fair fair, you're right it does cross the street. memory lapse on my part.

 

I didn't mean "bridge" in the literal sense, though technically the suspension bridge connects the two sides.  :wink:

 

And I do hate that the cross walks are not centered with the walnut and vine street steps.

It's just paint. They could repaint it wherever they want and put in those flashy things. But frankly, yesterday we just jaywalked across the road wherever we damn well pleased. The traffic is light.

^True, except for the access ramps.

It's just paint. They could repaint it wherever they want and put in those flashy things. But frankly, yesterday we just jaywalked across the road wherever we damn well pleased. The traffic is light.

 

Isn't the sidewalk also graded where the crosswalk is? The curb seems like it's 18+ inches high where there isn't a crosswalk.  The positioning didn't make sense to me either.

 

I mostly agree on the traffic, though in the hours during a Reds game and at 5pm on weekdays it gets heavy traffic. I still wish they would have made it one lane each way. Seems like a lot of road to cross in the middle of a park.

I think they're located where they are due to Mehring Way dropping to pass under the bridge. The sidewalk is too high for a good portion of the area around the Roebling meaning the crosswalks had to be located further away from the crossing of the bridge.

It doesn't make sense for the crossing to be near the bridge, irrespective of the fact that the road dips down two feet. The crosswalks would make the most sense to line up with the vine st and walnut st steps, which also lines up with walkways in the southern part of the park. As they stand now, the crosswalks are 15 to 20 feet away from a direct line with the steps.

 

The traffic is usually light, I agree, which means that it's definitely not obeying the 25mph speed limit.

The proposed city parks levy would include $1.5 million for Smale to construct a marina: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2015/06/25/citywide-parks-levy-ahead-parks-get-re/29263561/

 

Description: This money would fill out the funding needed to construct a marina off of Smale Riverfront Park. Cincinnati Parks had already secured $1.8 million, mostly in the form of a boating infrastructure grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and about $330,000 from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Boaters could pull up to the dock, equipped with water and electricity hookups and stay for up to 10 days, Cincinnati Parks Superintendent of Planning and Design Steven Schuckman has said. The plan calls for installation of a boathouse with a concession stand, laundry, bathrooms. Estimated annual maintenance cost: $150,000.

Here are some of the quite mature trees that are being planted in the latest phase the park (near the base of Elm St). The flurry of activity is to get the park as much finished as possible before the All Star Game.

 

A friend of mine took this today.

 

 

Final features set to open at Smale Park

Jul 7, 2015, 6:29am EDT

Erin Caproni

Cincinnati Business Courier

 

The final features at Smale Riverfront Park will make their debut this week.

 

Cincinnati Parks officials will hold a “festival” on Thursday to celebrate the opening of the Castellini Esplanade, Great Lawn, Vine Street Water Garden, Ohio Riverwalk and Portland Loo starting at 10:30 a.m.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/07/07/final-features-set-to-open-at-smale-park.html

^The Great Lawn was open this weekend.  It's quite vast. They do have the "beach" still roped off at last visit.  The grass is still trying to take root.

Oof, they have a lot of work to get done in the next two days. I'd advise no one to get in the way of those construction workers. I was down there all last night and the new additions look fantastic, but there's still a lot to be put together on the Castellini Esplanade and the Vine Street Watergarden.

 

Who else is excited about the Portland Loo!?

Who else is excited about the Portland Loo!?

 

I'm SO excited about a public toilet!!!

Was down there both Friday night for the opening and again last night for Asian Food Fest - the atmosphere was nothing short of electric! I had to pinch myself as a reminder that I was still in Cincinnati!

 

The fountains are amazing..lots of kids playing in them and dogs running around. Great atmosphere. This weekend the Riverfront probably had some of its largest crowds all year without a Reds or Bengals game taking place.

 

I will say, however, that the lack of trees and other greenery around the Banks and particularly outside TKILTBAG is one area that improvement is needed. The place kind of feels like a concrete maze without anything to break up and soften the all the concrete and asphalt.

 

I think some greenery and trees will be added as construction contines.  I alluded to how sterile and uninviting TKILTBAG seems.  Clearly there can be some kind of trees or greeneryplanters used on the sidewalks but also many of the restaurants can add there own smaller planters to green thinsg up.  As the trees grow, it will get better; will probably be a few years before it ruly fels warmed up.

 

Glad this is finally being addressed 3 years after it was brought up.  In all seriousness, did the developers not see the need for this/ i know most on this forum have a particular eye for this kind of stuff but i just dont understand how delayed this was.

Who else is excited about the Portland Loo!?

 

I'm not sure I quite understand what it is. How is it much different than any other public restroom? Is it cleaner?

Was down there both Friday night for the opening and again last night for Asian Food Fest - the atmosphere was nothing short of electric! I had to pinch myself as a reminder that I was still in Cincinnati!

 

The fountains are amazing..lots of kids playing in them and dogs running around. Great atmosphere. This weekend the Riverfront probably had some of its largest crowds all year without a Reds or Bengals game taking place.

 

I will say, however, that the lack of trees and other greenery around the Banks and particularly outside TKILTBAG is one area that improvement is needed. The place kind of feels like a concrete maze without anything to break up and soften the all the concrete and asphalt.

 

I think some greenery and trees will be added as construction contines.  I alluded to how sterile and uninviting TKILTBAG seems.  Clearly there can be some kind of trees or greeneryplanters used on the sidewalks but also many of the restaurants can add there own smaller planters to green thinsg up.  As the trees grow, it will get better; will probably be a few years before it ruly fels warmed up.

 

Glad this is finally being addressed 3 years after it was brought up.  In all seriousness, did the developers not see the need for this/ i know most on this forum have a particular eye for this kind of stuff but i just dont understand how delayed this was.

 

In case you missed it, LesterLyles is referring to the planters/railing being added along 2nd Street. See The Banks thread for pics/discussion.

Who else is excited about the Portland Loo!?

 

I'm not sure I quite understand what it is. How is it much different than any other public restroom? Is it cleaner?

 

It is a freestanding, self-cleaning restroom that is significantly cheaper to install than a traditional restroom building. There was discussion in recent years of installing one at Findlay Market and in other areas of downtown where homeless people frequently urinate (or worse) on public right-of-way because there is nowhere else to go. However as soon as WLW found out about it, there was immediately opposition to it.

To add, that opposition was still prevalent even though the one in the park was donated and cost the city precisely $0 to purchase and install.

Self-cleaning? Is that like the Vapoorizer?

In between Main and Elm (essentially the full length of Smale), there is a large concrete sidewalk next to Mehring, and then a separate, but equally large asphalt path. In some cases (west of Roebling), they are just re-using the asphalt from the old parking lot.

 

The asphalt looks cheap and tacked on, compared to the nicely done concrete sidewalk (and the rest of the park which uses high quality materials). Does anybody know why they built two parallel paths, of differing quality? Is the idea that the concrete is for pedestrians and the asphalt for bikes?

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.095953,-84.508621,3a,75y,225.9h,70.28t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1srCqUAj_LsC1mLCmzEtAKKg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Re-using the asphalt was undoubtedly to save money. I find the parking lines amusing and that they kinda tie into the history of the area, similar to the preserved housing foundations.

 

Is the idea that the concrete is for pedestrians and the asphalt for bikes?

 

I believe this is the case. Although bikes are all over the place in the riverfront parks.

Maybe it has something to do with that path being the "official" Ohio River Trail?  It certainly needs that width, IMHO.  The park is obviously a hit and those pathways need to accommodate all sorts of conveyance.

 

On that note, would it makes sense to put traffic humps on Mehring?  I know we have some discussion on peds and cars interacting and the speed on Mehring.  To me, they also need to prohibit (non-delivery) truck traffic between Central and PRW (by 1 Lytle).

 

I'm with Cygnus too.  I like the preservation of the lines in the same way the foundations are appealing.  They hearken back to prior uses.  We should have little reminders that it took over 50 years for the vision of our riverfront to come to fruition.  For most of that time it was a patchwork of parking lots.

They need some better markings on the bike path and maybe some physical barriers to let bikers and pedestrians know where they are supposed to be.

I'd say it's for the ohio river trail, for sure.

OK, landscaped medians....is this a concept that we will have to wait until we host the next major event?  Seems like a no brainer to me but I don't understand why it has taken 5 years now (new Mehring way opened in 2010).

Didn't they say something about wanting to wait until less construction was happening because some of the medians west of the bridge will change when the garages are finished and construction traffic can adversely affect median trees since irrigation might have to be cut off for periods of time? Therefore it makes sense to wait until that's one of the last things to do (unfortunately).

I'm sure they will be done before the Fort Washington Way caps. Ha!

CPD is okay with you jaywalking    :wink:

I took my dog for a walk through Smale around lunch time today, and it was unbelievably packed.  There were a lot of kids there with summer camp programs, as well as lots of children with parents and grandparents in all parts of the park, and I was really encouraged to see a lot of people who visibly appeared to be tourists! In fact, there were a lot of people in all of the riverfront parks today, extending all the way down to the Friendship Park (so wish that park would get a better/less cheesy name).  The Smale Park is definitely an attraction for downtown Cincinnati, and it's awesome to have such an active and popular destination at one of the 'poles' of the streetcar line.  I imagine the park will only see more use as the GE building, phase 2 apartments, and the AC Hotel opens. 

I took my dog for a walk through Smale around lunch time today, and it was unbelievably packed.  There were a lot of kids there with summer camp programs, as well as lots of children with parents and grandparents in all parts of the park, and I was really encouraged to see a lot of people who visibly appeared to be tourists! In fact, there were a lot of people in all of the riverfront parks today, extending all the way down to the Friendship Park (so wish that park would get a better/less cheesy name).  The Smale Park is definitely an attraction for downtown Cincinnati, and it's awesome to have such an active and popular destination at one of the 'poles' of the streetcar line.  I imagine the park will only see more use as the GE building, phase 2 apartments, and the AC Hotel opens. 

 

You mean Theodore M. Berry International Friendship Park aka 'TMBIFP'

I took my dog for a walk through Smale around lunch time today, and it was unbelievably packed.  There were a lot of kids there with summer camp programs, as well as lots of children with parents and grandparents in all parts of the park, and I was really encouraged to see a lot of people who visibly appeared to be tourists! In fact, there were a lot of people in all of the riverfront parks today, extending all the way down to the Friendship Park (so wish that park would get a better/less cheesy name).  The Smale Park is definitely an attraction for downtown Cincinnati, and it's awesome to have such an active and popular destination at one of the 'poles' of the streetcar line.  I imagine the park will only see more use as the GE building, phase 2 apartments, and the AC Hotel opens. 

 

You mean Theodore M. Berry International Friendship Park aka 'TMBIFP'

 

My other favorite spot to take people down there is the HFPNCGUGAP.

...wtf is that?

The Heekin Family/PNC Grow up Great Adventure Playground, of course.

Of course........silly me.

^ My guess would be the Heekin Family / Pittsburgh National Corporation Grow Up Great Adventure Playground. I had to look up those first few initials, though, and in doing so found a great picture of the Portland Loo about halfway down this page:

 

http://www.mysmaleriverfrontpark.org/smale_riverfront_park_weeks.htm

 

I wonder if they got that guy to sign a release?

 

*edit, I guess I'm a little too slow.

Neat video of the park, including some great aerial shots:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JarJ7CUmLL8

 

I saw that video yesterday. It's a great video that really showcases how extensive this park is. Looking back at photos from before this and The Banks started really showcase how depressing our riverfront was. It was terrible. This park is phenomenal and really showcases our city well. It's always filled with people too which will only increase as more of The Banks is completed and it becomes more of a neighborhood park instead of primarily a destination like it is now.

Didn't the city try to claim drones are illegal over "downtown" when they arrested that guy for crashing his into Queen City Square?

I believe downtown is restricted airspace, so drones are technically illegal because they violate that. Not 100% sure.

Yeah but this one made a pretty video.

I would think they just have to have proper clearance/authority.

An excellent article questioning the use of no-bid contracts under the much-maligned Parks Board.

 

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2016/03/22/how-did-smale-get-built-questions-arise-over-no-bid-contracts/81258696/

How did Smale get built? Questions arise over no-bid contracts

 

Cincinnati Park Board officials used no-bid contracts for $40 million of publicly funded work on the Smale Riverfront Park construction project, failing to provide oversight over subcontractor hiring or wage standards, an Enquirer investigation has found.

 

In fact, by funneling tens of millions of construction work through pre-existing contracts not designed for that purpose, the board violated city ordinances requiring full bonding and insurance, leaving the city vulnerable to lawsuits or faulty construction. The Park Board even received a warning from city purchasing officials that "this contract is not to be used for new construction," yet continued the practice.

 

City lawyers are reviewing the deals to see if any other city ordinances or state laws were violated in building the overall $97 million project.

It seems like the "Park Tax" debacle from last November was a blessing in disguise. It got reporters to start digging into the Park Board's finances and uncover a whole load of problems.

An excellent article questioning the use of no-bid contracts under the much-maligned Parks Board.

 

No-bid contracts are at least 10% higher than a competitive bid since (obviously) there is no competition.  Also, the reasoning that they needed it done by the All-Star Game is insulting since a liquidated damages clause covers that and is standard on a project of that size and scope. 

 

This was a shockingly excellent article by the Enquirer.  I have no idea how they built that park without public bids.  Let the Park Board house cleaning begin!

So much of this has happened since Cranley was elected, yet they keep trying to pin it on Mallory.  Cranley has now been in office for 27 months but they keep acting like they just "discovered" this stuff. 

From page 8 of the Parks annual budget update to City Council... ( http://city-egov.cincinnati-oh.gov/Webtop/ws/council/public/child/Blob/44631.pdf?rpp=-10&m=2&w=doc_no%3D%27201600390%27 )

 

The presentation notes they have been awarded a $1.8M in grants to build the boat dock at Smale, but require a $1.5M match from the city to receive the grant, which the offer expires in August 2016. I had not heard they had a grant to build the boat dock in hand before.

 

I would assume there would be docking fees associated with public use of the dock? And thus a revenue generator for the park.

From page 8 of the Parks annual budget update to City Council... ( http://city-egov.cincinnati-oh.gov/Webtop/ws/council/public/child/Blob/44631.pdf?rpp=-10&m=2&w=doc_no%3D%27201600390%27 )

 

The presentation notes they have been awarded a $1.8M in grants to build the boat dock at Smale, but require a $1.5M match from the city to receive the grant, which the offer expires in August 2016. I had not heard they had a grant to build the boat dock in hand before.

 

I would assume there would be docking fees associated with public use of the dock? And thus a revenue generator for the park.

 

I think that grant for the dock has actually been in place for a while. If I remember correctly, it's from the Army Corp of Engineers.

Since Mehring Way along Smale so rarely has heavy traffic (really only during events/games), I'd love to see the city allow onstreet parking, at least on the south (river) side of the street. It would help slow traffic down and make it easier for people to park quickly for trips to the park. The parking also creates a beneficial buffer between the traffic and the sidewalk. It would also add to the sense of activity at the park. Since that is a US Route 27/52... I'm not sure who can make a decision like that. But maybe the parking revenues could be shared with the Feds/ODOT.

Carrie Blackmore Smith, [email protected] 6:01 p.m. EDT June 21, 2016

 

 

 

The plan to construct a $3.6 million marina on Cincinnati's riverfront is drawing cheers and jeers as Cincinnati City Council prepares to vote on a budget that would secure its funding.

 

Some fear the spot along the riverbank near Great American Ball Park is unsafe. Boaters are piping up on social media with concerns about no wake zones and potential damage to their vessels.

 

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2016/06/21/cincinnati-marina-gets-cheers-and-jeers/86144026/