanks area. I feel like the folks there are the same kind who go to Jimmy Buffet concerts – real laid back and looking to have a good time. Maybe one visit is enough for some, but if anything go at least once for the fun vendors and atmosphere!
Tip if you go next year: If you go, you’ll pay at least 5$ for parking down by JB Fink’s. Since we biked, we didn’t have to deal with that added expense. If you were to drive to this, I’d advise going to park at the Levee (where it’s cheaper), and spending some time there either before or after the festival to make it worthwhile. Since this festival is a bit smaller than others, you could probably walk around, eat some food and leave probably within 1-2hrs if you don’t want to stay for music.
The City of Cincinnati announced yesterday that its yard waste collection service for residences and business owners has been canceled. The move comes on the heels of suspended discussions about the use of larger recycling carts, and reforms presented by City Manager Dohoney that would streamline and pay for a new waste collection system.
During the budget discussions in past weeks, many fiscal conservatives openly mocked the idea of investing in new recycling carts for City residents. The 64-gallon wheeled recycling carts would have put recycling on a comparable level to normal trash pick up in terms of capacity, but would have also cost the City a $3.5 million of upfront capital. The debate was quickly ended and the discussion about improving the City’s recycling program has been indefinitely suspended.
These are not the first of the items that have set waste collection and recycling back in Cincinnati. In November 2008, City Manager Dohoney proposed a new waste collection fee to help balance the budget, and went on to say that a $300,000 study of a automated trash collection system using trucks that lift cans with mechanical levers instead of having city workers do the heavy lifting.
Photo from the City of CincinnatiThe automated system would, in the long-term, save the City money as Dohoney reported that “we are averaging seven people out a month with some type of injury as a result of how we collect solid waste.” Dohoney went on to say that those injuries were costing the City approximately $1 million a year. Both this, and the trash collection fee, were met with heavy criticism as many did not like the idea of a new fee, for an otherwise indirectly paid for service through property taxes.
But as the politicians and community leaders continue to punt this issue back and forth the problems still exist. Cincinnati’s rates of recycling are far too low, the costs associated with trash collection are still too high, the efficiency of collecting trash is still not where it needs to be, and users still have no benefit to reduce their waste production.
The solutions are present. City Manager Dohoney’s proposal was a step in the right direction, but the adoption of a RecycleBank-style program would be another step towards reducing the production of waste and encouraging higher rates of recycling. A ‘Pay as You Throw’ (PYT) system would require users to pay for their waste collection based on the amount of waste they produce, something that would encourage lower rates of waste production and higher rates of recycling when paired with a RecycleBank-style program.
It is truly unfortunate to see long-term economic, social and environmental benefits cast aside due to the fear of an initial capital cost that is seen as either being wasteful or too much given the current economy. In addition to growing revenue streams, cities also need to find ways to improve their efficiencies for not only their customers, but their bottom lines. These kinds of actions would help avoid future personnel cuts the next time an economic downturn hits, and make city operations more responsive.
The results from these cuts will be seen quickly and easily as people will immediately start discarding their yard waste with their regular trash. The use of smaller recycling bins versus larger carts that are easier to use will continue to stack the deck against recycling over regular disposal that might be more convenient. The progress that Cincinnati has made on this front in recent years might just all be lost in one budget cycle.
Yard Waste Cancellation Details:
Beginning Friday, August 21, yard waste collection will be discontinued as a separate service. The City will maintain regular garbage collection and will pick up yard waste as a part of that, although City officials strongly encourage residents and business owners to find alternative means to discarding their yard waste (i.e. composting, mulching, yard waste drop-offs). If you have additional questions, or would like to find the Hamilton County yard waste drop-off location nearest you visit this website.
The City of Cincinnati’s Economic Development Department is reporting that Advantage IQ will be expanding their Downtown presence over the next three years by 40 percent.
The company currently has its offices in The Center at 600 Vine and will add the additional capacity there where it already employs 75 people. Advantage IQ is headquartered out of Spokane, Washington and provides expense management services for multi-site businesses.
The expansion was made possible by a job creation tax credit from the City of Cincinnati and the Ohio Department of Development. City officials say that a $1.1 million return is expected for the City in terms of the revenues generated from the new and retained jobs.