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That is a good idea, and one hopes they're on it. One hopes they've been on it since the early stages of MM/CC planning.

That's right. They're coming. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57540142-1/watch-this-darpa-robot-climb-leap-and-walk-past-obstacles/

No, the problem is they sent a bus to do a train's job. And they'll do it again too, if we let them.

Awesome.

Toledo! In addition to downtown, there are some cool areas to the north and west of it, and to the immediate south.

Great stuff, biker16.

If you ask any of the people on that bus, we're not "wasting" a dime, especially if transit is their only option. This gets back to conversation we've had before. Is the agency's mission providing transportation to those without other options, or competing with other modes. They are mutually exclusive more often than not, so if one says "both", then what percentage each? It's for those without options, first and foremost. Especially at its basest level, which we're only a couple steps above here. Ideally it would also provide an alternative to those who may have other options. That level of service would be more expensive, obviously. I don't know that they're mutually exclusive, as the latter could probably encompass the former. Either mission requires occasional empty or near empty buses. The route has to be there whether it's busy all the time or not, because if it isn't consistently there, it can't be relied upon and that results in zero users.

Good analysis, even if I don't agree about "road diets" and such. Squeezing a hose does not calm the flow. The effect you're looking for would involve turning down the faucet, which in this case is hard to do and not necessarily good for business. Regardless, you're right that the streetscape is paramount. That's why E 4th works so well and why lower Prospect has so much potential.

Cowher hasn't coached for a long time. I think he's done. Saban is a strong possibility with Jimmy's SEC ties. He was probably at the TN game to see TN... but hey look, there's Nick Saban.

We need to do this. It's the most direct way we can help Ohio's cities right now. Rural interests should not get to make all the rules.

My office crew got takeout from Winks the other night and the place was absolutely packed. Perfect fit for the area, major need filled.

Trouble is, no such measure will get bipartisan support because one side currently dominates the process.

State constitutions get amended at the drop of a hat. In fact, Issue 1 proposes to have a convention and rewrite the whole thing. I'm leaning toward Yes on that one as well. I mean, we amended our state constitution to forbid gay marriage and civil unions, did we not? Let's just start over.

I don't disagree, but I think the net effect of this proposal would be positive. The current arrangement is an embarassment.

I'm with MTS. Calling people animals is going down a very bad road. The other words you invoke, while vulgar, don't carry the same historical baggage.

Overall it seems to lean heavily on narrowing Prospect Avenue for the sake of impeding automotive traffic. I guess I would focus more on buildings. I've never been a fan of pocket parks because they're too small to function as a real park, and they never seem to involve much vegetation beyond grass. A tree or two on a miniature lawn is a treelawn, not a park.

Is it possible to get CSU to swear off such mistakes in the future? I mean, if you can ban smoking on a campus you can ban treelawns. So let's ban treelawns.

Great point-- dysfunctional city is as bad as no city at all. Nothing to walk to either way, and that's what we uphold as making city living better. That's why I think retail development is so desparately needed in Ohio's cities and worth any cost.

Excellent report, thank you!

My hometown! There used to be a second theater, the Auditorium, which my parents were on a campaign to save in the 80s. Alas. More recently there was a strip club on the courthouse square, which thankfully appears to be gone.

With all these things Ohio spends dramatically less money on, I can't help but wonder where it's all going. What do we get instead of tourism ads? Not transit, that's for sure. [Looks at map on wall] Ah, I see. We keep building bypasses around small towns.

^^ That's a separate issue. All discussion of the boulevard conversion to this point has assumed there's still a bridge over the flats. I agree, that rail project would be phenomenal. I just wouldn't choose it at a cost of losing the bridge.

Liked it then and I like it now. It helps to eliminate some of the opposition's key points, particularly the schools. It fails to accomplish some of regionalism's key points, like eliminating redundancy, but that's what compromise is all about. It's a plan everyone could be persuaded to agree on.

That lift bridge would be up and down constantly, since it's right at the mouth of the river. Both items you listed are needs but I'd say we need the bridge more right now. Losing it puts a hole right in the middle of a functional highway system, while adding that rail line would only be the beginning of a functional mass transit system for the west shore. Add similar rail lines radiating from downtown, or at least along the eastern shore, plus a more robust bus system to feed it, and the two start to become equivalent. The Main Avenue bridge doesn't just go downtown, it also goes to Collinwood and Buffalo.

Yeah those activities were both well above my station, growing up. And that was with 2-strokes. Even baseball suffers nowadays, as kids can't afford the equipment you're expected to own. That's why basketball has become so widespread, less individual investment and less kids required to constitute a real game. Unfortunately basketball's a game that really favors one body-type over others.