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News Politics Transportation

Cincinnati approves transition to solar-powered parking meters

Yesterday, Cincinnati’s city council unanimously approved legislation that will replace and upgrade parking meters throughout the city.

The legislation approves the City to move forward with a $1.7 million purchase of 1,400 individual solar-powered meters, and 50 multiple-space meters. The new electronic parking meters allow users to pay with credit card, while existing meters require users to pay with coins.


Solar-powered parking pay station on Court Street

The new meters will upgrade approximately 25 percent of the City’s 5,600 parking meters city-wide and 100 percent of the parking meters downtown where parking rates are now $2 per hour.

Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls’ office says that the new parking meters are expected to increase revenues and parking turnover. They say the increased revenue will come, in part, because a lot of people will now use credit cards to pay for the full two hour maximum, and because users will no longer be able to piggy-back off of previous time paid for at the meters.

Qualls’ office also believes the new meters will result in fewer people plugging the meters all day, and thus increase turnover.

The multi-space meters will function similarly to those currently found on Court Street and Second Street where users pay at a single pay station per block, then display a ticket on their dash board. City leaders envision that these pay stations will eventually be able to be used for issuing tickets for the Cincinnati Streetcar.

The investment is being funded through a parking revenue surplus, and was one of the recommendations to come from a 2009 study by Walker Parking Consultants that detailed actions the City could take to improve its parking infrastructure while also increasing parking revenues.

Court Street parking pay station photograph by Thadd Fiala for UrbanCincy.

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Arts & Entertainment News Transportation

CPA to lead walking tour of Cincinnati Streetcar route this Saturday

At one point in Cincinnati’s history, the city had the largest electrified transit network of any city its size in North America. A good deal of that network consisted of 220 miles of streetcars running all throughout the city, and now city leaders are working to introduce a modern streetcar system in Cincinnati.

The Cincinnati Preservation Association (CPA) would like to show off the proposed modern streetcar route to those interested, and discuss the positive impacts such a system would have on the city’s historic building stock.

“The city’s core neighborhoods developed along transit lines,” said Margo Warminski, Preservation Director, CPA. “They have the urbanity and great buildings people are looking for in cities today.”


Artist rendition of modern streetcar on Race Street in Over-the-Rhine.

Warminski says that at the recently held Cincinnati Neighborhood Summit speaker after speaker said the same thing about the important value of walkability and access to transit to improve neighborhoods. And the CPA believes that projects like the Cincinnati Streetcar help to promote that vision, while also presenting exciting revitalization opportunities.

“Over-the-Rhine has seen a lot of new investment in recent years, but it still has hundreds of vacant, condemned and blighted buildings at-risk of demolition,” Warminski explained. “While no one project can transform a neighborhood, people are already buying buildings and opening businesses along the proposed streetcar route.”

Those interested in participating in CPA’s Walk the Streetcar Route, can do so on Saturday, April 30 from 9:30am to 12pm. Margo Warminski will lead the walking tour, which will meet at Vine Street and Central Parkway (map), and show off the development opportunities present along the Cincinnati Streetcar route through Over-the-Rhine.

A $5 donation is appreciated, and go towards supporting CPA’s advocacy and outreach efforts that include the Gamble House, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Oakley Train Station, Village of Greenhills, monthly educational programs and other projects.

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Arts & Entertainment News

Landor Associates unites brands with local art inspiration

Landor Associates, the brand consulting and design firm located in the historic Shillito Building between the 600 and 700 block of Race Street, connected the creative flow within its company to iconic local artists to create a new window display series, titled SmashUP Creative.

Dramatic storefront windows, that overlook the busy downtown street, once housed the latest fashions within the Shillitos Department Store. But over the last year they have contained art installations created by Landor employees to help inspire them and help them think about their in-house brands in a completely new way.

“We use our windows as an opportunity to inspire our employees who create the displays, to engage the city of Cincinnati and to inspire all who pass by,” Landor employee Mara McCormick told UrbanCincy.

For this particular exercise the branding teams for Crest, Cheers, Sour Patch Kids and Old Spice were encouraged to brainstorm artists’ work that they admired, with the goal of using the work as a catalyst for a new brand strategy. The employees chose five extraordinary artists: Nuesole Glassworks, Visionaries and Voices map artist Courttney Cooper; street artists Higher Level Art, Kentucky designer Keith Neltner and illustrator Charley Harper.

The teams got inspired by the artists’ styles, and infused it into conceptual packaging ideas for their brands. Sour Patch Kids, for example, worked in elements of street art and illustration inspired by the work of Higher Level Art into their candy package design. Some designers were moved to create their own brand, Bugaboo; a line of grilling products with package design inspired by Charley Harper’s iconic animal illustrations.

The experience allowed us to connect with artists and the creative community. It opened our eyes to new styles and artistic techniques which we can apply our own design process. SmashUP Creative gave the teams an opportunity to step out of their cubicles and away from the office to discover the inspirational work of artists all around the city.

One of the Landor teams, for example, visited a studio loft where the late Charley Harper’s work is stored. They sifted through hundreds of archive pieces, some which had never been shared publically, and spoke with those who knew him. “We were grateful for the chance to learn about and get close to an artist who we greatly admire,” said McCormick.

Passersby are encouraged to not only check out the windows, but to also learn more about these local artists and the contributions they have made.

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News Politics Transportation

Hamilton County offering parking discounts at Central Riverfront Garage for carpoolers

The OKI Regional Council of Governments (OKI) is working with Hamilton County leaders to further incentivize carpooling into downtown Cincinnati. A new pilot program would allow those participating in OKI’s free RideShare program to park at the county-owned Central Riverfront Garage underneath The Banks for just $25 per month.

Those who park at the Central Riverfront Garage now have to pay $100 per month after Hamilton County leaders raised the rates by 25 percent. The first phase of The Banks includes 3,300 parking spaces. Future phases currently under construction will add an additional 4,300 parking spaces that lift The Banks development out of the Ohio River flood plain.


Interior of Central Riverfront Garage

Presently OKI’s RideShare program acts as a facilitator for those interested in carpooling to and from work. The program uses a database of 800 registered commuters to link interested individuals up with others who are looking to carpool.

Those interested in participating are able to register online, or call (513) 241-RIDE. The program also offers a guaranteed ride home offer that offers an 80 percent reimbursement of the cost of cab fare or transit fare home in the case of an emergency or unexpected overtime.

This new discounted parking incentive will be OKI’s first endeavor into offering financial incentive to use their RideShare program above and beyond AAA’s estimated 56 cents per mile cost associated with driving alone. If you are currently commuting to and from downtown along, will this parking incentive be enough to get you to utilize OKI’s RideShare program?

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Business News

Currito embarks on urban expansion effort throughout Cincinnati

Currito has announced that they will open two new locations this year in Evanston and Downtown, and an third independent restaurant in Over-the-Rhine called Bakersfield Taco Grill. The Cincinnati-based company already has locations in Clifton Heights and Florence, but their recent announcements mark a bold move into the urban frontier that they wish to call home.

“Downtown is experiencing some very positive changes, and we really want to be a part of the forward motion that is happening there,” Currito co-founder Joe Lanni told UrbanCincy last week. “We are committed to continued growth in this market, and downtown is the best place to gain exposure to people from all over the city.”

In the end, Lanni believes that the exposure these urban locations offer is invaluable to promoting the company’s overall brand and image identity.

The downtown restaurant will be Currito’s flagship location when it opens within the 3,074-square-foot space located inside the Mercantile Building (map). Lanni says that they have signed a 10-year lease on the space, with two five-year options.

Joe, and his brother John, will open up a new Currito location on Xavier University’s campus in Evanston this August before opening the two new restaurants in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine (map) this October.

“We are excited to have found a location that is central to the exciting events that happen on Fountain Square,” Lanni said about their future flagship location downtown. “We were very conscious about looking for a high-profile place to roll out our most current design in our home market.”

Once the Lanni’s complete their next wave of growth in Cincinnati, Currito will boast 15 locations in eight different states. The non-Cincinnati locations are managed through franchisees which the Lanni’s have overseen since they founded Currito in 2005. Stay up-to-date by following Currito on Twitter @CurritoBurrito, or by becoming a fan on Facebook.

Photograph of Currito’s Clifton Heights location by Randy A. Simes for UrbanCincy.