Ram23

Good point about the view from above. I don’t like the scale and aesthetic of the superblock in general (even The Banks and the ones that now surround UC) – but they are completely out of scale in OTR, no matter how much decoration goes on at the façade. Nowhere else is that more apparent than the view from the hillsides. Of course, this superblock takes Facadism to a whole other level, but that’s another critique all together.

What's the fuss about exactly? They usually block off a big chunk of parking around the precincts in urban neighborhoods. It works great for people like me who don't have a lot of time to spare and have to vote on the drive to work in the morning. Are they trying to eliminate that - or is this just for early voting?

I’ve always wondered if there was a way the city could slide something into the zoning code for certain overlay districts that would specifically prohibit demolition for parking. That way whoever applies for a demolition permit would need to also submit some type of plan or narrative stating what the building will be replaced with. That wouldn’t stop people from demolishing a building just to have a vacant lot, but I think that’s a lot less common than demolition for parking.

The city directories are available on the Library's website as searchable PDFs. It used to be a pain trying to find a particular street or address because the directories are in alphabetical order by surname - making it easy to find a particular person, but tough to find history on any given building. The searchable PDFs are great. Link: http://virtuallibrary.cincinnatilibrary.org/virtuallibrary/vl_citydir.aspx

The maps from 1891 have the old addresses, but I couldn't quite make out the addresses on them. The site is a pain to navigate but if you can manage to browse directly to this sheet you should be able to spot both of the addresses you're looking for: 1891 Volume 2 - Sheet 68 Here's a link, though I'm not sure if it will work or not: http://sanborn.ohioweblibrary.org.proxy.oplin.org/viewer/?id=4981 Here's the PNG: http://sanborn.ohioweblibrary.org.proxy.oplin.org/images/Reel09/6645/00207.png *Edit: Looks like 102 Abigail is still there possibly (now part of 408 E. 12th), but 55 Woodward (now 313 E. 13th) is now the parking lot across from the old SCPA.

You will want to consult Sanborn maps for old addresses, as Rabbit Hash pointed out the system was changed. They are available online here: http://www.oplin.org/content/sanborn-maps

Whoever selects the cover photo for the Enquirer website has a sense of humor. Mayor Cranley is on the front page tonight, looking like someone just threw a sack of potatoes at him.

It’s amazing how many people think the Brent Spence is in some kind of imminent danger of collapse, despite the fact that every railroad bridge in the city is much older and in fine condition. I blame the media, and not just the Enquirer and WLW in this case; the bridge collapse in MN years ago was huge national news, and was coupled with the lists and websites showing thousands of “deficient” bridges throughout the country. Basically, the Brent Spence having 10’ lanes has led everyone to believe it’s going to collapse.

The streetcar will have signal priority, at least according to the feasibility studies I have seen. I don't think I've ever seen anything about SORTA exploring signal priority for buses, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, someone else may know something?

I think I've said this before in this thread, but I imagine that 5900-7300 new jobs is just the projection that UC, the hospitals, etc. have regardless of this project. Education and Medical are two fields that are seemingly always growing. So while the interchange may help create those jobs in a sense as it will cut some peoples commutes down by a few minutes, they're jobs that are likely going to be created anyway. It’s similar to the anti-streetcar view that OTR would be revitalized anyway with or without a streetcar, which in general (in some instances) is a valid critique of any economic impact study – however the difference in this particular instance is that there are hundreds, if not thousands of people who will make the choice to invest in, live in, and/or work in OTR specifically because there’s alternative transportation. Whereas I don’t think anyone would make the choice to accept or turn down a job at UC Hospital because there’s an exit ramp at MLK.

My house is in CUF but my back yard fence basically serves as the border between CUF and OTR. I usually describe it exactly like that when people ask where I live, so “near-OTR” is definitely a thing already.

So it's basically the same place that got shut down for nudity, prostitution, drugs, etc. it just has a new, odd name. Why do you say that? Is it the same owners? It doesn't seem like it. Are you implying all gay-friendly bars have nudity, prostitution, drugs, etc.? I assumed it was the same owners because of the cheesy name, but it might be different owners. Still, that spot has a reputation for being trashy so it's going to be tough to open anything there that would attract anything but the same crowd that went to the last place that occupied the area. I wasn't taking a stab at gay bars, Diamond Palace was shut down specifically for the things I mentioned. I've had beers at places like Shooters and never ran into that stuff.

So it's basically the same place that got shut down for nudity, prostitution, drugs, etc. it just has a new, odd name.

The Bengals just announced that the game is officially a sellout. Personally, I wasn't going to let the NFL's blackmail rules guilt me into buying a ticket. I'm just glad I'll be able to watch CBS's over-the-air 1080 broadcast, rather than ADTHE or First Row Sports low-def streams.

I still find it hilarious that WCPO expects people to pay for articles like that when there are plenty of free blogs and forums out there that have much higher quality than that. I can't wait for the day when I'm no longer even tempted to click on links like that to see how absurd of connections people can make to the streetcar.

^ Add in parking and you're getting close to $300 for a couple of tickets. Want to take a family of four and maybe buy some food and drinks? You're probably going to be dropping $500, and it's only a week after Christmas. It also doesn't help that the low Sunday is 5 and it's going to rain and snow all day long. Plus, Bengals fans are used to cheap tickets. There were $20 tickets on stubhub for the Vikings game.

I don't remember a newspaper article attached to it, but I remember this picture of the 7 line being built through Queens (Rawson St/33rd Street station): I used to live a few stops East of there, the density is very similar to what OTR should be. I don't think I ever had a seat on the 7 train at the spot pictured above, even at odd times.

This is America, no one needs to grant you privilege to use public rights of way. Though that's beside the point because a myriad of state and local laws permit bikes to use roads. You need a license to drive because you can very easily kill other people while driving. In general, licenses are given for activities that allow people to take others lives into their hands. As for bike paths, sometimes dedicated bike lanes work in the city on wide enough roads, but there typically isn't enough space to make dedicated bike paths.

If the courts found no signs of fraud, I'm guessing that things must have gone well over budget, and there simply was no money left to pay contractors toward the end.

But...But... What about the argument from Smitherman and Brian Thomas saying 'There's an oil filled electric line that cannot be moved under Vine street. Phase 2 is impossible because we need specialized professionals from Sweden to take care of that infrastructure'. That's at least $250billion :laugh: You're forgetting that Vine St. Hill is too steep for streetcars, or have they let that one go already? I had a before and after photo of the old streetcar tracks going up Vine St just north of Clifton. I look forward to the day I can do a before, after, after-after with new tracks running in the same place.

I believe FakeCinEnquirer may be referring to this announcement re: Smitherman and the NAACP last June; read this: http://citybeat.com/cincinnati/blog-4767-smitherman_temporarily_stepping_down_from_naacp.html No. Smitherman resigned for good. There's a lot speculation as to why. Well find out soon Smitherman also said today: "This is not over. These streetcar supporters are gloating but, as well all know in politics, things can change in an instant" So he admits he isn't doing what is right for Cincinnati. He's playing politics. Nice. Chris Smitherman does what is right for Chris Smitherman. That may actually be a quote of his from years ago on WLW, now that I think about it. John Cranley seems to be in the same boat as of late.

Yeah, he was a sure thing for the Pro Bowl. Having a punter like that really helps in close, low scoring games, like the 13-6 victory over New England, for instance.

If you use Firefox, get NoScript, it will allow you around the paywall still. Alternatively, if you have AdBlock plus or something similar on any browser, go in and block this script: "http://news.cincinnati.com/odygel/lib/firefly/firefly.js?odyv=1.21.2.3142"

She is AMAZING. We are so fortunate to have her. Wendell Young and Chris Seelbach are also great. And PG has his moments, when he's not trying to be overly diplomatic. I've gained a lot of respect for PG over the past couple weeks. Not solely because he now supports the streetcar (though that helped), but because he was willing to change his position based on new information. Not a lot of politicians are willing to do that. See: Cranley, John. What I find funny is COASTers calling him a "flip-flopper." I have always hated that term because it has negative connotations, and I don't know why it became so popular. It's a sign of intelligence to reevaluate any situation based upon current information. It'd be like calling people flip-floppers when they finally decided to believe the world was round when Magellan made it back home.

I'm sure there will be a new Taco Bell and Burger King near the new interchange. That's gotta be, what, at least 2 dozen jobs right there? I suspect that UC, the Hospitals, etc. will account for the bulk of the additional 1000’s of jobs. How dependent upon the MLK interchange those jobs are is questionable (at best). While there are definitely people who would or would not buy a property in northern OTR due to the streetcar, I don’t think any nurses or doctors are going to refuse a job offer because the highway interchange nearest the hospital isn’t quite ideal.