MayorCranley,

Imgladwehadthechancetotalkearliertodayonmyordinancetoensurequalitybenchesatas
manybusstopsthroughoutCincinnatiaspossible.Asweveseenbythenumberofpeople
reachingouttousethelastseveralweeks,thisisanissuepeoplecareabout.
It'simportanttoensuretheCityhaschecksandbalancesregardingthenumberofbenchesand
aboutmaintainingwheelchairaccessibility.Thegoodnewsis,theordinance,municipalcode&
administrativeguidelinesallensuretheCity(us)hasallcontroloverthismatter.
IntheCMC,anyplacementofbenchesmustbeapprovedbytheDirectoroftheDepartmentof
TransportationandEngineeringthroughaRevocableStreetPrivilegepermit.Thisisthesame
permitusedforanyandallactivityintherightofway,includingbarandrestaurantpatiospaces
andutilitypoles.
TheCityAdministrationhastheauthoritytoapproveordeny(andspecificallystatetothe
inch)whereanyapprovedbenchmustbeplacedandhowmanycanbeplaced.Thiswould
followthecurrentlyestablishedrequestprocessthatallpartiesplacingitemsintherightofway
(restaurants,etc)mustcurrentlyfollow,whichincludesanengineeringandaccessibilityreview
amongotherfactors.Akeyfactoristhatnoone,neitherSORTA,northeircontractualagent,has
arighttoplaceabenchanywhere.TheyonlymayplacebencheswheretheCitypermitsitafter
asitespecificreview.DOTEhasimpliedtoustheywouldworkinconcertwithSORTAand
couldtaketransitneedsintoaccountwherespaceisavailable.
Additionally,itdoesntseemtomakesensethatCouncil(ortheMayor)specificallyapprove
everysinglebusbenchlocationaroundtheCity.Withacitymanagementformofgovernment,it
makessensetoallowthetransportationandengineeringprofessionalsunderCityManagerHarry
Blacktomakethesekindofcalls,internsofnumbersofbenchesateachlocation.Andalsoto
keeppoliticsoutoftheprocess.Ifeelconfidentinouradministrativeguidelinesandleadership
thattheywillworkwithallpartiesinvolvedtoensuretherightamountofseatingspacewhilenot
floodinganyareaorimpedingonpedestrianflow.
Specifictoyoursecondconcernregardingwheelchairaccess,Icould'tagreemorethatitis
importanttomaintainaccessandADAcompliance.TheRevocableStreetPrivilegeprocess
includesaccessibilityasaspecificpartofthereview.Additionally,wehavebeentoldbySallie
HilversatSORTAthattheyfollowallADAguidelinesrelatedtotransitstopaccess
whichrequiresaminimumclearancezonetofitwheelchairsfromthesidewalk,pastanyshelter
orbenchtothebus.
Lastly,thereistheproposaltoenterintorevenuesharingwithSORTAonthis.Ibelievethisto
beproblematicinseveralofways.One,thereisnoguaranteethatSORTAwillmakeanymoney
onthesestops,andiftheydo,thatrevenuegoesbackintoprovidingneededtransitserviceto
Cincinnatians,whichbenefitsthetaxpayers.Two,therearepotentialfirstamendmentissuesif
theareabecomesapublicforuminsteadofsimplyatransitstop.Thiscouldleadtoadditional
lawsuitsthatthreatentheimplementationofsafebenches.Third,wearealreadyfiningthe

companieswhoillegallyplacedthesebenchesandcanrecoupfeesandcoststhroughthecourts
fromthosewhobrokethelawinthefirstplace.Goingaftertheperpetratorsseemstobeabetter
strategy.
Withthemajorityofyourconcernsaddressedabove,I'drequestthatwemoveforwardwiththe
ordinanceincouncilonWednesday(tomorrow)sothatwecanbegintoimprovethequalityof
benchesforourcitizensandremoveblightfromourneighborhoods.
Sincerely,
ChrisSeelbach