Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Capital Investment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Administration proposes $56M in railway trust spending for streets, parks and rec; 51% targeted to lower‑income neighborhoods
Summary
The administration proposed using the first $56 million disbursement from the Cincinnati Southern Railway trust to invest in streets, recreation and parks, with a stated priority to direct over half the spending to lower‑income neighborhoods.
Budget Director Andrew Dudes told the committee that FY26 is the first year of disbursements from the Cincinnati Southern Railway trust and that the administration allocated the initial $56,000,000 to existing city infrastructure projects through the Cinci OnTrack program.
Dudes said streets and bridges receive the largest share (over 62% of the $56,000,000), followed by recreation (about 13.5%), parks (about 12.8%), and public services (about 11.5%). He also told council that 51.4% of recommended Cinci OnTrack spending would occur in neighborhoods with a median household income below $50,000.
Dudes described the railway funds as restricted to existing infrastructure and said the FY26 general capital resources total approximately $129,000,000, with the $56,000,000 trust disbursement representing roughly 43% of that general capital resource in FY26. He also acknowledged that the city retains a substantial deferred maintenance backlog (Dudes cited an estimated $422,000,000 backlog) and said the administration expected the first‑year disbursement to reduce part of that amount, though the march of time and ongoing capital needs will change the total.
Department presentations detailed project priorities and examples. The Department of Transportation and Engineering described a $20,000,000 street rehabilitation slate that combines grinding and paving with preventive maintenance across multiple neighborhoods and called out specific projects including Victory Parkway complete streets and a State-to‑Central corridor that includes a bridge replacement and bike facilities. Recreation and Parks presenters highlighted Dunham Recreation Center planning and renovation, playground and athletic field projects, and several facility rehabilitations.
Ending: The committee accepted the department presentations. Members asked for more granular analyses, including multi‑year pavement funding targets and neighborhood‑level project listings in the capital appendix. Officials said some projects leverage outside grants and federal funding opportunities to increase the scale of work.
