Posted December 11, 200816 yr Locally, this can have a large impact. Funding from the government can potentially be allocated towards the Oasis bike path or to the streetcar. We've been discussing this off-and-on at various committee hearings and meetings, and we are pretty damn excited for this! Caution: Work projects ahead The government is set to spend hundreds of billions on energy, roads, railways and community development projects. Here's how to get stuff we actually want. By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney, December 11, 2008 NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In just over a month, hundreds of billions of dollars of your money could be funneling through the hands of every politician, from the president to the mayor of the smallest American town, in a plan to jumpstart the economy. ... Transportation in the long term Just because money from the initial stimulus should be spent on existing projects doesn't mean the nation should ignore longer term transportation goals - things like building more mass transit lines, bus networks, or dedicated highways for freight. ... There are plenty of major rail, bus and other rapid transit projects that have all their permits and are ready to be built, said Cervero. ... Of that $73 billion, $29 billion would go towards transit projects including trains and airports, while $15 billion could be used to upgrade water and sewer systems, $12 billion could be spent revitalizing downtowns, and $6 billion could be used to make buildings energy efficient. Energy, both efficiency and using more renewable sources, had been a big part of Obama's campaign and has figured prominently in the stimulus talks. ... Downtown redevelopment would focus on building new public facilities, converting old public facilities to commercial space, and providing tax incentives for business to move downtown. ...
December 11, 200816 yr Maybe we could use this money to move the county offices off Ontario and make them an anchor tenant of a big new development in the WHD, tied in with RTA's west side transit center. That would open up room for the medical mart, and other things. It shouldn't be hard to line up law firms as tenants for a sizeable office tower where the county building is. It's right next to the justice center and probate, there couldn't be a better location for a law firm. This building could also house the hotel component of the new convention center, with the med mart attached.
December 11, 200816 yr One of the other keys is that this money (to work as a stimulus) has to go first to projects ready to go. If it is going to take a couple years of planning and due diligence to get something started, it shouldn't get this money.
December 11, 200816 yr ^ If they can build the Minneapolis bridge in a year. ANY project can be ready to go in a very short time.
December 11, 200816 yr This sounds like the beginning of Cincinnati's list for Govt funded projects for 2009. Cincy has $250 M stimulus list By Howard Wilkinson • [email protected] • December 9, 2008 The city of Cincinnati has a $250 million wish list for President-elect Obama and the new Congress when they take office next month, in the form of long list of public works projects that city officials say would create nearly 3,400 jobs. The 32 projects proposed by Cincinnati – dealing with everything from tennis courts to repaving city streets to neighborhood “streetscaping” to upgrading the city’s water and sewer system – are part of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ “Main Street Economic Recovery Plan” which proposes a crash program to stimulate the economy and create jobs by investing federal dollars into local projects. ... http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081209/NEWS0108/312090032/1172
December 11, 200816 yr What Bike/PAC is really trying to push, is for a review of the roadway rehabilitation plans to ensure that bikes are accommodated as often as possible. Most of the rehabilitation projects have been nice ... for automobiles, but did nothing for bikes. My recommendations (and this can be retrofitted onto other streets): 1. Sharrows and signage for shared usage. 2. Modification of MLK, especially in the recently paved sections, for two 10' auto lanes, two 4' bike lanes, and 10' central reservation. Current standards range from 12' to 14' for auto lanes, and a 16' central reservation. The city claimed that there was no room for bikes... so they increased the width of the lanes so that bikes can haphazardly share the roadway. Note that MLK, in most areas, was six 10' lanes with a central reservation at spots, so this can work. 3. Modification of existing plans to remove the central reservation and implement a standard center line, and install 4' bike lanes. Improved traffic signals, such as the permitted left turn "dog houses", can accommodate left-turn movements at major intersections.
December 11, 200816 yr Why would you ride on MLK in busy traffic when you can ride on University or Lincoln or the sidewalk?
December 11, 200816 yr Mr. Cahal - I like the way you think. I'd like to see the City go on a "road diet" and retrofit many of it's main corridors based on Complete Streets criteria.
December 11, 200816 yr ^^ MLK is a direct west to east connection that extends far beyond the reach of the university of Cincinnati. It was identified 25+ years ago, in the original bike plan, as a bike route. In 1979, the original bike plan was drafted and implemented, although the results are next to nil. Bike route signage is haphazard at best, and incorrect. Coming north on Victory Parkway, I came across a bike route signage that stated if I were to go to Xavier, it would be best to use MLK to Gilbert; however, it is far shorter and faster to continue north to Victory to Dana. We need through routes, and complete routes, instead of stubs of bike paths. Victory Parkway was recently rehabilitated, yet it has a bike path that exists for less than one mile, and it doesn't connect to any other paths. In fact, it begins and ends in seemingly random places, whereas there is room for it to be expanded in both directions. Sidewalks are unacceptable. Bikes are best left for the streets when a user is comfortable with it; and it is in accordance with the law.
December 11, 200816 yr - Nearly $4.3 million for renovation of the historic Crosley Building in Camp Washington, which city officials say would create 300 jobs. http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081209/NEWS0108/312090032/1172 First I've ever heard of this, anyone have any more information?
December 15, 200816 yr Butler County submits for federal stimulus dollars County could save $100 million on projects and create up to 10,000 new jobs By Jessica Heffner, Staff Writer Monday, December 15, 2008 BUTLER COUNTY — Officials from Butler County are working on securing their own piece of President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus package. At the top of their list is federal funding to complete the Ohio Bypass 4 project. County economic development director Brian Coughlin said he has received a letter requesting he submit up to five projects for funding through Obama's stimulus package. The future president is promising billions of dollars for infrastructure projects in hopes of creating jobs. ... Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843 or [email protected]. http://www.journal-news.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/12/15/hjn121608tid.html
December 15, 200816 yr ^Obama should play politics and give Butler Cty squat. I think two people there voted for him.
December 15, 200816 yr ^Obama should play politics and give Butler Cty squat. I think two people there voted for him. That's just step 1 right? Step 2 is to build some internment camps for evil Republicans, if I remember correctly. ..Blatant partisanship is rarely the answer.
December 17, 200816 yr OK so let me get this straight - Butler County wants the US taxpayers to help lower their water rates for all the sprawling communities outside of Hamilton under the guise of an economic stimulus - crafty folks :wink2: County leaders say water plant needed to lower user rates Area leaders hope to secure economic stimulus funding. By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer Wednesday, December 17, 2008 HAMILTON — Butler County leaders say they were forced to explore building a $75 million water treatment plant and drilling wellfields after Hamilton officials declined to lower the cost of water the city sells to the county. A proposed new water plant was ranked second in a list of projects the county has submitted for possible funding under President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan. A lot of planning is needed before a plant could be built, but the city's refusal to renegotiate the county's water contract is forcing them to do so, country officials said. ... Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or [email protected]. http://www.journal-news.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/12/17/hjn121708water.html
December 28, 200816 yr Well, we can take pleasure in knowing that our suburbs are getting in line for hundreds of millions of investment.
December 28, 200816 yr Update, here's the full Ohio list. It looks Akron is the only city going for gold! Akron actually has the balls to ask for more money than Detroit ($832,746,813.00). Holy sh!t...look at Lima, Lorain, and North Royalton too! Akron: $925,092,500.00 That's insulting
December 28, 200816 yr Well, we can take pleasure in knowing that our suburbs are getting in line for hundreds of millions of investment. And Cincinnati, Toledo, Dayton, Akron (just insane how much they're asking for, but other cities around the country are doing it, so I don't blame them). Most of the suburbs with the glaring exception of North Royalton were conservative in their requests. I wish Toledo and Cincinnati asked for more money, but whatever. I went over the project lists in those two cities, and they both made smart, realistic requests. Maybe they're just being honest with themselves as opposed to Akron who must have smoked a QP of dank... And I don't blame cities like Lima and Lorain for being greedy as hell. Lord knows they need it. Youngstown should certainly be up there too, but they asked for less money than many suburbs. Maybe they've just given up...Of the entire list, the one place that really disgusts me is North Royalton. Those sprawling bastards don't deserve a penny. That's the kind of modern suburb where you can't make it a minute without vomiting. I don't why CLEVELAND and COLUMBUS are absent from this list. That's just scary... Cleveland and Columbus might not have submitted yet. Almost every city has budget woes due to the economy, so there's no reason why they wouldn't submit. People in suburbs deserve at least a small part of the pie. they pay taxes like everyone else.
December 28, 200816 yr It is a pipe dream. You think the government doesn't realize that it makes people happy when you give them handouts? How do you please the masses? Give them free sh!t. Give them their bread and circuses. What we REALLY need to do is force banks to do their job and LOAN MONEY to people who DESERVE IT. And if you want to make people happy like they did during the depression, legalize marijuana. That makes people happy when they know they have less or no collateral to post up for a loan.
December 30, 200816 yr Wouldn't it be nice to have an Ohio city making a request like Salt Lake! Salt Lake City UT Transit $100,000,000 100 Jobs Construction of a new streetcar line in southwest downtown connecting the intermodal transportation center with major destinations including a regional park, providing an underpass for the streetcar and major trail under the Union Pacific Railroad mainline Salt Lake City UT Transit $175,000,000 150 Jobs Construct two light rail extensions downtown (400 South extension to Hub and 700 South/400 West extension) to complete the adopted Downtown Transportation Master Plan light rail system Salt Lake City UT Transit $65,000,000 180 Jobs Construction of a new light rail North Temple viaduct over Union Pacific and UTA Commuter rail tracks including new roadway improvements, pedestrian walks with security lighting and a passenger transfer station between the presently being constructed Airp Salt Lake City UT Transit $55,000,000 100 Jobs Construct the Sugar House Streetcar line connecting downtwon Sugar House to the regional light rail system
January 1, 200916 yr Wouldn't it be nice to have an Ohio city making a request like Salt Lake! On some issues like mass transit and rail, SLC is remarkably progressive and thinking about the future. Even the University of Utah is connected by rail! Just imagine if our public universities in Ohio had this... I know right? Who knew those wacky @ss Mormons could muster up light rail transit. Not only that but their ridership is through the roof! They voted for light rail over highway expansion 14 to 1. That would not happen in Ohio. Ohio cities really need to get their act together. Salt Lake City ain't even that big and it's embarassing when you have big cities in Ohio like Columbus and Cincinnati that don't have anything.
January 7, 200916 yr Obama: Earmarks banned from stimulus AP, January 6, 2009 WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama says he will bar pork-barrel projects from the massive economic stimulus bill he wants Congress to pass. Obama said Tuesday that his plan, expected to cost about $775 billion, will not allow lawmakers to insert pet projects, as they sometimes do on spending bills. He told reporters at his transition office in Washington that his package will set a "new higher standard of accountability, transparency and oversight. We are going to ban all earmarks, the process by which individual members insert projects without review."
January 7, 200916 yr i think it's easier in utah to drum up support for public transit because the population is more ethnically homogenous (95% white). in ohio, suburban whites aren't as keen on subsidizing transit for "those people." case in point, perrysburg pulling out of tarta, also livonia, mi (detroit burb) pulling out of smart. or is it because suburbanites just don't see public transit as something they'll ever use?
January 8, 200916 yr i think it's easier in utah to drum up support for public transit because the population is more ethnically homogenous (95% white). in ohio, suburban whites aren't as keen on subsidizing transit for "those people." case in point, perrysburg pulling out of tarta, also livonia, mi (detroit burb) pulling out of smart. or is it because suburbanites just don't see public transit as something they'll ever use? I think it's a combination of both. Living in the suburbs is all about escaping anything that has to do with the city.
January 8, 200916 yr Well the other thing although it looks like its a white bread, sleepy mini city by its 95% white statistics, its actually quite diverse. No other city except for NYC has the diverseness of languages that is there. Its because of their missionary zeal to get all over the globe, people have come back from all those places to live in SLC. Many Mormons have traveled the world and truly understand travel and importance of transportation. I don't mean to say I think they're all that interesting but they are smart and very, very sober.
January 8, 200916 yr ^yes they tend to overachieve, in my experience. what else is there to do without all the drinking and premarital sex?
January 8, 200916 yr ^yes they tend to overachieve, in my experience. what else is there to do without all the drinking and premarital sex? Apparently light rail and mass transit is one thing. Maybe the average Ohioan (midwestern) should cut back on drinking and premartial sex and travel the world more. :wave:
January 19, 200916 yr Strickland taps 'infrastructure czar' http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/01/19/daily2.html The Strickland administration is making sure the state is prepared for when time comes to jump on the multibillion-dollar economic stimulus package taking shape in Congress. The governor’s office Friday said it created a temporary “infrastructure czar” job, which will be staffed by Cleveland Foundation CEO Ronald Richard. In the part-time, unpaid position, Richard will be in charge of determining the best way to distribute money the state receives for infrastructure work under the stimulus program. ...
January 19, 200916 yr GOOD! I felt like we were going to drop the ball on this. Anyone know about this guy? Maybe we should figure out how to contact him to ensure multimodal infrastructure projects
January 19, 200916 yr Let me see if I understand this correctly. Columbus is planning to resurrect their light rail plan from a few years ago in order to ask for federal funds? If so, why isn't Cincinnati doing the same? Surely we still have all the original plans and all of the routes would be as valid today as they were a few years ago.
January 19, 200916 yr Those light rail plans for Cincinnati aren't construction ready at this point. I don't think Columbus' light rail plans are either, but they're more qualified than Cincy's light rail plans. What is happening is that Columbus is scrapping their streetcar plan for light rail that will operate similarly to a streetcar through the urban neighborhoods along High Street. So pretty much we're in the same boat.
January 20, 200916 yr ^ Nothing is ready to go unless right of way is purchased. I have a feeling people will hold out for more money once they know a plan is approved. Which in turn will stall everything again.
January 20, 200916 yr ^You're talking light rail though as streetcars operate on already existing ROW.
January 28, 200916 yr Warren Co. gets its list together for stimulus money By Elaine Trumpey • [email protected] • January 28, 2009 If Congress passes President Barack Obama's $825 billion stimulus plan, Warren County officials hope it includes about $58 million for 14 projects - including fixing the traffic nightmare at Interstate 71's Fields Ertel Road exit. The president touted his package Tuesday to Republicans on Capitol Hill. Democratic leaders have said they would like to have a bill ready for him to sign by President's Day on Feb. 16. ... http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090128/NEWS0108/901280331/1172
January 28, 200916 yr When will we finally get it? Stimulus to Nowhere? "John Norquist, President and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism, believes that President Obama should reconsider committing stimulus funds to decades-old freeway expansion projects and take transportation policy in a new direction. Facing the nation’s deepest economic crisis since the Great Depression and hearing from every quarter that the only thing worse than delay is timidity, President-elect Obama called on Congress weeks before his inauguration to draft stimulus package legislation that would kick start the economy and launch the new administration’s domestic agenda. Meeting the timeline, but hardly the spirit of boldness hard times require, the Obama administration and House Appropriations Committee produced a package that looks like it was designed by the outgoing Bush administration. It offers a few hopeful green gestures with tax credits for energy efficiency, but on transportation the Appropriations Committee package commits taxpayer billions to a status quo of lots of big highways and only modest amounts for trains, transit or local street networks that serve as high value settings for development and job creation. Heralded as a way to put the construction sector back on its feet, the transportation component of the bill offers a hidebound formula for spending money on the nation’s transportation system. The bill makes a relatively small investment in transit ($8 billion) and trains ($1 billion), while mostly passing the buck – or 30 billion bucks, to be precise – to state DoTs and their long lists of backordered highway projects. Obama gave highway officials much to hope for when he called his plan "the largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s," but the incoming President and his congressional allies need to seriously consider whether putting most of their dollars in the superhighway basket really promotes the innovation, and more crucially the immediate economic activity, this country badly needs. Is "Shovel-Ready" Enough? State bureaucracies claim to have thousands of "shovel-ready" projects. But examining the list of "shovel ready" state projects at aashto.org you find a list of decades-old freeway expansion proposals, large-scale projects that according to FHWA estimates, only 27% will be under construction within a year . Intimately familiar with the realities of transportation funding deployment, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office offered cautionary advice to the Appropriations Committee on just this point. Even where construction can begin quickly, highway investments offer dubious long-term benefits. Among the projects likely to be submitted for stimulus funding are a multi-billion dollar widening of Louisville’s riverfront freeway, adding 75 feet to the route’s girth, and further separating downtown from the valuable Ohio River banks. Another $2 billion will be requested to widen and “modernize” Interstate 94 from Milwaukee all the way to the Illinois border. Though it won’t achieve any significant reductions in drive times, this investment is projected to add more than 200,000 new vehicle miles (and 80 tons of carbon emissions) per day. On down the roster, the "shovel ready" lists promote high-cost roads that add little or no value. Contrast that to the infrastructure of America's towns and cities, the setting for most of America's wealth and jobs. Their streets are even more badly in need of investment than highways – every winter storm opens new potholes (and new stimulus opportunities) – but they are nowhere to be seen in the stimulus package. Congress’s lack of commitment to streets could deny the nation a genuine "shovel ready" opportunity to put dollars in circulation almost immediately. What’s more, the right investments in streets, local transit and high-speed rail will address long-term constraints that are holding America back. A New Direction President Obama should insist that Congress move federal transportation policy in a new direction. He need only look to the Internet, employed to such definitive effect by his election campaign, for a telling example of how 21st century transportation systems should work. Internet traffic makes use of a network of linkages, breaking up large volumes of data into small packets and distributing them through a web of available nodes. It’s fast, and it’s reliable. The same model applied to transportation networks will allow all modes of traffic to flow over multiple redundant routes, making travel times quicker, driving, walking and bicycling easier, and transit service more viable. At the same time investment in streets will remove barriers to urban real estate development, promoting the proliferation of neighborhood amenities and leading, ultimately, to shorter commutes and fewer car trips. Barack Obama and Joe Biden recalled the whistlestop campaign of Harry Truman with their Ride to the Inauguration. Meanwhile the stimulus package working its way through Congress is sidetracked into a cul de sac of depressing holdover ideas about transportation in America." http://www.planetizen.com/node/37060
January 28, 200916 yr Yeah, the $325,000,000 in the stimulus dedicated to preventing STD's could probably build a decent amount of rail, instead of highways. But, face it: we can't go spending billions on rail when our roads are falling apart. Roads are overburdened as it is, and even a great rail system wouldn't change that over night. This much bureaucracy and government spending will never accomplish anything. There's plenty of tax dollars being spent that there's enough to maintain our roads and build rail/public transit, but it's currently being spent on ridiculous items.
January 30, 200916 yr The following is what Leslie Ghiz sent me today. She also sent me a document explaining how Cincinnati wishes to use the money Things included are: 1. central riverfront project 2. cincinnati streetcar network 3. riverfront street grid.... .. 4.. . .5 . If you want me to e-mail it you you, just e-mail me at [email protected] Keith, Thanks for your email. I, too, believe that the proposed stimulus provides cities like Cincinnati the opportunity to create and enhance our transportation infrastructure. As I understand it, Ohio is set to received over $8 billion in funding. I am attaching our federal agenda … I imagine our stimulus requests would be very similar. Thanks again for writing. Leslie
February 2, 200916 yr ‘Buy American’ rule proposed for Obama stimulus plan http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/02/02/daily5.html Free trade critics are backing what free trade supporters (including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) oppose: a federal proposal that would require goods and equipment used in what could be a $1 trillion federal economic stimulus program be “American-made.” U.S. Sen Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., is sponsoring the “American-made” rule for construction and other equipment that would be used in the economic stimulus program, which funds public works, water, transportation and other construction projects as well as broadband communications deployments and energy research. ...
February 2, 200916 yr One of the problems with this is (in some industries) this will reduce the amount of competitive bids and increase the cost for those goods and services. If we want the stimulus to go as far as possible then make sure the bidding for projects and products is very competitive.
February 2, 200916 yr There is also the problem that many things are no longer made in America. Our policies have done just about everything possible to make sure that our manufacturing sector be diminished. One thing that drives up the costs for many rail projects is that the rolling stock and other items aren't made in the U.S. Therefore subjecting us to the bad exchange rate with European nations. If we produced these things in America the costs for new rail projects would immediately be lower.
February 2, 200916 yr Aside from this driving up costs for production of infrastructure, we might also see an outcry from trading partners. Nations have tried this before, and it has always failed. If you start to restrict imports from other countries, they will retaliate with restrictions of their own, and in turn everyone is hurt.
February 2, 200916 yr It has not always failed, it's done the world over. Most modern countries protect their home industries more than we do ours. We are in a unique position in that it is very hard to find a country with higher labor prices. We are therefore the only country in which the owner of just about anything can benefit from outsourcing.
February 4, 200916 yr http://www.stimuluswatch.org/ It seems the Cincinnati street cars is very favorable.
February 4, 200916 yr Go vote for your "critical" Ohio projects here: http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/OH
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