not sure which company it is but a friend of a friend drives a pedicab down on the riverfront as a part-time job

Okay, thanks. I was basically just wondering if anyone was still running pedicabs in the city, or if the only company doing it had gone under.

 

Do you have any insight as to how pedicab business is in the colder months?

I emailed the address on the J-Ride FB page and the person emailed back saying they sold the business. I guess the new owners are still at it. Or maybe someone else is.

We discussed bicycle infrastructure and culture on the last episode of The UrbanCincy Podcast. Mel McVay from Cincinnati's DOTE gives us a preview of some upcoming bike lanes and trails: http://urbn.cc/p2pm

Somebody stole my rear rack off of my bike tonight.  They needed an allen wrench to do so, which makes me wonder why they didn't take the seat, wheels, or anything else.  They did attempt to take the rubber hand grips though, which is simply bizarre. 

^ Where was it parked?

My friend (possibly the same friend of a friend of OTR) pedicabs part-time. He currently isn't in town and usually only does it during sporting events. He said that the process for getting a pedicab license is terrible. You have to go to City Hall to turn in paperwork, I believe. Then you go to a police station on the west side to get your photo taken (nothing else is done here). Then you return to City Hall to have them print out your badge. And from what he said no one was actually familiar with the process so it took a long time. At some point someone gave him incorrect information and he had to go back to City Hall for some reason. Couldn't City Hall just install a cheap webcam and use that to take pedicab photos?

^ Where was it parked?

 

 

14th between Vine and Race.  The rack wasn't in very good shape either thanks to the time the teenagers shoved me off the bike in 2011.

^ Where were you shoved off?

While riding uphill on Vine St. just south of Inwood Park.  I rode up that street countless times without any trouble until 2011, when suddenly the loitering began near Thill St.  I live right by there and now avoid it while biking at night, since the loitering has been 24/7 for the past year. 

 

If you bike every single day, you will eventually have something pretty weird happen.  I'm now up to about 10 really weird biking stories. 

 

 

 

 

New Art Racks in Northside

My only issue is that hey look too arty & not enough racky.

The press release:

ArtWorks Installs New Sculptural Bike Rack in Northside’s Jacob Hoffner Park

Bike Rack is Ninth to be Installed through Queen City Art Racks Project

 

ArtWorks installed their latest sculptural bike rack on Hamilton Avenue in Northside’s Jacob Hoffner Park.  The bike rack is a part of ArtWorks’ Queen City Art Rack project, and was designed by local artist and metal worker Kate Demske.

Queen City Art Racks is an ongoing initiative to bring artist-designed, functional bike racks to public spaces throughout Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.  In the process, it engages community stakeholders, employs professional artists, and strengthens the region’s transportation options by creating awareness around bicycle parking. Since its launch in the spring of 2010, Queen City Art Racks has created 14 opportunities for artists. The new art rack in Northside is the ninth to be installed.

The design for this art rack was inspired by Northside history.  Demske, who lives and works in Northside, shared, “This park was once the estate of Jacob Hoffner, noted Northside land owner and philanthropist.  He was also an avid gardener, and Palm Street was named for the most famous plant in his greenhouse: a Sago Palm which had been owned by Robert Morris (one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence) before and during the Revolutionary War.  This palm lived more than 130 years and was eventually donated to Horticultural Hall in Philadelphia.  It's said that the only specimen that could rival it was owned by George Washington.”

The project was sponsored by John Castaldi and Terry Bazeley, with additional support provided by MoBo Bicycle Co-op.  Castaldi stated, “Terry and I see art created through ArtWorks every single day and believe very strongly that public art enriches the lives of all Cincinnatians.  We are also very committed to Northside and our neighbors here and wanted to do something for our community.  Finally, we wanted the rack to be designed by one of our neighborhood’s many artists and were thrilled with the choice of Kate Demske and the final result.”

 

Those interested in designing or sponsoring an art rack should visit ArtWorksCincinnati.org/artracks/

 

About ArtWorks: Founded in 1996, ArtWorks is a non-profit arts organization that empowers and inspires the creative community to transform our everyday environments through employment, apprenticeships, education, community partnerships, and civic engagement. ArtWorks hires teen and professional artists to make innovative public art to enrich the Greater Cincinnati community. To date, ArtWorks Summer Program has provided job opportunities for more than 2,500 teen Apprentice Artists and 500 professional artists. ArtWorks is funded by the City of Cincinnati, Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./US Bank Foundation, ArtsWave, and the Ohio Arts Council. To learn more, visit ArtWorksCincinnati.org.

 

Alexandra Sharp

Marketing & PR Coordinator

ArtWorks

20 E Central Parkway

Cincinnati, OH 45202

513.333.0388 x 24

 

Secret ArtWorks: When Pigs Invade

Friday November 16th 2012, 5pm – 9pm

MCA Event Center, 120 E Fourth Street Cincinnati, OH 45202

Tickets available via ArtWorksCincinnati.org/secret

Well THIS is big news:

 

:clap:

 

Cincinnati moving forward with Ohio's 1st bike sharing system

 

A new study, prepared by Alta Planning + Design, determined how and where a bicycle sharing system could be implemented in Cincinnati in a way that will compliment its expanding Bicycle Transportation Program.

 

The recently released report was called for by city leaders in May 2012, and identifies a 35-station, 350-bike system that would be built in two phases in Downtown, Over-the-Rhine, Pendleton, Clifton Heights, Corryville, Clifton, Avondale and the West End.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2012/10/cincinnati-moving-forward-with-ohios.html

Anybody know if the feasibility study is available online? I see some low-resolution maps on the UrbanCincy article, but I'd like to see them with a higher resolution and maybe other things in the feasibility study.

 

I am happy this is moving forward, but I have some concerns about the way this is planned out. The biggest shame about it to me is that NKY isn't included in the initial roll-out. I think the most successful area for this would be the river basin on both sides of the river.

 

I'm afraid there will be a ton of one-way traffic down the hill from Uptown. That's not a deal-killer, but I think it makes sense to establish the program in the basin first, before taking on additional logistical challenges posed by topographic boundaries.

 

Edit: I see the feasibility study is hosted on the city's website:

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/bikes/news/study-recommends-35-bike-share-stations/

 

Here's the full study:

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/bikes/linkservid/241025ED-EFF8-8292-8C6AC74C67C3F7FA/showMeta/0/

What do Cincinnati cyclists think of the green paint on and around the Ludlow Viaduct?

 

http://www.urbancincy.com/2012/11/cincinnati-becomes-second-ohio-city-to-install-green-bike-lanes/

 

Specifically, what do you think about using the paint exclusively at "conflict points"? Is this a better strategy than painting entire lanes?

 

On the one hand, I see it as a cheap cop-out. On the other hand, maybe there is something to making the lane really pop at certain points, which would be dulled if the color were constant. I think my stronger feeling is the former theory, but I don't know of any studies of the issue. Anybody know of any studies?

Painting the entire bike lane would be very expensive and difficult to maintain, and as you say it would not be effective at marking conflict points anymore.  I'd rather they use it to highlight dangerous/confusing situations, leaving money to do more bike lanes elsewhere.  Besides, even the best paint (or in this case thermopastic sheets) is still likely to be more slippery than raw pavement in wet conditions, so it should be used sparingly for that reason alone.

You make good points. Still, I think it is important in the long run for cyclists to have a stronger marker of their claim to a portion of the road. Since the goal of dedicated infrastructure is primarily to get more cyclists on the road, what is psychologically appealing to a potential cyclist is more important than highlighting conflict points for motorists. More cyclists on the road will do more for the visibility and safety of cyclists than anything that merely improves safety for a constant number of cyclists. My bet is a fully painted lane would inspire more people to hop on a bike than a lane highlighted at a few points. Still, more lanes in general (since funding is limited) is probably better than one highly-appealing lane.

 

I wonder what the difference of long-term costs of maintenance for a lane of thermoplastic sheets is versus a lane using a colored asphalt (as is common in western Europe).

 

It seems the American strategy is to get the network done as quickly as possible in paint and then (theoretically) upgrading later with higher quality materials. Since no city I know of seems to be to the point of a seriously upgrading materials, I've yet to see how this strategy works. I would like to see a rogue city taking the opposite approach and creating high quality infrastructure in strategic locations and then branching out from there, for a point of comparison. No one seems to be doing that, though, which I suspect is due at least in part to a lack of standards available for fully tricked-out cycling infrastructure. Temporary, experimental infrastructure is a loophole being used to get around a lack of engineering standards.

The colored asphalt would be a great way to do it (I love the red asphalt they use in the Netherlands), but it's one of those things that requires some care and diligence to do properly.  Asphalt cold joints can be really sloppy if not done carefully, so it might be better with a small concrete gutter or a curb between the bike lane and the driving lane, which at that point makes it more of a cycle track.  Also it requires an extra set of equipment and probably doubles the length of time to repave, etc.  Still, the results are great. 

 

Yes, that video shows what I hope we end up with eventually. (Nice video, thanks.) Paint and thermoplastic just aren't very attractive. Know of anywhere that uses green asphalt? That seems to be the color cities are converging on for bike lanes in the US. Seems like something cities could switch around to make something a little more unique, but green is all the rage.

 

I remember reading that Portland or some such city tried using blue, but switched to green in order to make cycling lanes more distinct from handicapped parking spots. NYC and other cities (apparently Cincinnati among them) have followed the green trend.

 

I'm afraid of the aesthetics of curbs we will end up with for cycle tracks. They're going to be hideous, just watch.

Green is the only color approved by the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) so I doubt much experimentation is going to happen color-wise.  I assume Portland tried blue at first because that's what they use in Denmark, so they have a paint formula that can stand up well in the heat, cold, and sun.  The yellow paint we use in the US is actually pretty uncommon in much of the rest of the world because it's more expensive than white, because it's more difficult to make it chemically stable.  I suspect green is appropriate because it's bright, chemically similar and stable like blue, and it doesn't suggest any other use like red for no parking/fire lanes (at least out west), orange/yellow for caution or parking restrictions, blue for handicapped, white for most everything else.  Brown and purple are the only other colors that seem to be mostly unused, and brown wouldn't be visible enough

I like purple. :-)

Madison WI has been using RED bike lanes and bike boxes for a few years now. 

 

http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt_and_politics/madison-tries-a-european-idea-to-improve-bike-safety/article_7139503a-62e6-11df-93ae-001cc4c03286.html

^ Thanks. Good to see some variation from the green. Though those pics, once again, emphasize how much nicer colored asphalt is!

 

I could dig some royal purple asphalt for the Queen City.

The Riverside Drive bike lanes now continue all the way to Friendship Park.  Tons of people were out there today, its such an improvement.  2 lanes of traffic seems to have slowed car speeds down too.  Hooray!

 

(the city might want to go after the contractor who did the paving tho.... pretty bumpy for brand new)

^It's just a micro-surfacing, so it's maybe 1/4" thick, like what they did on the rest of Riverside a year or two ago.  So while they did adjust some manholes and fill some potholes, there's still things that they can't really cover up with such a thin overlay. 

 

Overall it looks good, but I think they really botched the handling of the railroad overpass near Cincinnati Barge & Rail Terminal.  Going towards downtown they squeeze the bike lane right next to the retaining wall, where you usually want to swing kind of wide before going under there.  Going away from downtown, they actually ramp the bike lane up onto the sidewalk and behind the guardrail.  I haven't seen yet how they dump you back onto the street. 

Here's the time-lapse video of my ride to Columbus in 2009.  No bike lanes on Riverside Drive:

Biking Cincinnati to Columbus on Vimeo

The Riverside Drive bike lanes now continue all the way to Friendship Park.  Tons of people were out there today, its such an improvement.  2 lanes of traffic seems to have slowed car speeds down too.  Hooray!

 

(the city might want to go after the contractor who did the paving tho.... pretty bumpy for brand new)

 

And various parts of the bike lane look like they were done by someone who was drunk.

So I drove down there today en route to another place and here are my observations:

 

* The bike lane hugs the curb as much as possible. From the Columbia Parkway ramp east to the underpass, this is the most obvious. The bike lane going east hugs the curb and provide a consistent 4' lane, but the roadway isn't that consistent, so the buffer between the bike lane and the travel lanes can be all over the place. I think once they mark the stripes between the main edge line and the bike edge line, it'll be more clear.

 

* The eastbound bike lane hops up on the curb at the underpass via a conveniently placed ramp - much more clear and direct than the one for the railroad underpass on Spring Grove at Northside. But it doesn't place the cyclist back on the road - there is a new curb cut and ramp about 50' or so away that is a 90-degree s-curve. Practically have to come to a stop to get back on the road.

 

* The new asphalt overlay is bumpy. I know that Duke did some work, but at least grind out the rough spots before overlaying it. The damn car was shaking thoughout - nothing seriously bumpy, but annoying nonetheless.

The painting is all temporary. It's not finished yet.

"...a new curb cut and ramp about 50' or so away that is a 90-degree s-curve. Practically have to come to a stop to get back on the road."

 

Sherman, I rode that sidewalk ramp yesterday, and I didn't see anything like what you describe.  It's still a dumb situation, but you just get back on the street at the driveway curb cut for the Barge and Rail Terminal and Joseph Beth's headquarters http://goo.gl/maps/L7Z1i  Is there something farther down that you're referring to? 

 

Also, microsurfacing does flow a bit after it's laid down, so it smooths itself after being driven on.  Duke has nothing to do with it. 

I was really hoping they would have grinded and resurfaced like they did the first part. That overlay is worthless. the road is still a mess.

 

The bike lanes all they way down the road are nice now. It is something that was needed for a long time

^This is the exact same overlay treatment they did with the rest of Riverside a year or so ago.

I rode it yesteday. The recent Duke has main replacement is definitely the primary contributor to many of the dips. Many of the dips are located at the newly replaced duke manholes (what are those things actually called since they aren't really "manhole" size. Duke always does a crappy job patching up its work. That being said, once the final lines are painted and the street is swept this will be very nice.

^I don't think Duke replaced any of their little square/rectangular gas valve covers.  Those are pretty bad, but at least they're easier to avoid due to their small size.  I'm not sure if there is a technical term for them. 

^This is the exact same overlay treatment they did with the rest of Riverside a year or so ago.

 

No it isn't. they actually ground up the old asphalt. I remember them doing it on my way home from work on a Friday. They laid new asphalt then over the weekend.

^They did that for some large areas that needed patching, like there was a particular stretch near Eli's where the pavement was shoving due to the weight of vehicles (called plastic deformation).  But they did not do a traditional mill and fill on the whole street.  You can see some places where the underlying tar crack sealant is telegraphing through to the surface, and the aggregate is way too fine compared to traditional hot mix asphalt.  http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/dote/news/beechmont-riverside-improvements/

 

You can also see in the Google Street view that was shot in the same month the surface was laid (they didn't have the stencils down yet) there's the slight washboard appearance you see in the new surface they just put down.  That's smoothed itself out over the last year.  http://goo.gl/maps/CIejw

"...a new curb cut and ramp about 50' or so away that is a 90-degree s-curve. Practically have to come to a stop to get back on the road."

 

Sherman, I rode that sidewalk ramp yesterday, and I didn't see anything like what you describe.  It's still a dumb situation, but you just get back on the street at the driveway curb cut for the Barge and Rail Terminal and Joseph Beth's headquarters http://goo.gl/maps/L7Z1i  Is there something farther down that you're referring to? 

 

Also, microsurfacing does flow a bit after it's laid down, so it smooths itself after being driven on.  Duke has nothing to do with it. 

 

How did you get back on? The curb cut I saw with the pedestrian ramp (and the 90 degree turns) was at http://goo.gl/maps/Su4ib. I didn't notice anything closer to the underpass for a ramp from the sidewalk to the pavement.

 

As for the microsurfacing, I was referring to the work done underneath.

^Turn your street view about 90 degrees to the right...the already existing entrance to that parking lot.

^They did that for some large areas that needed patching, like there was a particular stretch near Eli's where the pavement was shoving due to the weight of vehicles (called plastic deformation).  But they did not do a traditional mill and fill on the whole street.  You can see some places where the underlying tar crack sealant is telegraphing through to the surface, and the aggregate is way too fine compared to traditional hot mix asphalt.  http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/dote/news/beechmont-riverside-improvements/

 

You can also see in the Google Street view that was shot in the same month the surface was laid (they didn't have the stencils down yet) there's the slight washboard appearance you see in the new surface they just put down.  That's smoothed itself out over the last year.  http://goo.gl/maps/CIejw

 

Thanks for the clarification

Latest article from the Business Courier stating that the bike share system could be operational by Spring 2014.

 

Below is a map of proposed bike share locations. The full results of the bike share study can be found here. I think their projections for annual memberships are a little high, but nonetheless it will be successful. Also wish Phase II would go into Northside and not just Uptown. It also seems strange there is no suggested station at the zoo or at the corner of Bishop/Jefferson.

 

Corrected: Apparently, Mayor Elect John Cranley just announced that he's going to stop new bike lanes from being built in the city. The bike share program will apparently continue.

Not that I actually WANT to defend Cranley, but he actually said that he intends to develop a bike sharing system. Quite the opposite f what you heard.

No bike lanes, but still a bikeshare? Strange but of course the usual stuff from Cranley...

Not that I actually WANT to defend Cranley, but he actually said that he intends to develop a bike sharing system. Quite the opposite f what you heard.

 

I corrected my post a few minutes before you replied. Like it says now, he is going to let the bike share program proceed, but not add new bike lanes in the city. However I'm not sure how successful the bike share program will be without new bike lanes. According to surveys that the city's DOTE has done, the #1 thing that keeps Cincinnatians from biking is the lack of bike lanes, cycle tracks, and trails... it's apparently a bigger factor than weather, hills, or anything else.

The bike share program is supposed to start in the downtown area, which is an area city planners and engineers have said they do not intend to install bike lanes. Not continuing to build bike lanes will hurt the success of an expanded system, but the first phase would be the same as under a Qualls administration.

 

Personally, I think bike lanes should be installed on some streets downtown. But the window of what's possible seems to have shifted and gotten a lot smaller in the past 24 hrs.

Not that I actually WANT to defend Cranley, but he actually said that he intends to develop a bike sharing system. Quite the opposite f what you heard.

 

I corrected my post a few minutes before you replied. Like it says now, he is going to let the bike share program proceed, but not add new bike lanes in the city. However I'm not sure how successful the bike share program will be without new bike lanes. According to surveys that the city's DOTE has done, the #1 thing that keeps Cincinnatians from biking is the lack of bike lanes, cycle tracks, and trails... it's apparently a bigger factor than weather, hills, or anything else.

 

Oh, cheers.  Sorry about that.  Regarding bike lanes...I understand the want for them, but I actually don't like them.  I ride my bike daily and I ALWAYS ride in the middle of the lane with traffic.  It's much safer than boxing myself into that side space.  That said, I fully support a cycletrack along Central Parkway North of Hopple.  That section has too many blind curves.

 

I've found that bike lanes sometimes make drivers more hostile.  Earlier in the summer, a friend and I were riding on the MLK viaduct over I-71 and we decided to ride two-wide in the right lane.  A car driver rode right behind us, honked its horn, and the pulled next to us and shouted "Get the F--- in the bike lane!" 

Bike lanes, and more so bike paths, make novices feel more comfortable riding since they have dedicated space. From there, it's a safety-in-numbers game. If you kept the number of cyclists constant, it is probably true that vehicular cycling is safer. But the number of cyclists increases with dedicated infrastructure.

 

It's sort of like the preference for riding a streetcar over a bus. You can argue it doesn't make sense, but perception doesn't have to make sense. Planning is as much about sociology as it is about (civil) engineering, and sociology is basically psychology on a grand scale. And human psychology is often not logic-based.

I've found that bike lanes sometimes make drivers more hostile.  Earlier in the summer, a friend and I were riding on the MLK viaduct over I-71 and we decided to ride two-wide in the right lane.  A car driver rode right behind us, honked its horn, and the pulled next to us and shouted "Get the F--- in the bike lane!" 

Drivers don't get that the bike lane isn't where bikes are supposed to be - they are there to tell motorists to keep the hell out.

I'm convinced most drivers think road markings are weird alien gibberish.

Want to bike from downtown to Northside and Clifton? It could get easier soon

Chris Wetterich Staff reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

   

 

It will be easier to bike from downtown to Northside and Clifton under a proposed bikeway along Central Parkway from Elm Street to Ludlow Avenue.

 

The Cincinnati City Council approved the acceptance of a $500,000 state grant through the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments to install the bikeway.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2013/11/want-to-bike-from-downtown-to.html

I attended one of the public meetings. It a cyclepath and consists of:

 

a. One lane in each direction on Central Parkway from Elm to Liberty, protected by painted stripes. I suggested metal bollards similar to http://www.aliexpress.com/item/traffic-post-traffic-bollard-no-parking-bollard/778142121.html. This also prevents people from parking or driving in the lane, which is an issue elsewhere in the city - like the Mitchell protected bike lane. The road would lose a traffic lane.

b. Two-way on Central Parkway essentially to Ludlow, split into two phases at Marshall. It would most likely use the west side of Central Parkway as there are few intersections there. The road would lose two traffic lanes, reducing it to one lane in each direction with a turn lane and parking provisions (if I remember correctly).

c. Crossing Liberty would be done with dedicated bicycle signals that would be actuated with a mounted button. If you are going north on Central Parkway, you would need to cut diagonal across Liberty to the west side of the parkway. Dedicated signals would be installed wherever there is a regular traffic signal.

 

The issue came up with cleaning the lanes - which is interesting in that the city sold off their junked alley sweeper a while back. It would need to purchase a small sweeper for the lanes that would be striped/blocked off.

 

It's a huge step that helps shed the image of cycling as transportation, not recreation.

Surely, Cranley is warming up his crowbar for those bollards.