Revive Cincinnati: Lower Mill Creek Valley

revive cincinnati: neighborhoods of the lower mill creek valley Cincinnati, Ohio urban design associates february 2011 STEERING COMMITTEE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE Revive Cincinnati: Charles Graves, III Tim Jeckering Michael Moore Emi Randall Co-Chair, City Planning and Northside Community Council Chair, Transportation and OKI Neighborhoods of the Lower Buildings, Director Engineering Dave Kress Tim Reynolds Cassandra Hillary Camp Washington Business Don Eckstein SORTA Mill Creek Valley Co-Chair, Metropolitan Sewer Association Duke Energy Cameron Ross District of Greater Cincinnati Mary Beth McGrew Patrick Ewing City Planning and Buildings James Beauchamp Uptown Consortium Economic Development PREPARED FOR Christine Russell Spring Grove Village Community Weston Munzel Larry Falkin Cincinnati Port Authority City of Cincinnati Council Uptown Consortium Office of Environmental Quality urban design associates 2011 Department of City Planning David Russell Matt Bourgeois © and Buildings Rob Neel Mark Ginty Metropolitan Sewer District of CHCURC In cooperation with CUF Community Council Greater Cincinnati Waterworks Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan Sewer District of Robin Corathers Pat O’Callaghan Andrew Glenn Steve Schuckman Greater Cincinnati Mill Creek Restoration Project Queensgate Business Alliance Public Services Cincinnati Park Board Bruce Demske Roxanne Qualls Charles Graves Joe Schwind Northside Business Association CONSULTANT TEAM City Council, Vice Mayor City Planning and Buildings, Director Cincinnati Recreation Commission Urban Design Associates Barbara Druffel Walter Reinhaus LiAnne Howard Stefan Spinosa Design Workshop Clifton Business and Professional Over-the-Rhine Community Council Health ODOT Wallace Futures Association Elliot Ruther Lt. Robert Hungler Sam Stephens Robert Charles Lesser & Co. Jenny Edwards Cincinnati State Police Community Development RL Record West End Community Council DNK Architects Sandy Shipley Dr. Camille Jones Reggie Victor Marilyn Evans Vehr Communications Museum Center at Union Terminal Health Transportation and Engineering South Cumminsville Community Council Steve Slack Martha Kelly Clifton Town Meeting Transportation and Engineering Tom Ewing Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber Brian Tiffany MaryLynn Lodor Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Metropolitan Sewer District of Frankie Ferguson Commerce Greater Cincinnati Millvale Community Council Tony Wa lsh Capt. Bill Long David Ginsburg CUF Community Council Fire Downtown Cincinnati Inc. Chip Wood Diana Martin Joe Gorman Camp Washington Business Transcend Consulting Group, Camp Washington Community Association Planning Department Consultant Council revive cincinnati – neighborhoods of the lower mill creek valley | february 2011 | urban design associates acknowledgments Table of Contents Twenty-First Century Infrastructure a Planning Process 42 Economic Development Opportunities 43 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 Urban Design Strategies 45 Mobility Improvements 47 Overview 2 Open Space Improvements 48 Analysis and Planning Process 4 Key Initiatives 50 Mill Creek Valley 5 Neighborhood Proposals 6 HOPPLE STREET 52 2011 urban design associates 2011 Challenges and Opportunities 53 © MILL CREEK VALLEY 7 Planning Process 55 Overview & History 8 Economic Development Opportunities 56 Mill Creek Valley Systems 10 Urban Design Strategies 59 Mobility Improvements 61 Environmental Analysis 14 Open Space Improvements 62 Enhanced Valley, Revived City 19 Key Initiatives 64 I-75 Improvements 20 Rail Improvements 21 QUEENSGATE AND THE WEST END 66 Transit Alignments 22 Open Space Improvements 23 Challenges and Opportunities 67 MSD Strategies 24 Planning Process 69 Community Enhancements 25 Economic Development Opportunities 70 Urban Design Strategies 73 MITCHELL AVENUE 26 Mobility Improvements 75 Open Space Improvements 76 Challenges and Opportunities 27 Key Initiatives 78 Planning Process 29 Economic Development Opportunities 30 BIBLIOGRAPHY 81 Urban Design Strategies 32 Mobility Improvements 34 Open Space Improvements 35 Key Initiatives 37 NORTHSIDE AND SOUTH CUMMINSVILLE 39 Challenges and Opportunities 40 revive cincinnati – neighborhoods of the lower mill creek valley | february 2011 | urban design associates table of contents Twent y-First Cent ur y INTRODUCTION LESSONS FROM THE BUILDING DESIGN COMMUNITY The twenty-first century will be a period of enormous change. World Early on, leaders in the building design industry recognized the rela- Infrastructure population growth combined with increasing industrialization in the tionship of buildings to the problems and issues associated with ener- developing nations has resulted in an enormous drain on resources, gy and GHG emissions. The leaders noted that 48% of the energy particularly energy and water. Petroleum, once treated for all practi- produced in the U.S. is used in buildings.1 (See Figure 1.) Programs cal purposes as limitless, is now proving more difficult to secure. such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Furthermore, most of the known petroleum reserves are located in Energy and Environmental Design) were established to provide a countries with a reputation for instability, raising concerns in the U.S. consistent way of measuring a building’s contribution to sustainabil- urban design associates 2011 © over energy security. ity, including improvements in energy efficiency and GHG emissions In addition, the dependence of industry on petroleum, coal and reduction. Over the last decade, LEED has transformed the building other fossil fuels has resulted in the release of enormous amounts of industry by redefining building value in the minds of the building carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs), raising atmo- owners, tenants, residents, and the general public. In the past, build- spheric concentrations well beyond historic levels. Concerns over the ings were designed and constructed to achieve the lowest first cost, possibility of climate change with devastating effects along with future without much regard to energy efficiency. Today, LEED-certified energy sources is causing industry and government to rethink how buildings command higher prices and rents as buyers and tenants energy will be supplied, used, and conserved in the coming decades. recognize the value in lower operating costs. These global issues are spilling over into U.S. cities, causing The work and accomplishments of the USGBC are remarkable in them to contemplate how these changes will affect their operations, the sense that they created a meaningful value proposition for build- and what sort of adaptive measures should be put in place to enable ing “green,” incorporating energy efficiency and GHG emissions them to continue to grow and develop economically. For the City of reduction. Conspicuously absent however are incentives, not only to FIGURE 1: U.S. ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY SECTOR Cincinnati, the future supplies and costs of energy will become major embed energy conservation and emissions reductions into the build- issues in the coming decades. Current decisions about transportation, ing designs, but to do so at a speed commensurate with the problems specifically the I-75 corridor, will have impacts for decades, if not and urgencies at hand. generations to come. The building design community sought to address this miss- ing element. In 2007, industry leaders established the Architecture 2030 Challenge, setting a goal of producing only “zero net energy” buildings by the year 2030. They reasoned that by 2035, 75% of the revive cincinnati – neighborhoods of the lower mill creek valley | february 2011 | urban design associates preface a U.S. building stock would either be replaced or subject to a major ing due to fuel price increases and demographic changes. The fourth renovation. Furthermore, unless action is taken immediately, many if leg focuses on vehicle and systems operations, seeking to change the not most of the new or renovated building stock will have achieved way in which light duty vehicles (LDVs) are used and driven. One of little in the way of GHG emissions reductions or energy efficiency. the precepts is termed “eco-driving,” a set of best practices to reduce Accordingly, the leaders set aggressive targets and timetables for fuel use and GHG emissions. By following a number of simple tips, reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions. drivers can reduce fuel use by up to 15%. With today’s technologies, building designers can readily achieve 2011 urban design associates 2011 50% reductions below the regional or national averages (by building © type) starting now. In addition, expected advances in building tech- nology make it reasonable to set increases in the fossil fuel reduction standards. According to the timetable, new buildings or major reno- vations will be carbon-neutral by 2030. FIGURE 2: THE 4-LEGGED STOOL OF GHG REDUCTION IMPACTS OF TRANSPORTATION STRATEGIES FOR TRANSPORTATION The energy consumption statistics for buildings also raise an impor- These issues have not gone unnoticed. Recognizing these issues, the tant question: “What about the other 52%?” As depicted in Figure Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the U.S. Department 1, transportation accounts for 27% of U.S. energy consumption, of Transportation have spelled out policies and strategies to reduce with the remaining 25% going to industry. More importantly, 95% greenhouse gas emissions in transportation through several strate- of the energy used for transportation is petroleum based, thus mak- gies including energy efficiency. Like buildings,

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