Ram23

It is one of the cities most blighted and vacant neighborhoods, and does have the highest crime rate, but it is definitely worth saving and investing in. The potential there is huge. The first few blocks north of downtown are already very successful in terms of being redeveloped, that's the "Gateway Quarter," mentioned in the few previous posts.

I think a one direction toll would be the only possibility (at least for 71/75 and 471) Trying to fit toll plazas into the spaghetti on the Cincinnati side of those bridges would be one hell of a task. The off-ramp on-ramp cash tolls would have to be pretty long, but I suppose there is room on the KY side to accommodate them. I still think the 5th street exit in Covington would see a huge increase in traffic that would flood through the fast food district. As for the GWB, it's got 14 lanes as opposed to 8, and has about 1000 toll booths, but I've still accumulated entire days worth of time sitting in traffic there, despite the EZ-Pass system.

Texas or Iowa are the only teams that need to lose a game for UC to make it. A one loss SEC team will not stay ahead of UC in the polls, if UC wins out. Especially considering Ala and Fla will likely play each other in the SEC championship, and won't have any time to recover in the polls. UC's strength of schedule already has them ahead of Boise in the computer rankings, and it's only a matter of time before they pass them in the overall BCS. And hell, Boise almost lost to Tulsa last week... Texas and Iowa are the teams UC needs to lose in order to get to the Title game, otherwise they will both stay ahead in the BCS. One of the SEC teams is automatically out of the race regardless.

Carew sits at 550 feet above sea level, while QCSII is at 514 feet above sea level. That's only 36 feet higher, elevation wise. (Got these numbers from CAGIS) QCSII is supposed to be 660 feet to the top of the tiara, while Carew is 574 to the top of the roof. QCSII is about 86 feet taller. Accounting for the change in elevation, QCSII will still appear to be 50 feet taller than Carew. The spire is supposed to be 160 feet, and that's pretty much what it looks like in the renderings.

Tolls are fine with be, but the respective state gas taxes should be lowered dramatically in response. Double-dipping is out of the question. I'm not fully convinced either system is perfect though, they both have their negative side effects. For example, traffic over the Brent Spence is already a joke, a toll booth would make it look like the George Washington Bridge. At that rate, it would be much, much quicker for people to get off the highway and take the city streets.

Yeah, a lot of the urban routes won't work for them. I remember they were testing a few around downtown and they physically couldn't make many of the turns. The highway routes will probably work nicely though.

^ No Michigan Central Station? but they want Packard?

From what I could tell coming into town from KY along I-75 it was very close, if not taller. Tough to tell exactly from that perspective though.

Yeah, if you think Walnut has its bad parts, you really don't want to end up in the little known Dutch enclave on Sesamstraat between 14th and 15th Streets.

This thread has some info on the plan: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=3009.10%3Bwap2 I'll see if I can get the up to date proposal schemes and post them. They call for collector ramps for a dual interchange at MLK and Taft/McMillan

Yeah, I just had time to look over all the history. I guess it's the bias of the average blog reader that got him there. Seems everyone with an ® next to their name won in landslides. As for Wenstrup and his Issue 9 opinion, I was a little upset with it, but he made the case that it was the only way he believed the streetcar plan could be stopped from going into action immediately; he went on to say how likely it is to have 7 or 8 current council members back, so even if he's elected he'd be powerless to stop the plan. It's a justifiable position, I just don't and can't agree with it.

The hatred for OSU and their fans is an acquired taste. I in no way find history pointless, but it shouldn't have a place in decided which teams are good or bad during any given year. Ohio St. has been a better team always, but this year I think is the first (at least in my lifetime) that UC is better. Anyways, back on topic, UC is ranked 5th in the BCS, and "is clearly a contender for the BCS title game." Despite being 6th in the USA Today and Harris Polls, the computers rank Cincy as #4, because they account for the stronger schedule, and don't factor in what teams are historical powerhouses as a measure of current skill. Cincinnati fifth in first BCS standings http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/10528/cincinnati-fifth-in-first-bcs-standings

How is Brad Wenstrup an A--hole? I met the guy and he was one of the most down to earth politicians I've ever met. Can we vote for the writer of that blog as a write in perhaps?

Look into prefab steel buildings. The supplies are pretty cheap, come on a flatbed or two, and can be put up in a week. You probably have to call them to get a price, and it's likely the cheapest option, especially if your comparing to renovation. The cost of sitework, and land value (especially if you're building in a city) could be as much as the building itself. http://www.empiresteelbuildings.com/building-systems/gable-symmetrical-buildings.html

^ This was word of mouth from members of the Walnut Hills and CUF community councils. They're both fighting for 2 way streets along the entirety of McMillan and Taft, and the city has been receptive so far.

Doubtful, it would seem that the point is the preaching.

It helps that Ludlow has a much lower traffic flow. Once the uptown access is improved to I-71 (new interchanges at McMillan/Taft and MLK) there are proposals to return Calhoun and McMillan to 2-way streets, which will make that whole side of campus much more student/pedestrian friendly. That area has way too much thru traffic on what should be neighborhood streets.

The Big East completely re-aligned a few years ago, and the Big 10 has perpetually been weakening over the recent past. Which conference is better this year is debatable, but like most fans of the Big10 you default to the past and historical statistics to make a point. I agree with that point, though, over the past 10 years, and as far back as you want to measure, the Big 10 has been better. This year it could be different. Also, I've felt the need to rag on Ohio St. my entire life. It was an inherited trait from my father.

DOT Sign Misspells 'Cheviot' At I-74 Exit http://www.wlwt.com/automotive/21315991/detail.html Summary: ODOT sign on I-74 at the North Bend Road exit misspells Cheviot as "Chevoit." Whoops..

What?! Great photos of this place, I worked right around the corner when I was in New York.

ESPN brought it up, not us! I found it amusing they were having the same argument amongst themselves that we have on here constantly.

Terry Grundy's classes have turned more into College of Business dominated classes as they make for a convenient elective for them outside of their core classes. The COB students are typically quite conservative...even in Grundy's class. I'm in the class, and this year there are no students from the College of Business. They changed the way they allow electives, apparently, and Grundy's class was left off the list in terms of contributing to any degree program. There's only about 20 of us in there, 18 are from architecture or planning majors. It's about a 50/50 split between conservatives and liberals. That said, most people in there seem to oppose 9, even if they aren't pro-streetcar. As for the debate, I was there and didn't expect the "vote" at the end to go any different, despite the fact that in my opinion the debate was completely lopsided. Mr. Lewis made a pretty convincing case that bad politics and bad government has made transit fail in the past, and keeping that in check is the reason for issue 9. He also made some good points in terms of the confusion in the crowd and in general about the streetcar as an investment tool vs a transit network. The rebuttal wasn't well planned and was pretty weak, to be honest. It didn't change my mind - I still like the streetcar as an investment tool, and as the first steps to a transit network. In general, I'm opposed to the government by referendum as well, as are a lot of people I've talked to that are both pro- and anti- streetcar.

^OSU doesn't play Cincinnati because they aren't a marquee team (like USC, Texas, etc.) but they are just as good as many of the marquee teams. A loss to USC doesn't hurt OSU's reputation. A loss to a team that is perceived as a historically weak in-state opponent would have a huge effect. It's not that they're scared, they just have nothing to gain, and a lot to lose. It's pretty obvious, I would think...

Yeah, I was enjoying that. They basically said the same thing the UC fans in here have been saying.. OSU doesn't want to play UC because they have nothing to gain from it and lots to lose. This will hopefully bring up UC's SOS, depending on how some teams do this weekend raise a few points in the polls. Looking forward to seeing them as a top 10 team in the BCS on Sunday.