jim uber

I would love to see a map showing the Enquirer subscription delivery density, both for paper copies and for online page hits. These data are out there. Just sayin...

City Blights, please feel free to keep these sorts of comments to yourself, because they are petty, information-less, and insulting. There are many many people here and elsewhere who have been fighting for change for a long time, and with results. Why don't you think from their perspective. Also, at some point in your life, perhaps, you may find a source of happiness in fighting for something you believe in, and contributing to the social fabric -- even though it is very hard with many setbacks. That sort of happiness can, surprisingly, be more long lasting for some people, than the one which comes from packing up your bags and moving to the next spot of green grass.

The key phrases from Kasich: - Wray and he apparently decided against the project because "much of the local business community believes the streetcar 'doesn't make any sense.'" - "I just don't see anything that's going to change. What they do in Portland - we're not living in Portland. And by the way, I don't want to live in Portland." This is a war not against cities, but against a mythical group of people they have dreamed up who they think want to live in cities. Selling the streetcar should be the same as changing the context and the actors in that dream, so that it's more like reality. Once they see themselves in the dream, they'll be able to be convinced by Cost/Benefit ratios... but not now. I'd like for the Mayor to put away old economic arguments that aren't working, and old recycled arguments a-la Richard Florida, about repopulating the center city with the "creative class" (God, what an awful way to market an idea to anyone not in that group...). He needs to focus on who he needs to convince, and then gather his own group of the "local business community" and talk in concrete terms about why they are for the project. P&G won't do that, but frankly its even better if they represent "small business". Just make sure they're older than 35, and keep them in suits, please...

^ Good point.

^ John, is it that much of a problem with the Enquirer reporter? First, we all know that if an Enquirer reporter wanted to write such a piece, s/he'd be able to do it no matter what fare system we had. Second, any fare checking system is going to have to rely on the randomness of checks, just like the TSA does with their more detailed checks of bags and clothing. Checkers should be visible, and they don't need to check every car. The right number of checkers is determined by the point where the incremental revenue added fails to pay for their salary. I mainly disagree that the stickers would make the checkers that much more efficient, and that people would be indifferent to using them (or even embrace them as a marketing reminder). In terms of the analogies, a parking receipt on my car's window is, well, on my car's window, not my shirt. I think that they do still stamp or band patrons to certain bars and events... and I recall always wanting to wash that off completely when I got home! (That's why some bars use/used invisible ink that shows up only under UV light). And the "vote today" sticker is only once or twice/year, and denotes an activity that is uniformly regarded as positive for society. Unfortunately, the streetcar isn't in that league, yet, though I wish very much that I were wrong.

^ Brad, that would be an automatic compromise most of the time. Just put it in your pocket and when you see the ticket guy coming, stick it on. And nobody is going to issue a ticket for non-payment to the guy holding an unstuck sticker in his hand or pocket. I still think that stickers are kitschy, and belong more on a tourist "trolly" than on mass transit. I'd prefer something more no-nonsense that is still convenient. Is it such a big problem to go through the cars shouting "tickets please!" It's not like having a small sticker is going to allow some sort of quick scan of the car anyway. Instead of professionally asking for tickets, the guy is more likely to look like a perv asking people to turn around so he can stare at their chests.

I also don't think that a sticker is the way to go. The main problem with the streetcar is that, inexplicably (to folks on this board), something as basic as center city mass transit has gotten bogged down in US vs. THEM issues, just like everything else. The streetcar needs to quietly do its job, and prove its worth, by being an efficient and convenient way to circulate people. I know that it sounds silly, but stickers with little streetcar pictures on them are just going to be used by obstructionists to brand people who wear them. We don't need to provide any more hooks for them to hang on to. Let's just have a simple fare system that's easy to understand and gives a little piece of paper. Pay people to wear uniforms and check for valid fares. Yes, some people will lose it, or pretend to lose it, but there's a big advantage, in my opinion, to making this infrastructure blend as seamlessly as possible into the everyday workings of the city.

For what it's worth, I think it's fun to be in Cincinnati now and be able to observe - and maybe influence a little bit - what is happening in the core areas of the city. The changes in buildings, businesses, people, and (hopefully) transit are just really interesting. Depending on what you do for work, and on your personality, some aspects of modern life can lead to boredom. I find that life here is very unlikely to be boring, regardless what actually happens over the next 10 years.

FYI I pay less than $20/month for my parking space connected with my condo in TriDeca @ 13th and Vine. What you are being asked to pay is indeed absurd.

^ Sherman's facts are persuasive, but it is more interesting to think about what could be as opposed to what was. I'm no prognosticator, but there's no way that I'd be caught guessing that FC attendance stays level into the future. There's too much changing in their neighborhood at the moment to allow that. The banks development is a nice positive step, but I'd think once the streetcar is built and the riverfront park is complete, you'd see an attendance increase.

^ Chill. Be careful to not equate a facebook page organized by a half dozen wack-jobs with lots of people wanting "to re-enact the subway failure of the 1920s'. The lack of vision by "the city" and "the people of the city"? Well, it was some of those people, along with the city council and Mayor, and the city administration, who have been and are actively pushing the streetcar -- and successfully. These are tough issues in America, no matter where you go. Enjoy Europe. We read over here that's it's a nice place ;-)

There is no halfway house going in at the Samuel Bell home for the Sightless, and no there are not shootings every week, and it is not getting worse daily. All wrong IMO. Yeah, I own property next to the health center. Complete BS.

Ha! Sounds like you know the neighborhood very well indeed! I am meeting with Paul Rudemiller next week, and will make a decision about a course of action following that.

Thanks very much for that information. I'm no expert on VBML for sure, and am not in any position to either defend or condemn it. In this case it seems that going the receivership route is the closest thing that I can get to a "housing court" with a "repair order based system" like you recommend, even if I am having to craft it myself using the Ohio Revised Code. I will definitely try to find out as much as possible about what Camp Washington has done, as it seems hard to find reputable Lawyers who have actual experience with receivership actions.

I am rehabbing a place in OTR next to a vacant condemned building. The owner of the condemned building has kept it vacant for 31 years and not done anything to the structure save for taking down a couple of chimneys and boarding up some windows. The building is full of trash. The roof has been half uncovered for two years and there are no gutters/cornices along 80' of the structure. This weather damage is recurring and this coming winter will be the third is has seen in an open condition. Obviously the structure is not compliant with the City's VBML. Otherwise it is a lovely building (no sarcasm intended!). As a neighbor impacted by a "blighted building" I am considering going to court to seek repairs to bring the building up to VBML compliance (or beyond), and (very likely) to have those repairs be managed by a court-appointed receiver under O.R.C. 3767.41. Does anyone have any experience or opinions, positive or negative, with this receivership process? Also, I am seeking a good lawyer with past experience in this section of the O.R.C. in Cincinnati - anyone have any good names to offer? Thanks.

In order to have better (and more expensive) signage they need to have fewer of them. The key to better signage is many fewer bus stops, probably 1/3 - 1/2 of the current number of stops.

COTA only has a few of these shelters with schedules, but if you do happen upon one they are very helpful. Does Metro really have none? He speaketh the truth. I was amazed when Government square opened (the major downtown transit hub). As I recall it took them about a year after opening to display a system map. This signage is critical but I imagine expensive. Again, fewer bus stops but more effective ones. I'm enthusiastic about the directions Metro is moving in, but I think they need the help of an involved citizenry. They give off too many signs of an inefficient bureaucracy.

Eastern Avenue and Columbia Parkway?

I am skeptical. They just spent money on how many hundreds of little signs that say, unhelpfully, "bus stop". I also enjoy the contrast between the entire grassroots streetcar effort, and all of this that they are "working on", which precious few seem to know about. They are our transit agency. We fund them. They need to spell out what they intend to do in an inclusive manner, and sell it to us.

Actually, the system I used when I lived in Seoul required you to present the card on entry and exit. It stored exit information on the card somehow, so that a transfer was automatically valid for the next 30 minutes after exit.

^ I completely agree on your practical list. They also need a new fare structure and a modern means for fare collection that is fast, efficient, and rewards frequent users.

It doesn't matter how many of the bus stops are patronized. Since we have way too many, whether patronized or not, we can't spend money even on basic things like decent signs. They should be fewer and uniquely identified, so that it looks like we actually have a bus system. Stops should help people learn how to use the system effectively; more than a red stripe that tells people where to stand. I'm aware that BRT is not only skipping stops. The idea of an experiment is the most logical, precisely because it focuses our energies on what it will take to designate the corridor, provide the dedicated transit lanes, implement the stoplight signaling, and build the visible stops. Then we have the chance to see what happens. I realize that taking a lane out of service would sound ridiculous to most people. I'm sure it did in New York and other places that did it before them. That's because we haven't had the benefits fully explained to us, including what the riders experience will be. Maybe we don't have the dense corridors that would make BRT work? It would have to offer significant advantages to cars in order to make sense. That also means that you'll be seeming to screw over a lot of people in their cars by taking away yet another lane. I guess it's hard to convince people that it can work, when we have no experience with trusting mass transit.

I assumed a Vine Street route for the streetcar to Uptown. If you terminated 17, 18, 19 you would lose all service to W Clifton on the hill. For 17, 18, 19, I think a better plan would be to have 18 and 19 run as mini expresses until knowlton's corner maybe having 4 stops from gov't square to knowlton's (Hughes, Clifton/MLK, Ludlow/Good Sam, Cincy State) and have the 17s pick up the distribution along the trunk of the line. Or, you could still have a mini express with 18,19 but just between an uptown terminal at Uptown commons and knowlton corner. I don't think the W. clifton coverage warrants more than a single line. Wanted to accent that article too. Very encouraging as it appears engaging with Metro on some of these ideas would be well received, as they are already pointed in that direction. Interested to hear what they are thinking regarding efficient boarding/unboarding, fare collection systems and structures, number of stops (there are twice as many as needed), route posting and signage. The article stops short of talking of such things, but I assume all is being considered in such a major overhaul. Reading as an addition to Columbia would seem to be great. By the way, just because Columbia operates as essentially BRT, doesn't mean it couldn't benefit greatly from being so designated. Sounds like an easy candidate for a BRT rollout experiment.

I agree with Brad that terminating some routes at an Uptown transfer point is a good idea (why didn't you pick 17,18,19? -- too busy?). That's the sort of innovative thinking that SORTA needs to be doing right now in anticipation of what's to come. Uptown is a major destination in its own right, and if a fraction of the people who work and go to school at UC could be enticed to take metro, the buses would be packed. Indeed a focus on the major uptown employers, and learning how transit needs to serve them better in all aspects, would be a good place to start. The fact that Cincinnati Children's operates their own extensive private shuttle service throughout uptown is a testimony to SORTA's failure to do this. Once the streetcar approach to Uptown is nailed down, it would be useful to analyze Brad's uptown terminal idea, possibly to include a visible transfer hub with the needed capacity (a very mini Uptown Govt square), such as at the new uptown commons redevelopment. Jeffrey, I know that this won't be great news to all riders of Metro who would have to transfer. Let's not forget, however, that focusing on Metro's current riders is a failed proposition from the start. The problem is that there aren't enough of them, and that's exactly because the system doesn't serve the larger community. Those prospective riders need to be targeted in the conversation. The benefits of creating a very strong uptown/downtown circulator based on the streetcar is too important and logical to deny, and redesigning the bus system to aid this should yield efficiencies like Brad mentions. There are ways to minimize the pain of a transfer. One way would be to anticipate the increased ridership on the streetcar if riders were redirected at uptown, and plan accordingly. Some of the options to explore include dedicated transit lanes; preferential stoplight timing; increased number of cars/frequency (requiring additional capital costs, I realize). By the way, ALL transfers from any line to any other line headed in the same dominant direction, should be free for one hour from the time the rider departs. And the Downtown focused zone system is an antiquity.

Agreed. Not even older folks necessarily care that much about loud noise. It's part of living in the city, in many areas, and many accept it. I'm one of them.