Tag: Cincinnati

Categories
News

A friendly reminder

This is a friendly reminder about why to vote against the Anti-Passenger Rail Amendment and support the Cincinnati Streetcar, 3C Corridor and Midwest Regional high-speed rail projects, and the Eastern Corridor project.

The Alliance for Regional Transit is taking another group to Portland to see a diversified transit system first-hand. The trip will be taking place from July 23 through 24 and is rumored to once again have another star-studded list of travelers. It must be a giant coincidence or one giant conspiracy that virtually everyone who has gone on the trip, or studied these systems themselves, are all strong supporters of the Cincinnati Streetcar and a larger diversified transit system for the Cincinnati region.

Categories
News

Bearcat Football readies for 2009 season

The Bearcats will take the football field for their 2009 season opener against Southeast Missouri State in about two months. The football program is coming off of one of the best year’s in its long history when it won the Big East Championship and earned a bid in the 75th FedEx Orange Bowl.

At the same time the program set several attendance records and recorded eight of the top-12 crowds in Nippert Stadium’s 85 year history. This success at the box office has continued as the program has sold out nearly half of the stadium to season ticket holders, and for the third consecutive year, sold out the Bearcat Lair section behind the north end zone.

There have been some other moves since the Bearcats walked off the field at Dolphins Stadium in Miami, Florida earlier this year. The most notable of which is the new contract for Brian Kelly which will extend Kelly’s contract one year and guarantee him nearly $1.5 million in salary until 2013 according to ESPN.com’s Brian Bennett.

In addition to adding in more money for assistant coaches, at Kelly’s request, the contract also eliminates the requirement for the University of Cincinnati to build a new practice facility for the program by 2010. The reason is, of course, financially driven as UC is short on the total amount needing to build the new practice facility that would include an full-size indoor field and a half size field along Jefferson Avenue uptown.

Proposed practice facility along Jefferson Avenue on the University of Cincinnati’s main campus

This move seems to buy the university some time as it tries to raise money to build the new facility. From the beginning many thought it was a rushed time line to have the facility built by 2010, but had the contract stipulation not been in place then the UC football program would probably not be this far.

The continued success and growth of the program depends upon keeping quality coaches and trainers around. UC needs to make a concerted effort to keep these talented individuals here so that they can keep attracting the talent that makes UC as Bowl Championship Series (BCS) contender year in and year out. If the new facility does not get built and Kelly gets an opportunity to bolt, then the program will be branded as a stepping stone program for some time to come. It’s up to the University of Cincinnati to decide from here how it wants to play this one.

Couple bonus pics from my trip to Miami for the 75th Orange Bowl where the University of Cincinnati lost to Virginia Tech
Categories
Development News Transportation

Ballparks as means for urban revitalization

After the lights went out and the dust settled from the 80th take of the Midsummer Classic, fans spilled out of St. Louis’ beautiful new Busch Stadium into an area set to be developed as Ballpark Village.

Ballpark Village is much like The Banks development in Cincinnati. The idea is similar – following a major public investment in a new urban ballpark, a high density mixed-use neighborhood would fill the space left behind from the previous behemoth of a stadium that once existed.

This new wave of thinking towards sports facilities is a trend sweeping the nation that can be seen in cities from San Diego to Baltimore and minor league parks all across the nation. The idea is that new businesses and entertainment districts can thrive off of the tens of thousands of sports fans visiting the area 80+ times a year.

Both The Banks and Ballpark Village have suffered their setbacks. In both cases beautiful new ballparks have replaced the cookie-cutter stadiums…that part of the equation has been fulfilled. What has not yet been completed is the high density mixed-use neighborhood.

The Banks + Ballpark Village

There is no doubt in my mind that once developed, both Ballpark Village and The Banks will be successful if executed properly. The problem is that the execution has little to do with the ballparks built to spur these developments. In St. Louis the amount of residential space has been reduced from the original plan. In Cincinnati condos have become apartments, and the design has been “value engineered” to say the least. What could any ballpark do to change these results?

What the ballparks do accomplish is that they create an instant market for such “eatertainment” places like ESPN Zone, Hard Rock Cafe, House of Blues and so on. These places are perfect for these districts, but I honestly don’t see what else the ballparks can do otherwise.

In St. Louis Busch Stadium is connected with the region’s light rail system with a perfectly situated MetroLink station. Cincinnati has the opportunity to similarly connect Great American Ballpark with the Cincinnati Streetcar system.

St. Louis’ Busch Stadium MetroLink station – photo from dswinney

The important thing to vibrant urban neighborhoods is the amount of people. Downtown Cincinnati and St. Louis have no problem with daytime work week activity. What they both need more of is night time and weekend traffic, and this requires more people living within the core. Less residential at these developments is the absolute wrong idea. Transit makes high density residential more financially feasible, and has a considerably greater impact than that of a neighborhood ballpark.

Great neighborhoods aren’t made by great ballparks…great neighborhoods are made by the people living, working and playing there. A diversity of these activities is needed for a place to be truly sustainable in terms of its vibrancy, and instead of pouring our public dollars into new ballparks, stadiums and convention centers we should be putting our public money into transit choices, public spaces and a diverse housing stock.

Categories
News

Second Annual Cincinnati T-Shirt Festival – 7/17

The second Cincinnati T-shirt Festival takes place on Friday, July 17 on Fountain Square from 11am to 11pm, and will feature more than a dozen local vendors and companies.

The T-shirt “mini-market” will have offerings from major institutions like the Bengals, Xavier, UC and the Museum Center, but will also feature many local shops and companies like Park+Vine, Nati Evolvement, Alternative Motive (featured on MTV), Wire & Twine and much more.

Photo by Chris Glass, to see more of Glass’ photos from last year’s Cincinnati T-Shirt Festival go here.

Categories
News

Cincinnati’s Purple People Bridge: Past & Present

Cincinnati’s second oldest existing span across the might Ohio River was built in 1872 and was known as the Newport and Cincinnati Bridge. The river span was Cincinnati’s first railroad bridge, and eventually was retrofitted to also accommodate streetcars, pedestrians and automobiles.

The bridge was later renamed the L&N Bridge for the Louisville and Nashville railroad that used the span. The bridge was closed down to both trains and automobiles and was eventually rehabed in 2003 into the “Purple People Bridge” named for its prominent purple color and pedestrianized span across the Ohio River.

The bridge quickly became a local landmark and a spot for art installations, shows and other family-friendly events. At its pinnacle, the bridge became the spot for the Purple People Bridge Climb (video) which was the first of its kind in North America and allowed for people to climb the bridge’s superstructure and walk across the span.

The bridge climb attraction shut down one year after opening, and the group managing the bridge experienced some financial setbacks and have since tried to reorganize themselves and figure out what to do with the historic landmark.

So what’s to come for the Purple People Bridge? What do you use it for, or do you use the bridge at all? Below is a collection of seven photographs I took from the Purple People Bridge. The main pedestrian span was blocked off as crews were deconstructing an art installation that was on the bridge. Joggers, families and leisurely walkers were using the span during that time.