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Business News Transportation

Could streetcars be manufactured right here in the Midwest?

On July 1 the United States celebrated the completion of the first American-made streetcar. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood was in Portland to celebrate the moment.

The Infrastructurist points out that Oregon Iron Works felt like they could be profitable producing the modern streetcars, and feel that they are already producing a superior product than what is being produced overseas. CincyStreetcar says that this event illustrates two important issues.

“The first is that public transportation is not a partisan issue; both sides of the aisle benefit from increased public transportation. The second is the progress other cities around the country are making with increasing their transportation options and the positive returns on their investments.”

When examining this news one could also speculate on what this could mean for Cincinnati as it develops one of the first streetcar systems in the Midwest region of the United States.

Last month when the City announced the selection of the development team that will help finance, plan, design, construct, operate and maintain Cincinnati’s modern streetcar system they also announced that Cincinnati Streetcar Development Team partner, Stacy and Witbeck Inc., will be opening a new office in downtown Cincinnati and will also be relocating their executives to Cincinnati specifically for this project.

First American-made streetcar in Portland, Oregon – image from United Streetcar, LLC

Could the same also happen in regards to the production of streetcar vehicles in a state and region that was built on manufacturing and could easily produce streetcars with the existing infrastructure and talent in place here?

Columbus and Cleveland have recently examined streetcar systems for their cities. Milwaukee recently received tens of millions of federal dollars to build a three-mile modern streetcar system in their city that is being seen as a started line to a much larger, city-wide system (similar to Cincinnati’s effort). St. Louis and Minneapolis currently boast light rail that has vehicles similar to streetcars and could potentially be produced on the same line. Indianapolis is working on a light rail system there that would also fit into this category.

With all of these existing and future systems in the Midwest, it would seem reasonable to have a manufacturer for those vehicles right here. Could Cincinnati or Ohio attract such a firm, or grow one of their own so that it starts producing streetcar and light rail vehicles in one of the many plants we have that used to produce automobiles?

Categories
News Politics

UPDATE: White House meeting on the state of urban America

As was posted earlier today, President Obama addressed a meeting at the White House today that discussed the problems and opportunities of urban America. There has been a good amount of press coverage on the national scene, but unfortunately our local newspaper came up short. The Enquirer did, however dedicate staff time to developing a Harry Potter quiz for readers to take. I wish I were kidding…

See here for a comment from the White House, including some of the President’s remarks.

Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson

Categories
News

"I’ll believe it when I see it…"

Construction at The Banks, Queen City Square and Central Riverfront Park all making significant progress
Categories
News

White House Office of Urban Affairs holds conference today

According to this article in the Washington Post, the White House is hosting a day long conference today about the future of American urban policy. Heads of relevant departments and agencies will attend, and the President is expected to give remarks as well.

In February, President Obama created the Office of Urban Affairs (OUA), and selected Adolfo Carrión Jr. (bio) to direct it. According to this article, the Director intends to “bring agencies together to change urban growth patterns and foster opportunity, reduce sprawl, and jump-start the economy.”

Adolfo Carrión Jr. – photo from Ezra Klein

The executive order that established the OUA states that the Office will “take a coordinated and comprehensive approach to developing and implementing an effective strategy concerning urban America”

The event today will serve as a semi-official start to the OUA, and will be the basis for a several-month long tour of urban America. Officials will visit cities across the nation in an effort to better understand the needs of our metropolitan areas.

OUA’s mission does not come without some opposition. Some worry that reexamining our current public policy creates a dangerous precedent of federal meddling in local affairs. Director Carrión seems to think just the opposite will occur. From yesterday’s Washington Post:

“For too long government has operated from the top down,” said Carrión. “We’ve always heard why does the national government send down these unfunded mandates, under funded mandates, mandates that are not necessarily universally applicable. The bottom-up approach speaks to the need for this to be flexible.”

Although no official site yet exists for the OUA, the articles, executive order, and this page on the White House website seems to indicate that the office wants to work with local municipalities to help provide the support they need to carry out what works best for them. In general, it appears that the President’s agenda will focus on bolstering the strength of cities as economic, social and cultural incubators, while also working to promote sensible growth and regional efficiency.

Categories
Development News

“Lead, Learn, Serve” in the Queen City

Cincinnati is definitely one of the most charitably giving cities I’ve lived. Maybe it’s because this is a community with strong religious ties, or the immigrant history of our town, but people here LOVE to give!

Having formerly worked in a non-profit here, I appreciate the value of volunteers and donations in accomplishing a non-profit’s goals. That being said, it’s no secret that economic times are tough. People have to rein in spending, and it’s starting to show. According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, giving has dropped nationally:

“Giving USA Foundation found that charitable giving fell 2 percent from 2007 to 2008. The decline was the first since 1987 and the second in the 40-year history of the study. Adjusted for inflation, the decline was 5.7 percent.”

Not all organizations are seeing a drop in funds, but the typical donor is being a little more savvy about where and who they want to donate. For some people, giving to large umbrella aid organizations makes them feel like they’re covering a lot of ground with their dollars. For others, they worry about the overhead taking some of the money away from trickling down to smaller organizations.

There are so many options for organizations to donate to that it can be a little confusing. As a donor, do you want to go local or international with your charitable giving? Do you want to do a micro loan or give to an organization that screens candidates but may have overhead costs? Or do you just want to get together with friends and make a collective decision on where to donate your money? More and more charity organizations will be targeting “millennials” – YP’s who have expendable income and a sense of altruism, so if you fit that bill, get ready to be targeted!

In all this talk about giving dollars, remember charitable giving isn’t only about money. A great way to really get to better know your community is by going out and doing work to make it better. After living Downtown for 2 years, I had never been in Washington Park until I did a park clean up one morning with Keep Cincinnati Beautiful.

It is such a beautiful park, and seeing how mistreated it was by people in my community, it really reignited my desire to see it revitalized. No matter where you live, there are always opportunities to give in your community. You can literally get your hands dirty bettering the area around you and at the same time, get to know people in your community. In Cincinnati there are endless organizations that cater to different needs so there’s no reason to not find something that appeals to you!

Below are some links to groups that can direct you to opportunities, national and international organizations that are working to help our community and beyond. I have also included a request for volunteers through the local library if you want to really start in your backyard and work with the kids in your neighborhood. The motto of my alma mater was “Lead, Learn, Serve” and these days they are words we could all live by.

Volunteer Organizations (just a few of many):
Give Back Cincinnati | People Working Cooperatively | Keep Cincinnati Beautiful | Volunteer Match | Kiva

Local call for volunteers:
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AT SUMMER ARTS – THROUGH JULY 29

The Downtown Residents Council is seeking volunteers to assist with programs at the Children’s Learning Center at the Main Public Library. The Summer Arts programs are for kids ages 6-12. Please consider participating on one or more Wednesday evenings this month. Arrive at the Children’s Learning Center at 800 Vine Street at 6:45 p.m. for about 90 minutes. For more information, contact Carolyn Janssen at (513) 369-6922.