In a post on Cincinnati called “A Midwest Conundrum” the author noted the apparent disconnect between a place that has probably the best collection of assets of any city/region its size in America, and the long-term stagnation the region has experienced. Read the full story here.
Shawn Jenkins opened Segway of Cincinnati on Reds Opening Day in 2008. Jenkins had already been offering Segway Tours in Eden Park for about a year and decided to set up shop on Central Parkway and Vine Street to be able to do more downtown tours, as well as sell and service Segways. After adding electric bikes, several models of Segways, motorized skateboards and other equipment, the small showroom grew cluttered, so Jenkins decided to expand into an adjacent space and offer bike repairs and other services. "We were losing the showroom feel," Jenkins says. "Our hand was kind of forced to get more space, but looking back, I don't know how we managed to run everything out of one space." The new space, The Garage OTR, is next door to the Segway Shop and will repair both electric and traditional bicycles, as well as all Segways. The additional space allows Jenkins to sell more bike and Segway accessories, including locks, helmets and lights, in the showroom, meeting a growing customer demand. Jenkins says without any advertising, the shop has already been busy with bike repairs. "We're not trying to be a bike shop," Jenkins says. "But there are so many bikes in this city right now, we are flying through tubes. We're happy to be here to help the community." While he opened up shop to highlight the Segway as a low-energy transportation option that reduces riders' carbon footprints and is especially practical for urban residents. "Seventy percent of American's trips are three miles or less, and 70 percent of those are one mile or less," Jenkins says. "So if you use any of these types of transportation, in lieu of a car, it can be a big change." By Evan Wallis
The selling points may not be beaches or sky-high geysers, but Cincy does have the mojo. Here are 5 reasons why you should add Cincinnati to your US travel list, including the American Sign Museum. Read the full story here.
Cincinnati has taken an especially hands-on approach to reclaiming its waterfront, clearing a path through old highways and industrial parks. This fall, it's slated to open the first phase of a $120 million, 45-acre riverfront park at its center. See the full list here.
When James Fisher says his travel experience is rooted in road-based travel, he’s not talking about multi-day trips, but road trips spanning weeks and months. “My family used to organize huge road trips through Africa. We’d spend seven months in the back of a truck with a bunch of sweaty Australians, driving from Morocco to Cape Town, then fly back to England, build another truck and do it again,” he explains. This newly minted Cincinnatian was born in England, but recently relocated to Cincinnati launch Roadtrippers, a curated, travel-planning website. His co-founder and fiancée, Tatiana Parent, is a history buff and the brains behind the site’s content strategy. Roadtrippers is a tablet-friendly website designed to be used first at a computer, where most travelers conduct the bulk of trip-planning these days. Fisher says a mobile version is in the works, so that travelers can plan trips at home, then download directions and points of interest for on-the-road reference. After logging in, the website has a map interface similar to MapQuest or Google maps. Once endpoints are selected, further menus list attractions by type and distance from the route. The difference between this website and apps like Foursquare, however, is that Roadtrippers' content is hand-selected and curated for specific audiences. If you want to find wineries suitable for motorcyclists or the best drive-in diners, you can. The site only lists venues designed to delight, rather than the comprehensive listings compiled elsewhere. “It’s just the awesome places,” Fisher says. As former Lonely Planet aficionados, Fisher and Parent spent many long hours road tripping in the U.S., visiting friends and family. Faced with stacks of printouts, unwieldy guidebooks and impossible maps, the two grew frustrated during their search for one-of-a-kind hotspots and hideaways. Finally, “we actually just hired a programmer who started building this thing for us because we needed a better tool,” Fisher says. “We were frustrated with trying to navigate around on our own.” Soon, they realized the tool they’d built for themselves could help other frazzled travelers, and they began looking for seed funding to launch the company. When they secured a spot at The Brandery, Over-the-Rhine’s startup engine, they moved to Cincinnati, which quickly became home. “I’ve never seen the momentum of community development that I’ve seen here,” Fisher says. “The seed of the tech community is sprouting here, and I’d rather be part of something growing than go somewhere like New York or San Francisco where the rules have already been written. Here, we get to define our own path a bit more.” Roadtrippers currently generates revenue through its hotel booking services, and recently expanded its team to five employees, including a marketer and two developers. By Robin Donovan
As Bike Month concludes, Reser Bicycle expands its bicycle knowledge and advocacy into the heart of Over the Rhine. Opening in the first week of June, the second Reser location will be at 1419 Vine St. Reser has been located on Monmouth Street in Newport since owner Jason Reser opened up shop in 2000. Reser has always focused on advocating for a more bike-friendly city; he serves on the board of Queen City Bike. After partnering with new co-owner Bryan Horton, the pair decided an expansion was necessary, and OTR was the prime spot. "We have a lot of customers from the downtown area, so it seemed like the best place to expand," Horton says. "The support from the neighborhood has been incredible. We had a booth at the OTR 5k Summer Celebration and got a lot of positive feedback. We're excited to open up." The 1,000-square-foot OTR store won't be a simple extension of the Newport location. It will have a heavier focus on commuter and used bikes for the urban environment of OTR. About a quarter of the space will be dedicated to selling used bikes, which will vary from road to mountain to commuter bikes based on availability. The shop will also house a large selection of Public Brand bicycles, a simple, everyday bicycle. There will also be cross-merchandising so customers know what sort of products the Newport Reser has available. "We want to give people the kind of bikes they want to ride around the city," Horton says. Beyond bringing bicycles, Horton also hopes the bicycle shop will add to the sense of community on Vine Street. "Not only will it help more people get encouraged to get on their bicycle," Horton says, "I think it sends a positive message that businesses besides restaurants are going to invest in the city. We even have plans down the road to continue to grow." By Evan Wallis
A new Cincinnati company is a banking on a simple idea whose success will all be in the details. One More Pallet aims to link small shippers with truck drivers who have a little space to spare as they're delivering large loads. It will work like a bit like Priceline.com where small shippers, who need to move just one or two pallets, can enter their shipping information, along with how much they're willing to pay. Through One More Pallet's custom software system, shippers will be matched with carriers willing to accept the shipment. It's a win for the carriers, who can earn a little extra money, and for the the shippers, who can save as much as 50 percent off normal shipping costs. "We're recruiting trucking firms and customers who are flexible in their delivery schedules," says company president and local entreprenuer Bill Cunningham. He and Sandy Ambrose, of Without A Doubt Warehouse in Fairfield, are the company co-founders. "If you can be flexible, you save a lot of money. "Sandy came up with the idea. We were talking, and she said, 'I've got some excess capacity on my trucks and one or two more pallets on them would me make more profitable." Since the conversation that sparked the idea, Cunningham and Ambrose have been working on the business idea, including the software system that links shippers and carriers. The software is currently in the pilot stage, with plans for a regional launch this summer. Those interested can get an invitation to the system through the One More Pallet website. "We're going through the customer development process to make sure that our customers get a great experience every time," Cunningham says. The company is getting a lot of interest. It was one of eight chosen for UpTech, a new business informatics incubator launched by several Northern Kentucky institutions, including Northern Kentucky University, Tri-Ed, ezone and Vision 2015. It's an intense, six-month accelerator program that includes $100,000 in funding. Companies selected to participate will also be working with students and faculty at NKU's College of Informatics. It also was selected by the Kauffman Foundation as a finalist in the Startup Open in 2011 from more than 3,000 entries worldwide. By Feoshia Henderson Follow Feoshia on Twitter.
As they prepared for Bike Month, Casey Coston, an OTR resident and avid bike rider, paired up with Mike Uhlenhake, to plan a group ride in the urban basin of Cincinnati. After gauging interest via Facebook and holding one planning meeting at Neon's, the Urban Basin Bicycle Club was formed and launched their first ride from Fountain Square April 17. The ride was planned on Tuesday to not interfere with the Thursday evening Slow and Steady Ride, which starts at Hoffner Park in Northside. The UBBC's main goal was to give downtown residents a group ride with a more accessible starting point. The first ride brought more than 20 riders sporting bikes from 1960's Schwinn cruisers to road bikes to mountain bikes. They rode along the river, through Sawyer Point and ended with post-ride libations at The Lackman on Vine Street. Since the first ride, two more rides have happened with the most recent leading more than 30 riders, of all skill and experience levels, on a tour past some of Cincinnati's historic breweries. The second ride crossed the Roebling Suspension Bridge and went through Covington and Newport before making the trek back to OTR and ending at Neon's, but not before stopping for a beer on the patio of Party Source. The upcoming ride on May 15 will take riders past all of the Art Deco landmarks in the urban basin, including Union Terminal and the main post office and as always, will end with a post-ride meet up at a local business. "We'll be meeting up at a different local business after each ride," says Coston, a Soapbox columnist. "We want to spread our business around and support as many as we can." Members of the UBBC will be led on a themed ride each week as a way to explore the downtown area. All riders are welcome and the group makes a conscious effort to keep all riders in one group. Monthly Saturday destinations rides are being discussed, including a potential early afternoon to Terry's Turf Club for lunch and back. Whatever the ride, riders can expect a leisurely, friendly exploration of Cincinnati. By Evan Wallis (Follow him on Twitter)
This week, Metro introduces five new buses to its fleet. These buses employ a new technology named "mini-hybrid." The buses aren't smaller, nor are they hybrid, but they do get almost the same MPG as hybrids, as well as cost $240,000 less than a hybrid bus. The technology was developed by Engineered Machined Products and uses an electrically powered cooling fan, which would normally be powered hydraulically and take horsepower from the engine. The mini-hybrid buses still run on diesel fuel, but get gas mileage closely comparable to that of a hybrid. "It's basically like running the air-conditioner in your car without using the power it takes from the engine," says Daron Brown, quality assurance manager for Metro. Metro is one of the first transit agencies in the country to obtain a Clean Fuels Grant, which is normally given for the purchase of hybrid buses, for the mini-hybrid technology. Brown put together a report suggesting that the new technology will give a six to seven percent increase on fuel economy compared to traditional diesel buses, while hybrid buses get about 10 percent better MPG. The Federal Transit Authority requires that buses must have at least a 12-year life before being replaced and Metro now has 70 at the 12-year mark. With a total fleet of 345 buses, Metro looks to replace 30 buses per year and has 40 more mini-hybrid buses joining the fleet in coming months. The money saved by purchasing mini-hybrid buses will allow Metro to replace more old buses and create a greener fleet. "From now on, all of the buses we purchase will have this technology," Brown says. "We try to get 30 to 35 new buses each year. If we get funding that says we must purchase a hybrid bus, obviously we will, but the mini-hybrid buses give us a cheaper option to replace buses with a more environmentally friendly option." By Evan Wallis (Follow him on Twitter)
Cincinnati City Councilor Roxanne Qualls is leading the charge to abolish parking minimums for developers building homes in the downtown and Over-the-Rhine neighborhoods. Read the full story here.
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