Tuesday, May 1, 2012

UC lecture to examine broader effects of streetcar project

UC | sustainability is hosting a free lecture tomorrow at 2 P.M. at Tangeman University Center's MainStreet Cinema on the transformative effects of the Cincinnati streetcar project, already under construction in Over-the-Rhine.

The lecture will provide construction updates, technical information, and an examination into how the project ties into a greater regional transit system.

Presenters will include John Schneider, director of the Alliance for Regional Transit and a founding member of Downtown Cincinnati Inc.; Chris Eilerman, assistant to the City manager and streetcar project manager; and Valerie Robbins, environmental planner with project consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Registration for the lecture, which is open to the public, is not required.

The first phase of the $110 million streetcar project will serve an area between The Banks and Findlay Market, and a request for federal funds has been submitted to study a connection to the University of Cincinnati, Uptown's hospitals, and the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.

The City selected CAF USA as the preferred vendor of its vehicles earlier this month, and contract negotiations between the parties have already begun.

Negotiations also continue between the City and Duke Energy over who should shoulder what costs of utility relocation along the route. At the April 23 meeting of City Council's Job Growth Committee, Eilerman described recent discussions between the two parties as "fruitful", but offered no timeline regarding a settlement.

Previous reading on BC:
Cincinnati selects preferred vendor for streetcar vehicles (4/11/12)
Streetcar team to hold DBE outreach on Thursday (3/20/12)
Winburn: Scrap streetcar, look into 'trolley' buses (4/4/11)
Streetcar stops announced, advocacy continues (2/21/11)
Contract expiration, FTA require new streetcar bids (1/17/11)