Ram23

I never followed up on this post, but the work I saw ended up being a crew resetting the temporary fence that had apparently been knocked down.

I don't care about the loss of parking as there's already plenty/too much downtown, but Court Street as currently built is has some of the best potential of all streets in the urban basin. The parked cars, particularly the pull-in spaces, help to calm traffic. It's two-way, with one travel lane in each direction (it may be two, technically, but isn't striped nor treated that way aside from turn lanes at the ends). The parallel parking serves as a break between pedestrians and vehicles. There are already nice, wide pedestrian spaces that could be activated with some storefronts without losing the traffic lanes and parking, IMO. Turning the entire street into a pedestrian plaza would be a downgrade.

I'm not an expert and I know nothing about this particular project, but I think the rental fees for tower cranes can fluctuate based upon availability and timing. So these two sites may have different types of cranes simply because that was the type that was nearby and available for a better rate at the time.

I get the feeling we're going to end up with all sorts of characters in the next election. With so many current council members term-limited, we could end up with a wild city council.

Most college campuses seem to be inward-facing but at least UC is open to the streets around it instead of closed off. I lived a block from Columbia University for awhile and the entire campus is inaccessible from public streets aside from a handful of spots. And those spots have gates that get locked at night. I think these older campuses are purposefully closed off in order to create a sense of exclusivity for students. Nowadays, campuses are closed off to create a sense of security for the parents of suburban high school kids.

Calhoun and McMillan just south of campus average over 15,000 cars per day - or, rather, they did in 2009. Anecdotally it seems significantly higher now given all the new construction in the area since then, specifically the parking garages. In Walnut Hills, the numbers are around 8000 - 9000. Given how dense Calhoun and McMillan are, I don't think they really function as barriers despite being two lane one way traffic. Outside of downtown I'd say that those few blocks are the best urban settings in Cincinnati. The other three sides of campus are different stories. Ideally, West Clifton would eventually see a streetcar line all the way north to Ludlow, perhaps in a dedicated lane, with adjacent dedicated bike lanes. The Law building and Wilson Auditorium site, IMO, play a bigger role in how UC's west side of campus meets the neighborhood than Clifton Avenue does. Both sides have tremendous potential.

They get paid either way. The beef I have is that 4 of the 5 council members in question are trying to get credit for paying their fair share of the bill, when in reality they're each paying a $200 portion of a $101,000 charge. I think I've posted before that the cover-up was worse than the original transgression, and now the reaction to being caught and exposed is worse, as well. This all could have likely been avoided - the legal fees, the release of the texts, etc. - with an earlier admission of guilt. This is the sort of behavior that will result in a Mayor Smitherman.

Props of you managed to type that with a straight face. The total bill was $101,000. Paying $200 of that total is a bigger slap in the face than paying $0. It's like leaving a dollar tip to "send a message" instead of stiffing.

PG, Seelbach, Landsman, and Dennard all tried to pull a fast one by claiming they intend to pay their share of the fines - given that the overall settlement amount was $101,000 and the "fine" they were referencing was only a $1000 portion of that. 'Gang of five' case: Four members of Cincinnati City Council have offered to pay $200 each toward the $101,000 in fines and fees https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/03/11/cincinnati-city-council-texting-case-members-gang-five-pay/3104674002/

The city could have saved $90,000 if these five council members would have owned up to their crimes at the get go. They could have settled and paid the fine without the drawn out, expensive fight.

Apollo 11 is a great and unique documentary. Some of the never-before-seen 70mm footage looks amazing.

^ It needs to happen at some point. EVs put the same amount of wear and tear on infrastructure as any other passenger vehicle (if not more given that they're often heavier), but their users don't contribute to paying for said infrastructure via gas taxes. As more and more electric cars end up on the roads, some sort of funding mechanism will have to replace gas taxes.

I only ever went to Anchor for their $1 oyster specials as not much else on their menu was really worth the price. A few blocks south, one can find better (albeit less trendy) seafood at the decades old Washington Platform. I always find it interesting to see what restaurants stand the test of time and which go out of business within 5-10 years. It sometimes seems like the more a place is hyped by foodies, the quicker it dies. Meanwhile a place like Alabama Fish, with a menu consisting of just three dishes that do not change, is constantly booming.

And buying drugs supports the drug trade. In both of these examples, however, the average person scoring on the street isn't the real problem. Anyways, getting back to my point - that Tweet made it seem like Kraft was some sort of kingpin, which would have been a wild story. I had to go read the article to see that he was charged with a misdemeanor for solicitation. Yawn. At least he didn't pay with a personal check.

^ Amy Siskind is a good example of what's wrong with social media. At first glance at her post, one would think Kraft was actively involved in some sort of human trafficking operation, whereas in reality he just allegedly got caught getting a happy ending at a massage parlor.

On the flip side, two men can sit together, watch a 3+ hour football game, and say virtually nothing the entire time without wondering if the other guy is mad at them. Neither of these attributes have anything to do with toxicity, of course.

I've noticed that many spots in permit parking zones are empty during the day. I'm surprised at how many people who live in OTR seemingly drive to a 9 to 5 elsewhere in town. In hindsight, most people I know do that so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but the sight of empty streets around lunchtime is interesting nonetheless. I personally never found it all that hard to park in OTR - neither when I lived there, nor when visiting over the last few years. I've since moved up to CUF, where it's far more difficult to find street parking, but still nowhere as difficult as it was when I lived in Queens. The difficulty of street parking in urban areas is all relative. I think a lot of the complaints that led to the permit system came from folks who haven't ever had to treat on-street parking as a communal resource. If your lifestyle is dependent upon the daily requirement to have a nearly-free parking spot within 2 minutes of your front door, it probably isn't suitable for an urban environment.

^ I've read that Bird has pulled out for the winter entirely in some colder cities, but to your point I have seen very little about it in the news. There are still quite a few Birds around Cincinnati but I don't see people on them as often. My app shows over 100 available right in downtown and around UC.

The Court Street pedestrian idea feels like it could just be Kroger attempting to get their own "Fountain Square" type space.

We don't get banned if our "Community Reputation" goes into the negatives, do we? Asking for a friend.

I drive and/or walk by this park every day - coincidentally, this morning was the first time I've seen anyone working on the site. There were a few guys and a bobcat, I couldn't tell what they were getting set up for and didn't have time to stick around. They were on the Vine Street side. That said, I appreciate the park being closed. The amount of litter left behind on a daily basis alone was enough to make it feel unsafe (who knows what you might step on).

The public GIS data can be downloaded here: http://cagismaps.hamilton-co.org/cagisportal/mapdata/download I believe the utility information can be found by sending FOIA requests to the respective bodies - GCWW, MSD, etc. I think they charge a fee.

I think it's a fairly large space, too. I could see it costing $250 / sf all-in if they do have high end fixtures, furniture, finishes, etc. The mechanicals and plumbing are going to be quite a bit more expensive than most other businesses, as well. This is particularly true in an older building, where some of the base systems might not support the loads a salon requires.

The study says the 12dB is the increase above the current background noise, which is probably around 25-30 in a typical theater (Music Hall might be lower, being a higher end facility).