Street widths are absolutely not a problem in Downtown Cincinnati. There are a few stretches that need to be improved and narrowed, such as the aforementioned 2nd and 3rd on the riverfront, and 5th over by P&G, but most of Cincinnati has very narrow streets for a midwestern city. I think most Cincinnati streets feel about right sized downtown. Certainly better than the huge wide streets found in Cleveland or Detroit, or even the big wide streets of LA or San Diego. People are happy to live on Madison or Erie in Hyde Park and Oakley, both of which are busier and wider than most downtown streets. Hell, even the new residential building in Columbia Tusculum that is literally built adjacent to Columbia Parkway is a popular place to live, and they charge high rents! The problem with parts of downtown is the inactivity and the dead zones that are created by surface lots, parking garages, and institutional users (library, courthouse, etc.).

Street widths are absolutely not a problem in Downtown Cincinnati. There are a few stretches that need to be improved and narrowed, such as the aforementioned 2nd and 3rd on the riverfront, and 5th over by P&G, but most of Cincinnati has very narrow streets for a midwestern city. I think most Cincinnati streets feel about right sized downtown. Certainly better than the huge wide streets found in Cleveland or Detroit, or even the big wide streets of LA or San Diego. People are happy to live on Madison or Erie in Hyde Park and Oakley, both of which are busier and wider than most downtown streets. Hell, even the new residential building in Columbia Tusculum that is literally built adjacent to Columbia Parkway is a popular place to live, and they charge high rents! The problem with parts of downtown is the inactivity and the dead zones that are created by surface lots, parking garages, and institutional users (library, courthouse, etc.).

 

It's all relative, I guess. I have lived my entire adult life in urban neighborhoods on the east coast and when I moved here the first thing I noticed is how wide the streets are, both downtown and in places like Oakely and Hyde Park. It's also one of the first things people comment on when they come visit me. I agree Cleveland and Detroit are worse though. I'd venture to guess that Madison and Erie would be even more in demand if they didn't function as highways. I agree with your last sentence though. I just don't think the problems are mutually exclusive.

I agree Cleveland and Detroit are worse though.

 

Cleveland may have (marginally) wider downtown streets than Cincinnati, but I disagree that the feel is worse.

 

For example, Cleveland's "Main Street", Euclid Avenue, is probably as wide as Vine St. in Cincinnati, but the feel is worlds different.  There is a dedicated bus lane in each direction and one through travel lane.  Traffic moves very slowly and the sidewalks are wide, encouraging pedestrian activity.

 

Even a "highway feeder" like East 9th St., which is wider than Vine St. by one lane feels less like a highway due to having 2 through lanes in each direction plus parking.  The one way streets encourage people to drive faster and make the street feel less pedestrian friendly in my opinion.

 

Also, Cleveland has nothing like Central Parkway downtown.  The closest thing would be Superior Ave. in terms of width (although it's not nearly as wide), but again, Superior has been cut down to one through lane, a dedicated bus lane, and a median.

^Central Parkway would be a lot better if they added some density in the spots where they have small one story buildings or empty lots. But yes, Central Parkway is very wide and it's even worse that is has hardly any traffic.

I agree Cleveland and Detroit are worse though.

 

Cleveland may have (marginally) wider downtown streets than Cincinnati, but I disagree that the feel is worse.

 

For example, Cleveland's "Main Street", Euclid Avenue, is probably as wide as Vine St. in Cincinnati, but the feel is worlds different.  There is a dedicated bus lane in each direction and one through travel lane.  Traffic moves very slowly and the sidewalks are wide, encouraging pedestrian activity.

 

Even a "highway feeder" like East 9th St., which is wider than Vine St. by one lane feels less like a highway due to having 2 through lanes in each direction plus parking.  The one way streets encourage people to drive faster and make the street feel less pedestrian friendly in my opinion.

 

Also, Cleveland has nothing like Central Parkway downtown.  The closest thing would be Superior Ave. in terms of width (although it's not nearly as wide), but again, Superior has been cut down to one through lane, a dedicated bus lane, and a median.

 

You make good points. I retract my statement about Cleveland. They actually seem to use their street space a lot better than I remembered. I think the biggest problem is weird/big intersections like the one where Superior, W 6th, and Prospect come together.

Go to downtown Boston or Philly and see that narrow streets can support many times the population that you have in Cincy.

 

They have subways. 

 

Historically, the narrowness of Cincinnati's streets was thought of as a major problem.  During the streetcar era, there was not space for loading/unloading + thru traffic.  Same when cars appeared.  It all inevitably overlapped the streetcar tracks.  In the 1910s-20s, Cincinnati spent a ton of money narrowing sidewalks by 2 feet and adding 4 total feet to the downtown street widths. 

 

If Cincinnati had had a downtown north/south street like Canal St. in New Orleans, the whole history of the city would have been different because streetcars could have operated in a center reservation, and later, the subway could have been cheaply extended downtown, avoiding the whole issue of Central Parkway becoming the city's new Main St. 

 

Which, of course, is why it was named "Central" Parkway.  It was absolutely intended to become the new center of Cincinnati. 

 

 

 

You make good points. I retract my statement about Cleveland. They actually seem to use their street space a lot better than I remembered. I think the biggest problem is weird/big intersections like the one where Superior, W 6th, and Prospect come together.

 

Yes, the southern end of the Warehouse District is a bit of a mess due to all the parking, and that intersection is probably the worst in downtown.

 

What is frustrating about Cincinnati is that the streets are narrower than many cities so there is potential.  (The hardest thing to change is the built environment.)  The one way streets need to be ditched altogether IMO and the sidewalks be upgraded/widened in many areas.

Um, so about Cincinnati's Homeless Population....

I agree Cleveland and Detroit are worse though.

 

Cleveland may have (marginally) wider downtown streets than Cincinnati, but I disagree that the feel is worse.

 

For example, Cleveland's "Main Street", Euclid Avenue, is probably as wide as Vine St. in Cincinnati, but the feel is worlds different.  There is a dedicated bus lane in each direction and one through travel lane.  Traffic moves very slowly and the sidewalks are wide, encouraging pedestrian activity.

 

Even a "highway feeder" like East 9th St., which is wider than Vine St. by one lane feels less like a highway due to having 2 through lanes in each direction plus parking.  The one way streets encourage people to drive faster and make the street feel less pedestrian friendly in my opinion.

 

Also, Cleveland has nothing like Central Parkway downtown.  The closest thing would be Superior Ave. in terms of width (although it's not nearly as wide), but again, Superior has been cut down to one through lane, a dedicated bus lane, and a median.

 

I just took rough curb-to-curb measurements of Euclid and Vine, using Google Earth's ruler tool. Euclid measured about 70', Vine about 50'.

 

Cleveland may have (marginally) wider downtown streets than Cincinnati, but I disagree that the feel is worse.

 

For example, Cleveland's "Main Street", Euclid Avenue, is probably as wide as Vine St. in Cincinnati, but the feel is worlds different.  There is a dedicated bus lane in each direction and one through travel lane.  Traffic moves very slowly and the sidewalks are wide, encouraging pedestrian activity.

 

Even a "highway feeder" like East 9th St., which is wider than Vine St. by one lane feels less like a highway due to having 2 through lanes in each direction plus parking.  The one way streets encourage people to drive faster and make the street feel less pedestrian friendly in my opinion.

 

Also, Cleveland has nothing like Central Parkway downtown.  The closest thing would be Superior Ave. in terms of width (although it's not nearly as wide), but again, Superior has been cut down to one through lane, a dedicated bus lane, and a median.

 

Hm, I guess this is a situation where we will need to agree to disagree. The streets in Cleveland felt very wide to me on each of my visits. The sidewalks are also wider. I do appreciate that Euclid has a median and dedicated transit lanes, and the median does help to break up the street a bit, just like the Central Parkway median does. But overall, Cleveland's downtown streets feel much too wide, and I've never felt that about the majority of Downtown Cincinnati streets.

 

You think E 9th feels like less of a highway than Vine St.?!

 

E. 9th:

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5037838,-81.6898234,3a,75y,311.06h,88.31t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s4QhoPqOr-wtfb8GKX0koPA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

Vine:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1000906,-84.5126913,3a,75y,346.25h,91.02t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2sW3v4SYIUYvEOU4nLySRQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

I'd say 4th St is just as much of a "main street' for downtown as anything, and you simply don't see anything like this in downtown Cleveland, Detroit, Columbus, Indy, etc:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1001607,-84.5113619,3a,75y,274h,94.71t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sX5a54n9C_-XCdkWl_yBQSw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

I agree Cleveland and Detroit are worse though.

 

Cleveland may have (marginally) wider downtown streets than Cincinnati, but I disagree that the feel is worse.

 

For example, Cleveland's "Main Street", Euclid Avenue, is probably as wide as Vine St. in Cincinnati, but the feel is worlds different.  There is a dedicated bus lane in each direction and one through travel lane.  Traffic moves very slowly and the sidewalks are wide, encouraging pedestrian activity.

 

Even a "highway feeder" like East 9th St., which is wider than Vine St. by one lane feels less like a highway due to having 2 through lanes in each direction plus parking.  The one way streets encourage people to drive faster and make the street feel less pedestrian friendly in my opinion.

 

Also, Cleveland has nothing like Central Parkway downtown.  The closest thing would be Superior Ave. in terms of width (although it's not nearly as wide), but again, Superior has been cut down to one through lane, a dedicated bus lane, and a median.

 

Not to get off-topic but Central Parkway doesn't go through downtown, it's an edge of it, much like Ontario Street in Cleveland being just as wide and the edge of downtown.  Cincinnati has nothing as wide as Superior (or even Euclid) going through downtown, though.  Different downtown plans in different eras.

I agree Cleveland and Detroit are worse though.

 

Cleveland may have (marginally) wider downtown streets than Cincinnati, but I disagree that the feel is worse.

 

For example, Cleveland's "Main Street", Euclid Avenue, is probably as wide as Vine St. in Cincinnati, but the feel is worlds different.  There is a dedicated bus lane in each direction and one through travel lane.  Traffic moves very slowly and the sidewalks are wide, encouraging pedestrian activity.

 

Even a "highway feeder" like East 9th St., which is wider than Vine St. by one lane feels less like a highway due to having 2 through lanes in each direction plus parking.  The one way streets encourage people to drive faster and make the street feel less pedestrian friendly in my opinion.

 

Also, Cleveland has nothing like Central Parkway downtown.  The closest thing would be Superior Ave. in terms of width (although it's not nearly as wide), but again, Superior has been cut down to one through lane, a dedicated bus lane, and a median.

 

Not to get off-topic but Central Parkway doesn't go through downtown, it's an edge of it, much like Ontario Street in Cleveland being just as wide and the edge of downtown.  Cincinnati has nothing as wide as Superior (or even Euclid) going through downtown, though.  Different downtown plans in different eras.

 

I see what you mean on Central, but my point otherwise was that although Cleveland's streets are wider, they are two-way with less lanes in many instances so they don't feel as "anti-pedestrian" as the width would indicate in many places.

 

As far as the curb-to-curb width of Vine vs. Euclid...that wasn't my point.  My point was to walk down each and see how it feels.  I know that Cincinnati has narrower downtown streets.  That's why it's frustrating they aren't set up better.  One way streets wider than one lane are bad for everyone but people trying to get to the highway faster.

 

OK, back to homelessness...

I don't disagree with any of that. :)

I actually like one way streets as a pedestrian. When you're crossing, you only have to look one way. Jay-walking is extremely common in Downtown Cincinnati because you don't have to travel far to get to the other side, and you only have to worry about traffic from one direction. I know the argument is normally that two way traffic is better for pedestrians, but in a downtown environment, I'm not so sure. The one ways in places like Walnut Hills are awful because cars really do speed through and treat it like a freeway. Downtown has small block sizes (which is more important to the pedestrian experience than street width, imo) and each intersection has a traffic light, so cars are constantly stopping. It's very rare to be able to go more than a couple blocks downtown without hitting a red. I believe the streetcar has exposed this point well...

 

Perhaps this discussion could be moved to a different thread? I think it's very interesting, but yeah, doesn't have much to do with homelessness.

Cincinnati's downtown was platted with a 33 foot measuring chain which is why the distance between property lines is 66 feet.  This is the case for all streets in DT and OTR with the exception of various postwar widenings (5th each of Government Square) and Liberty St.  Central Parkway and Eggleston took over the former state-owned canal lands and so do not match.

 

As I already wrote, Cincinnati's downtown streets originally had 40 feet between the curbs, but that was generally widened to 44 (four 11-foot lanes) feet in the early 1900s.   

Great news guys. The city of Cincinnati have posted signs to the homeless camp to vacate the area in 72 hours or be arrested and put in jail.

 

Crews will later and come sanitize the area from all of the homeless residue and trash they left behind.

 

Finally the city doing something right for once.

Good.  Now they need to clear out all the ones living on 3rd street. 

That’s the plan!

Really this just shows further reason why we need to cap FWW.  If there were actually buildings with some type of business on those blocks then homeless wouldn't be able to just camp on on the sidewalks. 

I've always wondered why all of those benches were built down on Second and Third to begin with.  Who else was going to use them?

Great now some of the idiots on city counsel are trying to delay cleaning out of the camp. 

Great now some of the idiots on city counsel are trying to delay cleaning out of the camp. 

 

Tamaya Dennard on City Council, who was the one who propagated racism claims against a local business (which were proven to be lies based on police body camera footage), is the one leading the charge.  Instead of trying to come up with a compassionate and permanent solution to the problem she's pushing to allow the tent city to remain there.  *sigh*

She's an idiot.  In no way should that tent city be allowed to stay there or anywhere in the city.  Allowing the homeless to setup up their own camps only furthers their problems and makes it worse for everyone.  Get them into homeless shelters where there are plenty of open beds and people/programs willing to help.  If they don't want to go to the shelters then find somewhere to live outside our city. 

City Council threw a wrench into the plan to clean up the tent city:

 

City delays evicting downtown homeless camp

 

https://local12.com/news/local/city-delays-evicting-downtown-homeless-camp

 

The debate over forced evictions at a downtown homeless camp took over City Hall Thursday.

 

City leaders reached a compromise Thursday afternoon, which will delay those evictions at the camp under the bridge at Third and Plum streets.

 

On Monday, acting city manager Patrick Duhaney ordered the site be evicted and sanitized after concerns over a hepatitis outbreak. The people living in the camp were given 72 hours to gather their belongings and move. Anything left after 6 a.m. Friday would be thrown away. On Thursday, city leaders decided to extend that deadline until Wednesday, July 25.

 

About 50 people live in this camp. Sanitation conditions aren't good, with food and garbage littering the space and concerns over the hepatitis outbreak and drug abuse.

 

One of my biggest questions is why this camp moved from the more remote regions underneath the Brent Spence Bridge, where homeless have camped for the last few years, to prominent locations on 3rd Street. This happened very quickly. It seems like some sort of political stunt.

Great now some of the idiots on city counsel are trying to delay cleaning out of the camp. 

 

Tamaya Dennard on City Council, who was the one who propagated racism claims against a local business (which were proven to be lies based on police body camera footage), is the one leading the charge.  Instead of trying to come up with a compassionate and permanent solution to the problem she's pushing to allow the tent city to remain there.  *sigh*

 

Fortunately there are 5 votes against her. Mann is a pragmatic for the most part but feels everyone needs an opportunity for their voice to be heard. He will give them a few extra days but then eventually side with the others and move them along. Dennard and Seelbach are in the minority on this.

It seems like the "the idiots on city counsel" came up with a reasonable solution. Slightly delayed eviction (less than a week), a mobile health unit to check on the people there, and social services coming to try to get some of them to go to shelters. Not sure what better course of action could be taken to mitigate this issue in the short term.

^ well if you are Tamaya Dennard you need a system of comprehensive rent control throughout the city and forcing permanent housing upon these people.

I don't think the delay accomplishes anything. The mobile health unit was already stationed at the camp last week and various social services have been visiting for months. There appears to have been been zero progress made on relocating/housing people since the initial eviction notice went out. If anything, the population is going up - there were more tents there on Friday night than I've ever seen before.

 

Most of the participants attempting to "solve" this problem assume that the "homeless" do not choose to live the way they do, or that they would prefer another lifestyle. Big mistake. No solution will work unless it is attractive to the "homeless" or, alternatively, combative beyond their comfort level. One or the other.  I'd say the least likely "solution" would be a shelter with typical rules: you know: no drugs, alcohol containers, weapons, sex, fires, etc.

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/downtown/homeless-camp-will-move-east-and-a-day-ahead-of-city-s-deadline-advocate-says

 

Homeless camp on 3rd st will nice day earlier on Tuesday. The camp will be relocated to a new designated homeless camping ground on the east side of the city.

 

I say we bring some of the homeless up to mason and west Chester. There are some great parking lots and underpasses and the rich white folks are surely compassionate to give some charity and reprieve to these struggling souls!

Why are they allowing them to just setup a camp somewhere else?  The same situation of drugs, disease and garbage is just going to happen again in the new location. 

 

Also with this camp moving they now need to get all the squatters to move off of 2nd and 3rd St.  On my walk to work this morning the amount of people on 3rd has probably doubled since this camp story came out.  If they just allow they to stay then this entire process was completely pointless. 

Since we aren't being told where the camp is moving we all get to speculate and wonder so my guess is here at the end of the drive to Adams Landing on Adams Crossing Drive. I cant see it being any further East than this and any closer is back in the CBD so this has to be it.

 

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1049811,-84.49538,3a,75y,32.48h,92.17t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1slBF0x8WkERo_RYBipJ5ZZA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DlBF0x8WkERo_RYBipJ5ZZA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D32.927464%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i3328!8i1664

 

 

This area is considered Downtown and is served by CPD's Central Business Section. Residents, including the current President of the DRC, just had the camp under Columbia Parkway removed back in June. Plus, most of the land is owned by Towne Properties.

Another pause... City says there is no deal to allow homeless encampment to move to a new location

 

 

City's statement by Acting City Manager Patrick Duhaney:

“Earlier today we received word that some confusing misinformation had made its way to the media regarding the Third Street camp and those currently living there. I want to help clarify what occurred and the City Administration’s position on the matter."

 

“On Friday, a group consisting of myself, a Councilmember and members of the Administration met with members of the Third Street camp to discuss their ideas for a possible long-term solution. A productive conversation took place but no decision was made and nothing was agreed to by the City. We look forward to more productive conversations in the future. However, the plan outlined during Council on Thursday, and then later in an FYI memo to the Mayor and Council, remains the only plan in place at this time.

 

To reiterate: We have not agreed to support relocating anyone from the camp to anywhere other than a designated shelter and/or a more permanent housing situation. This plan does not include any City support for relocating individuals to a new or different camp. The City has not agreed to let anyone or asked anyone to relocate the camp to any other part of Cincinnati."

 

Maslow’s Army president and co-founder Samuel Landis statement:

"We are surprised and frustrated by the statement issued by the Acting City Manager. As disheartened as we are, we remain more committed than ever to advocate for the human rights and basic needs of people experiencing homelessness and poverty, including those who want or need to live outside.

 

"Throughout this process, we have been working with the Acting City Manager and several Members of City Council in good faith. On Thursday, we helped negotiate a compromise between them and the people residing in the tent city in the underpass near 3rd and Plum Streets. The Acting City Manager verbally agreed to allow some of the residents of the tent city to move to a new location if Bison got the residents to vacate the current location by Wednesday. Accordingly, on Friday, Acting City Manager Patrick Duhaney and Councilman Greg Landsman spent about 45 minutes driving around downtown with Bison and me scoping out potential locations to which residents of the tent city could relocate. They repeatedly expressed their support and approval for us to find a suitable location for the people who want or need to remain outside. They stated that they would work with us to draft and approve new ordinances and/or permitting processes but that Bison had their tacit approval to relocate in the meantime as a temporary solution.

 

"During the Council Meeting Thursday afternoon, Councilwoman Dennard agreed to convene a meeting on Monday with all key parties involved, including the leader of the tent city, Maslow’s Army, the Homeless Coalition, downtown residents, the Acting City Manager, her and other Members of Council to discuss and agree to specific next steps for the smooth relocation of the residents of the tent city. Unfortunately, yesterday they refused to hold such a meeting and instead only hosted a choreographed photo op at the tent city.

 

"In hindsight, we should have required that these agreements be put in writing. We will be working with the Homeless Coalition and others to ensure that the City follows through on their commitment to treat these people with the compassion and dignity they deserve."

 

 

In the meantime, the camp across the street from the East Garage on Pete Rose Way has grown from a couple of tents yesterday to a least a half dozen this morning.

It's starting to seem like the city's lack of a coherent response is encouraging people to set up camp on 3rd Street. I wouldn't be surprised if people are getting word of this camp and moving there from shelters. In other words, the camp is actively encouraging homeless people to get back on the streets rather than off them.

What a clusterfuck the politicians have made this

So did they clear out the camp yesterday? 

It was being cleared out this morning. It also looks like the city is putting up chain link fencing to close off access to the underpass.

Now the bums who live on 3rd St (who have only increased since they closed the camp) held a press conference today and are making demands to the city.  Of course Josh Spring is the leader in this circus.  As laughable as it is that they call themselves "Residents of 3rd St" the city can't put up fencing to keep them off 3rd like they did for for the previous location.  They could keep running them off 3rd but surely they'll just keep coming back at a later time.  This has gotten completely out of hand and city needs to do something that will have a long term affect.  All this bad press has done is lead to more people having bad views of downtown. 

 

 

"Residents of Third Street met Tuesday evening. The group decided to make it clear that they are completely opposed to the removal actions the City of Cincinnati has taken against those who were living underneath Ft. Washington Way. Understanding that they are likely the city’s next target, the Residents who live on the sidewalk of Third Street are announcing that they do not intend to leave Third Street because of a city order, but instead demand that the city act on focused solutions to homelessness, which are affordable housing that is available for all, employment, mental health services when needed and access to additional basic necessities."

Now the bums who live on 3rd St (who have only increased since they closed the camp) held a press conference today and are making demands to the city.  Of course Josh Spring is the leader in this circus.  As laughable as it is that they call themselves "Residents of 3rd St" the city can't put up fencing to keep them off 3rd like they did for for the previous location.  They could keep running them off 3rd but surely they'll just keep coming back at a later time.  This has gotten completely out of hand and city needs to do something that will have a long term affect.  All this bad press has done is lead to more people having bad views of downtown. 

 

 

"Residents of Third Street met Tuesday evening. The group decided to make it clear that they are completely opposed to the removal actions the City of Cincinnati has taken against those who were living underneath Ft. Washington Way. Understanding that they are likely the city’s next target, the Residents who live on the sidewalk of Third Street are announcing that they do not intend to leave Third Street because of a city order, but instead demand that the city act on focused solutions to homelessness, which are affordable housing that is available for all, employment, mental health services when needed and access to additional basic necessities."

 

Josh Spring gets under my skin he is only there to drum up the media and drama. He is never there to create lasting solutions. Biggest issue with many of the homeless is there are rooms at shelters and clinics for drug addiction. However many dont want to give up there life choices to try and better themselves in the long run. Another issue is many have mental issues, and since on a federal level mental health spending has been cut over the years the resources are just not as great for those with mental problems.

     

The "residents" of 3rd St put out another press release today put together by Josh Spring and his worthless crew.  As I said before if they don't get these people to move off 3rd St before Oktoberfest it's going to get really ugly. 

 

 

"To the People of Cincinnati Hello Neighbor,

 

You may have heard about those of us who live outside along 3rd Street. We want to take a moment to communicate directly.

 

Without this publicly-owned space to lay our heads and protect one-another, we would not have a consistent place to be.It’s not that any of us want to be without a home, but like millions of other people in this country, we are.

 

In Hamilton County we have a shortage of more than 40,000 affordable homes.About 56,000 people are trying to fit into 16,000 affordable homes.

 

Big problems like this one require big solutions.We know that forcing us from the support of the community we have built, and this public land is not a solution.Living outside is already very difficult without the hammer of being forced from even a public sidewalk hanging over our heads.We already have to deal with the weather, lack of privacy, constant noise from traffic, lack of bathroom access, inability to store healthy food and never being able to really relax and have moment to ourselves.

 

We know we are a part of a large and growing number of women, men and children facing homelessness in Cincinnati.We implore the City of Cincinnati and City Council to act toward us in good faith, not only in terms of immediate needs, but to focus on long-term solutions that will create desperately needed access to an adequate quantity of affordable housing.

 

With this said, as Cincinnatians, we release the following list of actions we call for the City of Cincinnati to take with us.

 

The City of Cincinnati will not engage in the actions of warning, citing, noticing or otherwise telling, forcing or intimidating persons to vacate public land. In order to sustain a healthy environment for the residents of Third Street, the City will supply and maintain at least three public restrooms with showers, which could be in the form of port-o-lets that are accessible to people with handicaps and are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These facilities will be regularly cleaned, and supplied with adequate quantities of toilet paper and hand sanitizer. The city will provide such restrooms in other areas as deemed necessary for health safety. All people will have the right to access all restrooms in city-owned facilities with an indoor entrance during the regular business hours of that facility and all restroom in city-owned structures with an outdoor entrance at all times. The City will furnish garbage and recycle vestibules on each block of Third Street in such a quantity necessary to contain all garbage items produced along these blocks (at least four city garbage cans per block) with an adequate rate of pickup; at least weekly. The city will provide such vestibules in other areas as deemed necessary for health safety and sanitation. Any person residing on public land will have access to reasonable opportunity to relocate into a permanent housing option that is suitable to them. The City will partner with local housing-focused organization and the City will follow the basic assistant tenants provided in the Uniform Relocation Act as a minimum standard. The City will provide the necessary funding for a no-barrier shelter that is open and available all year-round. The City will increase the Human Services budget to ensure that social service agencies can adequately provide the following services which are necessary for some people:

 

Access to IDs

Reduce barriers to employment

Mental healthcare/ addiction recovery

Transportation assistance

The city will approve a motion necessary to re-start the Afford able Housing Working Group staffed by the Department of Community and Economic Development, with the task of bringing forth legislation for City Council to pass in order to establish and adequately fund an Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

 

City Council will begin discussion of proposed legislative protections for people who rent and legislation in the form of a Homeless Bill of Rights.

 

Sincerely with Hope,

 

Residents of The Colony on Third Street"

The "residents" of 3rd St put out another press release today put together by Josh Spring and his worthless crew.  As I said before if they don't get these people to move off 3rd St before Oktoberfest it's going to get really ugly. 

 

After much delay and procrastination, the Plum Street Underpass tent city was expeditiously removed mere days before the start of Bengals training camp and the Cincinnati Music Festival. I imagine the same fate will be faced by the rest of the 3rd street bum camp prior to Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest vendors will have permits to use the space and the city will be obligated to turn over a clean and empty street. I just don't expect the city to do much about it until they're facing an immediate deadline.

 

A few months after Oktoberfest, temperatures will get cold and the vast majority of the "residents" will no longer have the desire to camp out on the street as they'll make their way to any of the plentiful shelters nearby. Then we can repeat it all over again in the spring when Taste of Cincinnati is on the horizon.

Josh Spring needs to eat a bag of s**t

I just don't expect the city to do much about it until they're facing an immediate deadline.

 

Maybe I'll be proven wrong:

 

Mayor calls downtown homeless camps unacceptable, says they must go

 

https://www.wlwt.com/article/mayor-calls-downtown-homeless-camps-unacceptable-says-they-must-go/22596008

 

CINCINNATI —

 

Cincinnati's mayor said Monday that the homeless tents along Third Street and under an overpass near US Bank Arena must be removed.

 

John Cranley characterized it as a public health issue.

 

As the homeless along Third Street dug in, resolving anew to stay put, Cranley minced no words about why the tents will have to go.

 

"It's a public health hazard for the people living there and for the city as a whole," he said. "So, I find them to be totally unacceptable."

Sadly the mayor rightfully saying this will likely lead to nothing happening.  The "progressive 5" on city counsel seem to go against anything he wants done out of spite, even in the rare instances that he's in the right.

Sadly the mayor rightfully saying this will likely lead to nothing happening.  The "progressive 5" on city counsel seem to go against anything he wants done out of spite, even in the rare instances that he's in the right.

 

This particular issue though is a city manager one, so unless City Council passes any ordinances or the like (which are subject to mayoral veto) this is an issue managed by Patrick Duhaney.

Speaking of which, are we ever going to get a permanent city manager?  Or is keeping an interim city manager a way for Cranley to have even more power than he would have otherwise?

Speaking of which, are we ever going to get a permanent city manager?  Or is keeping an interim city manager a way for Cranley to have even more power than he would have otherwise?

 

The latter.

The City of Cincinnati will not engage in the actions of warning, citing, noticing or otherwise telling, forcing or intimidating persons to vacate public land.

 

Sincerely with Hope,

 

Residents of The Colony on Third Street"

 

City moves to clear out another homeless camp in downtown Cincinnati

 

The city already cleared out one homeless camp Downtown. A second could be gone within days, too.

 

Police served notices Tuesday afternoon to people living outdoors along Third Street, city spokesman Casey Weldon said. It gives people 72 hours to remove their property from the sidewalk and side of the street.

 

Officers handed notices to people, if they were there; in some cases, they left notices on people's tents.

 

Capt. Mike Neville, commander of the police department's Central Business District, said there was no "directive" to clear out the camp.

 

Cont.

I'm very glad to see they're making them move off 3rd street.  For such a prominent street to our downtown it's a horrible look right now.  It seems like with each time they do a clear out they get some portion of the homeless to move into shelters so that is a positive.  I'm sure the portion that have no plans to leave the streets will find somewhere else to go though so it's a situation that's worth following.