Transit tax on March ballot

For the fourth time in nearly five decades, Hamilton County voters will have the chance to dedicate part of their sales tax to public transit.

Calling it a "transit tax" might be somewhat of a misnomer, though: Advocates feel confident that -- unlike every other attempt to pass a sales tax levy for Cincinnati Metro -- this attempt will pass because this proposal wouldn't just fund bus service. It would also fund road and bridge improvements along and surrounding Metro's fixed bus routes.

As it's written, the ballot proposal is asking voters to approve a 0.8-percent increase to the county sales tax. Seventy-five percent of that revenue would go toward capital and operational costs for Metro, and the remaining 25 percent would fund infrastructure improvements.

While Cincinnati Metro has detailed its plans for how the sales tax could benefit bus service, which road and bridge projects might also benefit remains to be seen.

Hamilton County voters will weigh in on the proposed SORTA tax on March 17.

What's next for Covington's IRS campus?

The City of Covington Board of Commissioners has some big decisions to make regarding the Internal Revenue Service's former location along the city's busy Fourth Street corridor.

The 23 acres of riverfront property, almost everyone agrees, would spur further development for Northern Kentucky's largest city -- one which has seen rapid growth to its downtown over the last few years.

But not everyone agrees on how the city should develop the site.

Amazon attracting new businesses

Amazon's Prime Air cargo hub earned the top spot in our list of "biggest 'Move Up' stories of 2019," and it's staying on our radar for 2020, as well.

That's because, even before the hub located at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport has begun operations, companies are scouting the Tri-State as a possible home.

Marketing firm Amify recently moved to East Walnut Hills to be close to the e-commerce giant.

"Obviously with the CVG Amazon air hub that's opening here, that was a huge decision," said Sean Lee, Amify's vice president of marketing. "The ecosystem that supports Kroger, P&G, all the logistics hubs at CVG, it's the perfect space with the talent that we need to really grow and run the Amify business."

"It's a big deal," said CincyTech CEO Mike Venerable. "I think it'll be bigger than any of us think."

Who will move into former Downtown Macy's?

The central Downtown property known as Fountain Place -- located at the corner of Fifth and Vine streets opposite Fountain Square -- represents three stories and 225,000 square feet of potential, according to Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., more commonly known as 3CDC.

The development group purchased the building for $7.5 million in 2019, but exactly who will move in remains up in the air. 3CDC's plans call for 200,000 square feet to be developed into Class A office space, with the remaining 25,000 square feet to become street-level retail space.

"In terms of looking for tenants, we want to make sure that we’re very careful and cautious about who we bring in because it is such a critical corner," said 3CDC Vice President of Marketing and Communications Joe Rudemiller.

Big changes coming to TANK

Cincinnati Metro isn't the only regional bus system that could see major changes in 2020.

Some bus riders in Northern Kentucky might have to catch their ride at a different stop, or on a different line altogether, as the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky prepares for a massive system redesign.

Earlier this month, TANK officials unveiled preliminary plans that would focus on increasing service along the transit agency's most heavily-ridden routes and consolidating or eliminating service on routes that are underperforming.

"The fact of the matter is that there are some parts of the system that under-perform," said TANK General Manager, Andrew Aiello. "That forces us to ask the question: Could we use those resources to move more people to work and more people to jobs and more people to health care?

"That's just what we're being asked to do."

TANK is taking feedback on its proposed route changes throughout January and will propose the final draft of its system redesign by March or April.

Need for more affordable housing persists

Cincinnati's dire need for more affordable housing has been well-known for years, and the issue is likely to get at least more lip-service -- if not impactful action -- from city and county leaders in 2020.

Officials with the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority said 2019 applications were overwhelming for the Housing Choice Voucher Program -- better known as Section 8. The application process opened Sept. 9 and closed only three days later.

"During that period, we had 13,400 people apply. There are only 6,500 slots that will be filled for the waitlist," said Lesley Wardlow, senior communications coordinator for the CMHA.

"We all know the need is high. We all need to work together to make that change, so build more units or accept more people," she said.

Cincinnati City Council took one step already this year toward removing barriers to housing when it approved a measure that would require landlords to provide tenant applicants an alternative to a full month's rent security deposit before move-in.

Will pedestrian crashes keep declining?

For the first time in at least the last five years, 2019 saw a decline in the annual number of pedestrians involved in Cincinnati traffic crashes.

But city leaders agree there's still a lot of work to be done.

"Less is better than more when you’re talking about dangerous pedestrian safety incidents, but the only satisfactory number is zero," said Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, who -- along with Councilman Chris Seelbach -- first proposed a pedestrian safety fund as part of the city's annual budget for fiscal year 2018.

City Council unanimously renewed the $500,000 fund for fiscal year 2019, and the fund grew to $750,000 this fiscal year.

With that fund, the city implemented 70 pedestrian safety improvements throughout the city last summer and fall.

Multiple council members have indicated to WCPO they intend to maintain -- if not increase -- the current funding levels for the next city budget cycle.

Those living in food deserts still looking for answers

It's back to the drawing board for much anticipated but beleaguered plans for a new market on Apple Street in Northside, after in early January the Apple Street Market Cooperative board voted to withdraw its most recent plan to use a portion of the former Save-a-Lot building as a grocery store option.

When the Save-a-Lot closed in 2012, it made the neighborhood a food desert, and Northside isn't alone. The Walnut Hills Kroger location closed in 2017, with no replacement since.

According to the Center for Closing the Health Gap, roughly a quarter of Cincinnati's population lives in a food desert -- defined as a neighborhood or area where residents have little to no access to healthy, fresh food.

Some Cincinnati neighborhoods are testing some possible solutions, though: Walnut Hills began piloting last year using a grocery delivery app to address the issue as well as launching a community garden for growing fresh produce at the former Kroger site.