JYP

If true, that would make it the 6th street cut or eliminated as part of FC's grand plan for an urban stadium.

It would be nice to get multi-family back at Dorchester and somehow recreate the Excelsior Street steps.

Most of the parking reduction is an experiment to disincentive courthouse users. Under the old scheme, 90% of the metered spaces were being used by people going to the courthouse for trials (defendants, lawyers, jury, etc.) and they were maxing out parking and getting tickets. Also there will likely be angled parking on the south side of Court west of Vine for at least a block. So, in total there will be MORE street parking than before! These business owners are on the committee and their concerns are being looked at. So this petition is more of a PR stunt than anything.

They were working on the roof of that building today. Looks like that building and next to it are getting rehabbed. Also there is interior demo going on at the building on the northeast corner of Race and Liberty, the old Race Inn and the pair of buildings with the Rosemary Clooney mural on Pleasant.

You’ve probably never heard of them. But they could decide the fate of the Western Hills Viaduct or your local intersection. The key passage here: There are forces at work to make sure the additional funds only go towards roadway projects with little concern for transit. We are dangerously close to having a "transit" levy that will keep the status quo and be a back door for more roads with lips service paid to buses.

You’ve probably never heard of them. But they could decide the fate of the Western Hills Viaduct or your local intersection. The key passage here:

I can't believe they have an FBC that does not require sidewalks but here we are. Also the ones that do have them only go to the mailbox on the street. What a fail. https://www.google.com/maps/@36.1597169,-86.8535275,3a,75y,174.57h,83.18t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sJt9oLJQROZ7sX-q0DeA3Xg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Looks like Hollister Street in Mt. Auburn could become the latest street to be converted back to two-way traffic: https://city-egov2.cincinnati-oh.gov/Webtop/ws/council/public/child/Blob/55105.pdf?rpp=-10&w=doc_no%3D'201901798'&m=1

There are 2 tower cranes downtown right now. The one at 8th and Main was just taken down a few weeks ago and the other two are for 4th and Race. Regarding Nashville: I used to get pretty upset about how much growth was happening there compared to Cincinnati but was reminded that a lot of development in Cincinnati is happening, its just as visible because its more likely to be a historic rehab than new construction. We have a ton of things going on in the core but they are things like turning exiting towers into hotels and apartments or rehabbing blocks of old italianates around Findley Market. The Charles Street (1118 Sycamore) and Milhaus (Pete Rose Way) developments are also significant in size and density (any maybe they will have tower cranes). In a way Cincinnati and Columbus are better positioned than Nashville. Its economy is not as diverse and is more reliant on entertainment (hence the NashVegas reputation) which means its more vulnerable to a recession whenever one comes. Cincinnati is a sleeper hit and Columbus is booming. Nashville might be great in time. We'll see.

This came out in the Enquirer this morning (subscriber only): https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2019/11/27/nfl-stadiums-what-should-cincinnati-do-paul-brown-stadium/2142787001/ To summarize, the article states that PBS is mid-life and what are the options for the county and team coming up on the 2026 lease expiration. Both sides have hired someone to assess renovation needs and we'll know more in 2020. Scott Wartman, the reporter, reviews potentials options. Build new, have the team leave or renovate. Key quote regarding Jake's post above though is this:

Are you seriously unable to get this after multiple forumers have pointed it out to you or are you just trolling?

I think at the time it was mainly about views. 3rd street-oriented office buildings enjoyed a commanding view of the river for so long they were afraid their views would be blocked, and their values reduced. Also, there was a huge fight over whether public low-income housing would go on the site. It was never part of the plan but was probably more irrational fear stoked from somewhere. As for Jake's theories, I don't think there was coordination in reducing transit as he eludes to it. Both sides of the river were unfriendly to transit around that time (as evidenced by the MetroMoves vote in 2002). Service times have suffered as a result of having to use the Clay-Wade Baily instead of the Suspension Bridge, but not by much. As stated earlier, using the RTC would improve times and service as some TANK routes already switch from Kenton County oriented routes to Campbell County routes in downtown. The only challenge is that we would need something to connect bus riders from Govt. Square to the RTC. If only there were such a pedestrian circulator...

Also of note regarding the power brokers role at the Banks is back in 2007 they objected to zoning at the development that would have allowed 20+ story towers in the development.

Not to mention fixing the unnecessary signal light at Green and Race and adding a streetcar exception to the stop sign at Henry and Race. Things that literally can happen today.

Heaven forbid the automobile drivers are even slightly inconvenienced with an extra signal phase!!

And here is confirmation from the Enquirer: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2019/11/20/massive-remodel-planned-for-macys-at-fountain-place/4250767002/

They may end up finding out the hard way...

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The Charles Street development is on the one lot not owned by the Levine family. The Levine's are lawyers but the parking lot generates a nice base income for them. They would be unlikely to give it up unless parking somehow becomes less profitable. One course of action I could see them taking is to sell development rights to build on the site and then collect rent on a land lease (this is how Columbia Plaza works with the Joseph Auto Group owning the land and leasing the building to a different owner).

You should contact the City's building department to voice your concerns. They are the ones who issued the certificate of occupancy. If this space is so concerning for you maybe you can chat with them about it.

Crane was removed this weekend. Photo from RoadMapCincy:

The city is continuing, albeit at a snails pace, to make progress on the downtown signal re-timing and some signal changes for the streetcar. Current ETA is to have the fiber signal system in place mid 2020 and the all the signals re-timed, along with "hold greens" for the streetcar by end of next year. https://city-egov2.cincinnati-oh.gov/Webtop/ws/fyi/public/fyi_docs/Blob/4653.pdf?rpp=-10&w=doc_no%3D'3989'&m=1

Those "dangling teeth" are important because they tie the neighborhood back to its history and break up the potential monotony of a block scale development. So much urban infill is monolithic 5+1 retail/parking/apartment across the country. We are in a rush towards "anywhere urbanism" and these buildings, though few in number, can help break that up. And sure, there are ways to incorporate parking into this. It will be expensive but more worthwhile to do this right instead of fast and cheap.

There was (and maybe still is) a pathway between both of these positions where FC would improve their plans, incorporate the remaining historic fabric of the block and develop a win/win that balances their needs, preserves whats left of this part of the West End and creates a place north of the stadium that is appreciated by fans and neighbors. Instead we will get superblocks of parking and blank walls. We make the same mistakes because we don't demand better. Shame on us.