Saving Over the Rhine, One Building at a Time

Great article in the enquirer today about Cincinnati's own Danny Klingler.
Check it out for yourself

Old buildings, new owners

Christian Moerlein Lager House Riverfront Park

Check out this new post on Soapbox Cincinnati with details and pictures of the new, proposed Moerlein Beer Garden as part of the Banks and Riverfront park developments. Be sure to check out the link to the video that has actual artist renderings of the completed project! I'm getting excited about going there already!

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SORTA VOTES TO OPERATE STREETCAR

The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority board of trustees today voted to authorize the transit authority to serve as a partner in developing an operating plan for the streetcar system and ultimately to serve as the operator of the Cincinnati streetcar if an agreement can be reached. SORTA operates Metro transit and Access paratransit services in Greater Cincinnati.

The decision is subject to the City of Cincinnati and SORTA entering into a mutually agreed upon operating plan and working together on a comprehensive community engagement program. The SORTA board will vote again after the completion of these processes to make a final decision on the operation of the streetcar. The City will also review these before finalizing a decision on the operator.

There are several advantages to the City/SORTA streetcar partnership:
· As the designated recipient of federal transit funding for the Greater Cincinnati area, SORTA can assist in leveraging federal grant dollars for the project and can serve as the conduit for those funds.
· The streetcar operating plan can be closely coordinated with Metro bus service to maximize efficiency and reduce costs.
· Metro’s proposed university transit center can be developed to serve as a connection point for the streetcar, Metro service, and the many shuttles in the uptown area.

“The streetcar is a city economic development tool of regional importance, but it’s also a transportation mode that must be integrated with current transit service and operated efficiently and effectively,” said Melody Sawyer Richardson, chair of the



SORTA board. “SORTA will bring extensive transit expertise and understanding to the project, as we work with the city and the community to develop the best possible streetcar operating plan. The City Manager has assured SORTA that his recommendations for funding will not include taking City earnings tax revenue that SORTA receives to operate Metro and Access.”

“With more than two-thirds of the funding for the streetcar system in place, we are in a good position to further develop the operating plan for the streetcar system’s long-term sustainability,” said City Manager Milton Dohoney, Jr. “We are glad to pull on SORTA’s transportation expertise and resources to make that happen as quickly as possible.”

SORTA operates Metro and Access non-profit, tax-funded public transit services, providing about 19 million rides per year in Greater Cincinnati.

More Good News for the Streetcar Today

As posted here at UrbanCincy, the Cincinnati Streetcar Project is yet another 4 million dollars closer to being a reality. The total allocated thus far is 86.5 million of the 128 needed to finish the first phase. More grant announcements are expected in the upcoming month. Great news for Over the Rhine!

Big Streetcar Vote This Week! Help Needed!

Update: It appears that Bortz and Berding have decided to vote for the passage of the bonds today as they have been reassured by the mayor and city manager that the city will not proceed with the project unless we receive federal and state funding. It is expected to pass 6-2, and with that we won't even have to worry about the frivilous law suit that Mark Miller and Tom Luken are threatening to send.
Read Here:
Enquirer Update

City Council will be meeting this afternoon to discuss issuing over 60 million dollars in bonds for the streetcar project. This is money the city has planned on using all along for its half of the funding. The other half is expected to come later this year from the federal and state government grant programs the city has applied for. When deciding who gets these funds one of the things the feds look at is the local financial commitment. So far, Cincinnati's has been quite small. That is part of the reason we didn't receive the first round of TIGER grant funds applied for earlier this year. Several of the council members have proposed issuing the bonds only if a contingency is placed on them stating that the city will not use the bonds unless the federal government gives us a certain amount of grant money.

At a meeting with city officials last week, a spokesperson for the federal grant programs warned Cincinnati that placing restrictive contingencies on our portion of the funding would jeopardize our application and chances of receiving funding.
We need 5 votes for the bonds to pass without contingencies. Bortz and Berding need to be convinced not to ask for contingencies on the bonds and to release them unconditionally, otherwise the entire project could be at risk.
Please take the time to email them now and tell them you want to see the project move forward now. Tell them to vote yes for the bonds without any contingencies!

* Jeff Berding = jeff.berding@cincinnati-oh.gov
* Chris Bortz = chris.bortz@cincinnati-oh.gov

Read Below for more info:
Enquirer Article