Cincinnati is launching a pilot program aimed at helping people stay cool in the summer heat. Cooling stations with drinking water and portable misters are being set up in some of the city's hottest neighborhoods for the rest of the summer.
The Cincinnati Innovation Team is partnering with the Office of Environment & Sustainability and the Cincinnati Toolbank on the project titled "Stay Cool Cincy." The program is recruiting businesses, faith groups and homeowners along walking and transit routes to volunteer to host cooling stations.
"Volunteers will put these stations out along sidewalks in areas where a lot of people walk, bike, or are catching public transit, and we're looking specifically at neighborhoods that are hotter than others, neighborhoods that maybe have less tree canopy, therefore less shade, and can be up to 10 degrees hotter than other neighborhoods with shade," says Rachel Cranmer, communications and community engagement associate for the Cincinnati Innovation Team. "So, really thinking about reaching people who need to get around outdoors, no matter the weather, to get where they need to go."
The organization is looking for 20 to 30 volunteers and already has some participants.
This summer, they're specifically targeting — but are not limited to — the following neighborhoods: Walnut Hills, Winton Hills, Bond Hill, Roselawn, Avondale, West End, and Camp Washington.
Anyone interested in volunteering to host a cooling station for the rest of this summer or next summer can fill out an interest form.
A few stations are already operational and the Innovation Team is putting together kits with canned water from the city of Cincinnati and portable misters.
Cranmer says volunteers will be compensated for their water usage. In the future, the program may install meters to track usage and deduct that amount from water bills.
"Part of the program is we are creating these kits. We're also planning to work with engineers to design a combination mister/water fountain. We're still in the fact finding stage, and a lot of that may come over the winter. We're just seeing at this stage: is there an interest; is there a desire from the public to do this," she says.
Cranmer says volunteers can operate the stations as much as they want, though organizers do request they make sure to have them open once the temperature hits 90 degrees or more. Volunteers will get an email or text alert reminder in the morning to prompt them to turn on the station.
"We encourage people, if they're able, to turn them on, activate them, during either the hottest part of the day or the part of the day where they notice a lot more people go for walks, kids are coming back from school, times like that," Cranmer says. They're the experts of their own neighborhoods, and they also have different schedules, so [we're] encouraging them to reach people at the time when it's hottest, but that also works for them."
The pilot program is being funding by philanthropy dollars given to the Cincinnati Toolbank. Cranmer says part of the pilot will be figuring out how much it would cost to run the program for an entire summer. The pilot's based on similar programs in cities such as New York City and Philadelphia.
Read more:
