The Pork on Fountain Square
One thing always seem to stick out in my mind with the Fountain Square debacle. $42,000,000 is being spent to move the fountain 15 feet, lower the ground by a couple of feet, a lot of retail space will be added, and the Skywalk will be eliminated.
Some points that always stick out in my mind:
- There is already a surplus of retail space in Downtown Cincinnati.
- The lack of skywalk will make pedectrian traffic move from the Skywalk to the street. This will make traffic even worse, and of course it will be tough for a Downtown worker to run across the street to grab a bite to eat during a 30 minute lunch break.
- People don't come Downtown because of a fear of crime and a shortage of affordable parking. This will not address the problem.
So who's idea was this? 3CDC (City of Cincinnati Center Development Corp). 3CDC is a non-profit group that aims to revitalize the city center. So who makes up of 3CDC? A group of downtown merchants? Small business owners who are committed to staying in Downtown? Actually, you can see who the Board of Directors are here (http://www.3cdc.org/files/uploaded/Board%20Roster%20072505.doc)
I find it odd that not a single small business owner is in a decision making position with 3CDC. Not a single Downtown merchant is a part of this. 3CDC is a well intentioned group (just like how most government programs are well-intentioned), however, it certainly seems like they do not represent the groups who they claim to be helping. And 3CDC certainly has a lot of political connections to get city council to finance their projects.
Some points that always stick out in my mind:
- There is already a surplus of retail space in Downtown Cincinnati.
- The lack of skywalk will make pedectrian traffic move from the Skywalk to the street. This will make traffic even worse, and of course it will be tough for a Downtown worker to run across the street to grab a bite to eat during a 30 minute lunch break.
- People don't come Downtown because of a fear of crime and a shortage of affordable parking. This will not address the problem.
So who's idea was this? 3CDC (City of Cincinnati Center Development Corp). 3CDC is a non-profit group that aims to revitalize the city center. So who makes up of 3CDC? A group of downtown merchants? Small business owners who are committed to staying in Downtown? Actually, you can see who the Board of Directors are here (http://www.3cdc.org/files/uploaded/Board%20Roster%20072505.doc)
I find it odd that not a single small business owner is in a decision making position with 3CDC. Not a single Downtown merchant is a part of this. 3CDC is a well intentioned group (just like how most government programs are well-intentioned), however, it certainly seems like they do not represent the groups who they claim to be helping. And 3CDC certainly has a lot of political connections to get city council to finance their projects.
posted by CincinnatiLibertarian at 6:35 PM
1 Comments:
The City of Cincinnati has chosen to replace the planning department with a corporation. I call this privatization and regardless of the lies told in the local press the Fountain Square project is a back room deal that doesn't cost $42,000,000. Add up the revenue lost to the private sector and the number is over $100,000,000 over a term of 40 years.
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