Categories
Development News Transportation

Officials Break Ground on New West Side Transit Hub at Glenway Crossing

Community leaders gathered with local transit officials and representatives from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) last Monday to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new west side transit center.

The Glenway Crossing Transit Center will serve as the major connection and transfer point for several local and commuter bus routes. Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) officials say that they will announce those routes later this summer. Furthermore, the construction of a west side transit center is a part of the transit agency’s larger effort to build more transit centers throughout the region and capitalize on ridership growth on express bus routes.


Glenway Crossing Transit Center [Image Provided].

In June 2011, Metro announced that it would add express bus routes to Cincinnati’s western and northern suburbs by cutting service elsewhere. The difficult service decision was forced after then newly elected Governor Kasich (R) cut $70 million from express bus route funding for Ohio’s transit agencies.

The Glenway Crossing Transit Center (map) will cost approximately $624,000 to build and will be located in the parking lot for the Glenway Crossing shopping center. The key west side location was previously home to a collection of rail lines that were vacated and cleared to make room for the Glenway Crossing retail development which has seen spotty success, at best, since its opening two decades ago.

Once complete this fall, the new transit center will include four bus boarding areas, passenger shelters, 70 park and ride spaces and electronic real-time arrival displays.

Metro officials say that the majority of funding for the project came from federal sources including the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, Surface Transportation Project (STP) and Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality funds made available through the OKI Regional Council of Governments. The region’s next transit center is anticipated to be located uptown near the University of Cincinnati and medical district.

Categories
News Opinion Transportation

The time is ripe for a central intercity bus terminal in Cincinnati

Megabus is experiencing tremendous ridership growth throughout the Midwest, and is working to expand their intercity bus service to and from places like Cincinnati. In 2010 the company experienced amazing growth of 65 percent and now records $100 million in business annually on 135 buses to 50 different U.S. cities daily.

The growth has been so profound that the company has spawned the “Megabus effect” which is driving up ridership for providers such as Greyhound and BoltBus. And cities all across the U.S. are scrambling to offer prime locations for Megabus to utilize.


Megabus picks up passengers at 4th & Race Street in downtown Cincinnati – Photograph by Thadd Fiala for UrbanCincy.

The European-based company prides itself on its low fares, and does so in part through its low overhead. The intercity bus service accomplishes this by picking up and dropping off passengers along the street. Thus no facility or overhead costs are needed for their operations, but passengers must deal with inclement weather and lack of waiting area typically provided at other transport facilities.

Greyhound historically located its facilities on the edges of downtowns in otherwise rundown areas. This model is changing though as Greyhound attempts to attract new choice riders to its operations. The new Greyhound Express services include buses similarly equipped to Megabus and BoltBus.

Fortunately for Cincinnati, city leaders have an underutilized piece of infrastructure built beneath 2nd Street. The $18 million Riverfront Transit Center (RTC) was completed in 2002 as part of the reconfiguration of Fort Washington Way (FWW), and has sat there rarely used ever since. Its presence presents the opportunity for Cincinnati to create a consolidated bus terminal in the heart of its urban core without negatively impacting the quality of life of those around it.


Riverfront Transit Center interior photographs by Ronny Salerno.

The opportunity of both bus service providers being able to locate within a consolidated, covered and modern facility in the heart of Cincinnati’s downtown would seem to be attractive. Passengers could wait inside and out of the elements; hotels, shops and restaurants would greet arriving passengers above at The Banks; easy access to local bus and streetcar service would be available, and the providers would have a protected area to park their buses.

Meanwhile, the city would be able to finally utilize one of its most unique pieces of infrastructure. Future bus service providers could also tap into the RTC until capacity is reached. This would allow the Queen City to have a centrally located, consolidated intercity bus terminal convenient to travelers and beneficial to service providers.

Financing of maintenance costs would have to be determined, but a deal on Greyhound’s land and some sort of a license fee agreement with Megabus and others could be reached to help offset costs.

Building the RTC today would most likely prove to be cost prohibitive. Fortunately, city leaders had the foresight to build this piece of infrastructure beneath 2nd Street. City leaders should move to free the already congested 4th Street of Megabus operations, open up land adjacent to the city’s new casino for future economic development, and establish a center that will facilitate the addition of other intercity bus service providers.

Categories
News Opinion

Beat the heat by cooling off along the Ohio River

Cincinnati’s string of parks along the Ohio River makes for a pleasant way to cool off during the hot summer weather thanks to the softscapes, water features and cool air off of the river. UrbanCincy contributing photographer Thadd Fiala is well know for his almost daily strolls along the Ohio River. During those walks, he often captures interesting scenes of Cincinnati’s waterfront parks.

If you are looking for some relief from Cincinnati’s 90-plus-degree weather this upcoming week you may want to take a page out of Thadd’s book and head down to the riverfront for a stroll. Be sure to get over to The Banks and check out the progress being made on the Smale Riverfront Park which will become the most recent addition to the miles of parks along the city’s urban waterfront.


Riverboat cruises along the Ohio River [LEFT], and children cool off at the Otto Armleder Fountain at Sawyer Point [RIGHT]. Photographs by Thadd Fiala.

Categories
Development News

Date to offer intimate dining experience on Main Street

[This story was originally published in the Cincinnati Business Courier print edition on July 8, 2011. Visit the original story for more comments, thoughts and opinions on Over-the-Rhine’s newest homegrown restaurant – Jenny.]

Shayla Miles and Steven Shockley are inviting Main Street on a date. Their new restaurant, slated to open in September, is seeking to create a welcoming atmosphere for diners to more fully understand and appreciate good food at a good price in the quickly developing neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine.

The two envision a “transparent chef’s-table experience” with 25 seats at eye level with the open kitchen and a rotating, playful menu that capitalizes on pocketbook friendly, healthful food.

“I’m never again going to cook in a restaurant that my friends can’t afford to try,” says head chef Shockley, who has worked in kitchens in upscale restaurants in Chicago, locally was the sous chef at Chalk Food and Wine, and most recently head chef at Maribelle’s Tavern. This is his first restaurant ownership experience.

With 750 square feet, 25 seats and four employees, Date promises to connect customers to their food, their servers, and to each other.

“We’re striving for a pan-cultural, pan-economic experience, where you can get a great meal for under twenty dollars,” says Shayla. “It will be like the dinner version of Tucker’s [diner], where the owners are cooking your food and serving it to you themselves, and everything is open. Anybody can feel comfortable and have a positive, guilt-free dining experience.”

Shockley and Miles brought a “First Date” sample menu for patrons at Neon’s Unplugged to try over July 4th weekend, which was well received. The day’s food included a cannelloni bean dip with sumac and Bourbon Barrel maple syrup, dirty rice with Kroeger and Sons duck sausage, and a curried couscous, crab and cucumber pilaf. The Date Nights will continue until the restaurant is ready to open its doors.

The restaurant itself will feature a nine item, weekly rotating menu with a limited selection of high quality craft beers, wines and upscale non-alcoholic drinks that will pair well with the food offerings. Hours will be Tuesday through Saturday, from 11am to 2:30pm for lunch, 5pm to 11pm for dinner. The owners say that there will also be late night offerings Thursday through Saturday until 2:30am, and a Sunday brunch menu.

“With a small business, you have to be passionate enough to put in the long hours and make it work. I’ve been around Steven a long time – this guy gets passionate about Brussels sprouts. If he can get that way about Brussels sprouts, think of what he can do with the all the other ingredients out there in his own restaurant,” explains Michael Maxwell, owner of Market Wines at Findlay Market. Both Miles and Shockley work at Market Wines, and Maxwell has been a friend and mentor as they have embarked on this endeavor.

While the two have chosen a location in the 1300-1500 block of Main Street, the exact address is still undisclosed, due to the challenges they are facing with negotiating a building lease that will fit to their needs.

“There are historic preservation guidelines that are a challenge when restoring an old space,” says head chef Shockley. “We want to be around for a while, and we want to make sure we do the space right. These [historic spaces] can be cost prohibitive for small business owners – between the countless inspections, preservation guidelines, and even tension between building owners, we have to pick and choose our battles in order to not blow our budget.”

The duo is excited to create a place that they and others have been longing for in Over-the-Rhine. “Main Street is this haven for all sorts of new energy and entrepreneurial spirit” says Miles. “It’s a community anchored and supported by its small businesses. Businesses are thriving, having fun, creating community – it thrives off itself. Something is going on in Over-the-Rhine that is very different, and we’re trying to do that with food.”

Photograph of Shayla Miles and Steven Shockley by Brent Schwass for UrbanCincy

Categories
Development News

Significant visual progress being made at Smale Riverfront Park

Major progress has been made on Cincinnati’s new central riverfront park since project manager Dave Prather last delivered an update. Thanks to a $20.75 million private donation, the park is now named the Smale Riverfront Park in honor of Phyllis W. Smale and her family who donated the large sum of money.

The Smale Riverfront Park now also appears poised to host portions of the decommissioned USS Cincinnati submarine which has long been sought for display on the Ohio River. Furthermore, Prather says that an announcement will soon be made on a new hotel to be constructed adjacent to the park as part of The Banks development.

In Prather’s video update he also highlights the progress on the Moerlein Lager House which now includes a tower crane as vertical construction progresses, and the Schmidlapp Event Lawn which is nearly complete.

Surrounding the event lawn are mature Red Maple trees which were purchased by Cincinnati Parks two years ago and prepared for planting. The event lawn itself is largely complete and is awaiting final granite installation and the shade structure for the event stage which will include photovoltaic solar cells atop it.

The demolition of the old Merhing Way has also been completed along with the demolition of the former wall along the Ohio River. The result of those two demolition projects, Prather says, is now improving the visual connection with the river.

Other notable updates are that the Walnut Street Steps are taking form and are aligning with Walnut Street. The steps will then connect activities at the upper level of the Smale Riverfront Park to those lower at the Women’s Committee Garden. Prather also says that the slab for the interactive will be poured soon, and that the cascading water feature spilling down from a glass overlook will also take shape in the near future.