RING MY BELL

Last night I listened to a presentation on bike-sharing and started wondering if a customized program could work in Columbus. Bike-sharing has existed since the 1960’s in Scandinavia but has jumped the pond and is now taking root in Washington, DC and San Francisco with New York City, Chicago, Portland, and Seattle all eyeing it’s potential. I understand that Columbus is not a bicycle active or friendly community and that the City lacks basic bicycle infrastructure such as a connected network of bicycle lanes but still I wonder.

I was thinking that a bike-sharing program would have the best chance at succeeding in Columbus if it was introduced on local college campuses, parks and trail sites, and the couple of existing dense neighborhoods. Bike-sharing spares people the expense of purchasing a bike they may not ride often and provides them with access to an affordable recreational activity and another option for running errands.

If an advertising company is not willing to fund the program like in DC or SF, creative sponsorships could be explored. An obvious one to me is to have college’s recreation center or student housing departments sponsor the bikes located on their campuses as part of their physical fitness and student life programming. As for trail locations, AEP could sponsor bike-sharing sites along the Scioto Mile since they are the lead developer of the project.

I think it might work.

If you want to know more about the concept of bike-sharing and how existing programs curb against theft, vandalism, etc. check out this appropriately named blog http://bike-sharing.blogspot.com/

BEST PLACE TO RETIRE #22- SHORT NORTH

CNN Money Magazine just named Columbus' Short North the 22nd Best Neighborhood to Retire in the U.S. Where do I mail my congratulations card?

Columbus, OH
Best place to retire: Short North
Pros: Super-affordable, close to the university
Cons: Not much in the way of nature around Columbus, and the downtown is still pretty sleepy
Real estate: One-bedroom condos can be found for $175,000 or so. Two-bedroom rentals can be found for $1,500.If you want to get back to city life in Columbus, skip downtown and go straight to Short North, an up and coming arts district. High Street, the main stretch, is lined with trees, galleries, funky restaurants and 17 beautiful lighted arches.It's a hip neighborhood, but there's room for all ages. "There's more empty nesters than young hipsters moving back," says local agent Joe Peffer. One gallery even exhibits work from retired artists. Short North is a stone's throw from the courses, lectures, and legendary football games of Ohio State, the largest university in the country.For a quieter neighborhood, Grandview Heights is just a couple miles west of downtown. It's on a river, close to OSU and has its own strip of restaurants on Grandview Avenue.

All 35 listed cities can be found at...http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0710/gallery.bpretire.moneymag/22.html

FINGERPAINTING DEBUTS DOWNTOWN

Goddard School, an early child development school, opened up today downtown at 3rd and Town. This is a great option for parents who work and/or live downtown and are looking for a center to place their children during the daytime. I think this is a great sign of business and residential life dramatically improving in the downtown corridor because educational and daycare facilities typically do not lead the lead the transformation of neighborhoods, rather they respond to a growing need.

Since Goddard is a nationally respected franchise this should be a clean, well-run, and safe place choice for parents to consider. Check them out....

http://www.goddardschool.com//Schools/Columbus-OH/Schools.gspx

WHO ARE YOU 636?

The retail space next to East Village on N. High is currently being remodeled but so far no signage has been posted by the mysterious new tenants. The property owner, New Victorians, won't reveal anything either other than the tenants were planning on posting an announcement during the Gallery Hop but did not.

GAY FRIENDLY

Gay St. building sold at auction
$1.5 million deal could help drive street's revival
Tuesday, October 9, 2007 3:35 AM
By Mike Pramik
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

An abandoned office building could become a cornerstone of a renovated Gay Street if its buyer follows through with planned improvements.
Out-of-state investors offered the winning bid of nearly $1.5 million for the four-story building at 1 E. Gay St., the former headquarters of Modern Finance and also a Dollar Federal Savings Bank office. The circa-1900 building was empty for two years after being abandoned by two bankrupt companies, Modern Finance and WorldCom.
Bob White, principal broker with Prudential Cres Commercial Real Estate, said the bidders are "a father and two sons out of Atlanta." He declined to identify them pending the closing of the deal.
"They're going to put a lot of money in it, without question," White said. "There are many possibilities for this building, one being office and retail for the first floor, office on the second, and the third and fourth could be converted to residential.

Want More? http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2007/10/09/Building_sale.ART_ART_10-09-07_C12_8B84OUD.html?sid=101

BEEF CAP

Expansion of Short North steakhouse in the works
Monday, Oct. 8, 2007
By GARY SEMAN JR.ThisWeek Staff Writer
Hyde Park, the steakhouse that has become wildly popular during its short run in the Short North, soon will occupy the entire west side of the Cap at Union Station.
Rick Hauck, president of the Cleveland-based chain, announced Monday that the company will take over the remaining 7,000 square feet of the strip, which will be used for banquet dining.
"Our private dining space just is not large enough," he said.
In turn, confectioner Shokolad will move out of the Cap. Two other storefronts, once housing Quizno's and Cold Stone Creamery, are vacant.
Hyde Park currently occupies 5,000 square feet at 569 N. High St. Hauck said the additional space will have its own kitchen and bar, and also will seat 200. It will be ready early next year.
"It will all feel like the same restaurant," he said. "We'll try to make it feel as much of a restaurant as possible, not a dining hall."
Hyde Park has been a smash hit since it opened in the Cap two years ago, grossing more than $5-million a year, Hauck said.
"It's been pretty much a home run for us," he said.
It's known for its celebrity steaks, including those named after Archie Griffin, Jim Tressel, Kirk Herbstreit and Jack Nicklaus. The restaurant chain, which has four Columbus locations, was founded in 1988 by Hauck and Joe Saccone in Cleveland Heights.

I LOVE A MEATBALL

Everyone's Italian this weekend at the Italian Village Festival. The neighborhood festival runs Oct. 5-7 and offers great food, entertainment, and an open market.

Buona degustazione!

http://www.columbusitalianfestival.com/

JUST ADD GRASS

ReBar is a San Fran based, environmental/urbanism group that coordinates Park(ing) Da,y an annual event where inner city parking spots are converted into public green space. Park(ing) Day Columbus 2008 anyone? Witness the mayhem on their short video trailer.

http://www.rebargroup.org/projects/parkingday/images.html

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

Your first thought might be the inappropriate use of spandex on the woman on the right. You would be correct but I am referring to the trash can sitting by itself at the Oktoberfest.

Despite the large number of trash containers throughout the festival grounds, not one was accompanied by a recycling container. In fact, I did not see one recycling bin at all and it was not because I had too much Warsteiner. Festivals are huge generators of waste and large consumers of energy so it should seem obvious to communities that they need to "green" up these special events. Here are some relatively easy to impliment suggestions:

Charge a cup deposit. Patrons pay a dollar deposit for each beverage in order to encourage them to reuse their cups. Subsequent refills cost the original amount. Before departing the festival, guests return their cup to any beverage vendor for a full refund of the cup. The deposit encourages recycling and also limits discarded cups on the ground.

Provide separate bins for recycling directly next to trash cans. If recycling and waste containers are separated people will not make the effort to find recycle. Recycling stations can also be monitored by volunteers (i.e. OSU recycling clubs) to ensure that trash and recyclables are not commingled.

Prohibit the distribution of paper flyers. Flyers tend to be a dominant source of trash thrown on the ground.

Require food vendors to use corn-resin based or polylactic, compostable plates, cups, and utensils.

Provide vendors with composting bags to recycle food waste.

Set up bicycle valets. Patrons are issued claim checks in exchange for their bikes. Staff monitor the bikes in a secure corral.

Weinland Park Goes to the Dogs

Uptown Pups just moved to Courtland Avenue (behind Suds and Java) and the pictures on their website makes my puppy clock go crazy. If you mention you found their business on the web then they will give you $5.00 credit toward their Boarding or Daycare services.

I am not a fan of the building but it appears to be well maintained and is only on a hidden local street instead of a visible, major artery.

Check them out...http://www.uptownpups.com/index.html and if you don't have a pet yet, check out http://www.franklincountyohio.gov/commissioners/ancl/.