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Cincinnati showing improvements over 2000 Census response rates

Lower Price Hill, the West End, Over-the-Rhine, Mt. Auburn, Clifton Heights and Corryville make up much of Cincinnati’s center city neighborhoods, and they also represent some of the lowest Census 2010 response rates to date. As of Monday, April 12 most of Cincinnati’s center city neighborhoods were below the 66% national average response rate while the East End, Clifton, Hyde Park, East Walnut Hills and Mt. Lookout all reporting at or above the national average.

A Census tract representing the northern portion of the West End is currently at a low 39%, while two Census tracts representing Pendleton and part of Walnut Hills have registered 43% and 42% response rates respectively. The lowest in the City of Cincinnati is Fay Apartments, an official City neighborhood and its own Census tract, at 34%. The City of Cincinnati in its entirety is at 63%, while Hamilton County has a 71% response rate making it the highest of Ohio’s five most populous counties.

Back in Cincinnati’s center city the success story is overwhelmingly the Census tracts that make up Over-the-Rhine. All four of the Census tracts there are already well above the Census 2000 response rates with two of the tracts a dramatic 21% higher already. Meanwhile, the Census tract in Over-the-Rhine that has been publicized for being one of the most difficult to count in the nation is currently at 44% which is 17% higher than the final Census 2000 tally.

“We are pleased with the appearance of an increase in participation, especially in OTR,” said Katherine Keough-Jurs, Senior City Planner with the City of Cincinnati’s Department of City Planning & Buildings who went on to note that the data collection methods differ from 2000 to 2010 and thus make the numbers more difficult to compare.

“Technically, comparing 2000 to 2010 is little bit like comparing apples and oranges,” Keough-Jurs explained. “Still, we are pleased that so far OTR is showing 40% to 53% participation rates and that some City neighborhoods are as high as 80%.”

The areas surrounding the University of Cincinnati had initially been slow to report and were initially some of the most under-performing in Cincinnati. The past week has seen a rapid increase in the number of responses in these neighborhoods with all now reporting at levels comparable to 2000 Census response rates with months still to go thanks to a 10% surge.

Cincinnati Counts workers have been hitting Cincinnati’s streets for months working to inform people about the 2010 Census. The good looking group on the right is a group of fellow Urban Planning students I knew while at the University of Cincinnati (shout out!).

The real paradigm exists when you move from the difficulties of counting center city populations to their suburban counterparts. As of April 12th, the west side community of Green Township boasted the highest response rate (83%) in the entire nation for communities with more than 50,000 people.

Census workers will continue to visit households that have yet to respond through July to help drive up those response rates before they must, by law, deliver the Census results to the President in December. Keough-Jurs notes that households with forms not turned in by Friday, April 16 may receive a visit from a door-to-door enumerator in May.

“Our 100-plus Complete Count Committee members are still working hard to get the word out that the census is simple, safe and important, and reminding people to complete and return their Census forms,” explained Keough-Jurs.

Those who have lost or have not received a form can pick up an additional form at local libraries and post offices. There are also Be Counted Centers that have forms available, and Questionnaire Assistance Centers that have helpers there to assist individuals with filling out their forms. You can find the closest Be Counted or Questionnaire Assistance Center near you online.

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Cincinnati lands prestigious National Conference of Black Mayors Convention

At 10am this morning local political, business and community leaders gathered at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in downtown Cincinnati to celebrate the announcement that the National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM) Convention will be coming to Cincinnati this May. Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory is a member of the NCBM and will be serving as the official host for the convention when it comes to town May 12-16.

“We are looking forward to our time in Cincinnati,” said George L. Grace, National Conference of Black Mayors President and Mayor of St. Gabriel, Louisiana. “Cincinnati has a rich history in the civil rights movement and has made extraordinary strides under Mayor Mark Mallory to establish itself as a vanguard city for diversity and multicultural awareness and leadership. This is the perfect time and place for our organization to bring together its members, and we look forward to the important work that will be done at our Annual Convention next month.”

With the theme, “Able Leaders, Stable Cities: Resolving Our Communities’ Challenges,” the 36th Annual Conference is expected to draw more than 700 attendees from around the country that represent more than 50 million constituents in almost every state. The gathering of civic leaders from around the country is anticipated to log more than 1,200 room nights for local hotels.

The NCBM Convention is planned to coordinate with Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2010 Civil Rights Game that will, for the second consecutive year, be held in Cincinnati. This year’s Civil Rights Game will take place on Saturday, May 15 at Great American Ball Park between the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals. Last year’s game left MLB Commissioner Bud Selig very impressed with Cincinnati’s ability to host prominent events such as this national showcase game that includes festivities throughout the weekend. At this year’s game MLB will pay tribute to Willie Mays, Billie Jean King and Harry Belafonte.

“This convention will focus on providing tangible solutions, best practice models and innovative strategies to resolve some of the universal challenges that local elected officials face on the ground,” said National Conference of Black Mayors Executive Director Vanessa R. Williams. “We have gathered a diverse spectrum of leaders who have successfully tackled these problems to participate in this year’s convention.”

Visitors enjoy the festivities around Fountain Square during the 2009 Civil Rights Game Youth Summit.

The NCBM Convention will focus its attention on two primary topics this year that are meant to help resolve the challenges facing communities around the nation. Thursday will focus on Human Rights and will cover a range of topics including health care, public safety and housing. Friday’s session will focus on Green Economic Development and cover topics including workforce development, infrastructure and environmental justice.

The convention is one of a recent string of prestigious multicultural conventions to select Cincinnati as their host including the NAACP and National Baptist conventions in 2008, the Gospel Music Workshop of America in 2010, the League of United Latin American Citizens in 2011, and the World Choir Games in 2012.

“As a member, it’s very gratifying to bring the 2010 Annual Convention home to Cincinnati,” said Mayor Mark Mallory. “The convention brings visitors and revenue to our city, but more importantly, it brings an esteemed group of more than 700 men and women who are actively working to make our cities better.”

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Development News Politics Transportation

Cincinnati may miss opportunity with new Marine Highway program

This past Wednesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a new initiative aimed at moving more cargo by water to avoid congested U.S. highways. America’s Marine Highway program will be administered by the Department’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) and, according to Federal officials, identify rivers and coastal routes that can carry cargo efficiently, bypassing congested roadways and reducing greenhouse gases.

“For too long, we’ve overlooked the economic and environmental benefits that our waterways and domestic seaports offer as a means of moving freight in this country,” said Secretary LaHood, speaking to transportation professionals at the North American Marine Highways & Logistics Conference in Baltimore, MD. “Moving goods on the water has many advantages: It reduces air pollution. It can help reduce gridlock by getting trucks off our busy surface corridors.”

In Cincinnati the Ohio River provides such opportunity allowing cargo to bypass the heavily congested Interstate-75 on its way to southern sea ports by taking the marine highway to ports located in New Orleans. When combined with shipping costs five times less on water than by freight truck, or three times less than freight rail, river port projects like the proposed Queensgate Terminals project become more and more attractive.

Renderings of the proposed Queensgate Terminals transfer facility on Cincinnati’s western riverfront provided.

The new federal regulation will allow regional transportation officials to apply to have specific transportation corridors or projects designated by the DOT as part of a marine highway. Such a designation would result in preferential treatment when it comes to future federal assistance from the DOT or MARAD.

“There are many places in our country where expanded use of marine transportation just makes sense,” said David Matsuda, Acting Administrator of the Maritime Administration. “It has so much potential to help our nation in many ways: reduced gridlock and greenhouse gases and more jobs for skilled mariners and shipbuilders.”

So far in 2010, Secretary LaHood has announced $58 million for the start-up or expansion of Marine Highway services awarded through the DOT’s TIGER grants program. Congress has also allocated an additional $7 million that will be awarded by MARAD later this year.

As the Federal looks to expand the usage of the nation’s Maritime Highways, Cincinnati is struggling to work out an arrangement for the development of the Queensgate Terminals project that would create a 31-acre, $26 million high-tech transfer facility along Cincinnati’s riverfront immediately west of the Central Business District.

Diagrams of the proposed Queensgate Terminals transfer facility on Cincinnati’s western riverfront provided.

The project has been held up by a slew of public resistance from west side residents, and a litany of legal troubles surrounding the sale of the land. A recent settlement forced the City of Cincinnati to deposit $1.68 million into a court escrow account for the losses incurred by the developer since September 2005 after the City had agreed to sell the property, then retracted the sale agreement.

The legal and political battles have caused so much trouble in Cincinnati that the whole project may in fact be in jeopardy. During this time the State of Ohio has pledged $9.5 million towards the proposed South Point barge terminal further upriver in Lawrence County – a move that could place potential funds for a Cincinnati barge terminal in limbo.

In an economy moving cargo shipment off of the roads, and onto trains and barges, Cincinnati may miss capitalizing on its central and prominent location along rail and water corridors, and may continue to overlook the environmental and economic benefits the Ohio River provides.

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Ohio’s 3C rail corridor could reach 110mph speeds

Ohio’s plans for the 3C “Quick Start” passenger rail project can include speeds of up to 110mph without the need for new track construction according to a release from Linking Ohio – a citizen advocacy group started by All Aboard Ohio.

Recent news reports have indicated that top speeds of only 79mph would be possible due to current regulations, but the advocacy group cites Section 24308 of Title 49 of the United States Code that has a process that would allow systems operated by or for Amtrak to operate on freight corridors at these accelerated speeds. The appeals process would be heard by the Surface Transportation Board who would then determine whether the accelerated speeds would be safe for the proposed corridors.

Those behind Ohio’s 3C “Quick Start” Project say that while the higher speeds are possible, they are not necessarily desirable for the initial start.

“Experience with other new start passenger rail services show that improved reliability, frequent service, convenience and service amenities are important factors in attracting riders,” said the advocacy group in the release. “The 3C “Quick Start” Project has consistently been communicated as a first step to bringing high-speed passenger rail to our state, and in order to quickly offer this travel option to 6.8-million Ohioans living along the 3C corridor, Ohio can implement speeds at 79mph by making some initial upgrades to the existing tracks now being used solely for freight transportation.”

The plan currently on the table calls for upgrades to existing freight bottleneck areas and a variety of other improvements that will make passenger rail to safely operate on the same tracks as existing freight rail. Other improvement costs cover the construction of passenger rail stations, parking and “last-mile transportation options.”

“Once the initial service is up and running at 79mph, the State will begin implementing additional corridor upgrades to achieve 110mph service using the existing track infrastructure,” Linking Ohio stated. “However, there are steps and negotiations with freight railroads that will need to be navigated in order to increase speeds.”

Following this initial quick start process, officials hope to upgrade the system to even higher speeds reaching 125mph – the optimal speed for rail service between cities 100 to 500 miles apart. Any service reaching these speeds will require its own separate right-of-way and tracking. With 79mph passenger rail service not scheduled to start until 2012, 125mph service or above is something that appears to be a decade in the making.

All Aboard Ohio testimony in Washington D.C. photo provided by All Aboard Ohio.

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Complete Your Census Forms Today!

Today is national Census Day in America, and Cincinnatians need to be certain they send their completed Census forms back as required by law. The U.S. Census is conducted once every ten years and helps give policymakers a picture of the nation. Over that ten year period, the Census influences the allocation Congressional seats, billions of public dollars that go to schools, parks, roads, police and more.

In Cincinnati alone it has been estimated that the city was under-counted by some 45,000 people in 2000. Over the ten year period since the last count it is projected that Cincinnati’s under-counted population resulted in the loss of $104 million in public funding.

So far, only 42 percent of the households within the City of Cincinnati have responded. Cincinnati’s urban core is even worse off. Downtown has roughly 35 percent of their forms in, while Over-the-Rhine is around 15 percent. The student heavy areas surrounding the University of Cincinnati have about 25 percent of the households responding so far.

Historically urban areas are the most difficult to count, but it is imperative that a high response rate is achieved to ensure that Cincinnati gets its fair share of funding for critical public assets. In Ohio’s other major cities the story is much the same. Columbus comes in at 39 percent, and Cleveland has only 32 percent of their households reporting.

The ten question form is simple and easy to complete. In most cases it will take you just a few minutes to complete. We won’t have another shot at this until 2020, so make sure you turn those forms in right now.

STUDENTS AT AREA COLLEGES: The Census counts how many people are living at a particular place at a particular time. So regardless of where your permanent address may be you should fill out the Census for where you are living as of April 1, 2010. If your parents still claim you, and your permanent residence is listed as somewhere else that is fine, but you should fill out the form for where you are living now.