City Blights

Corporations fighting for their pocketbooks behind the scenes is nothing new. Cincinnati's own Carl Linder was a flagrant offender in that category. It's not realistic to cap I-71 because it's not the priority that I-75 is, but capping the latter is certainly feasible as an engineering feat and as a financial possibility. Expressways aren't critical to constricting Cincinnati's downtown, the basin already does that.

Capping the expressways is about increasing the amount of available land in the basin and utilizing it in far more profitable and appropriate means for its proximity to regional assets and scenic backdrop. Rebirth is multi-faceted by definition, that's why City West doesn't meet it's stated goals. Cincinnati has to be put back together piece by piece, and capping 75 downtown affords many positive possibilities for the core.

The expressway and the totality of spaghetti junction on both sides of downtown monopolizes over 1.5 square miles of the city's core. A residential base west of downtown is critical to any vibrancy that could be created with mixed use projects west of Race. That area could again be stiched with Italianate homes and 4-6 story commercial structures. With their plans to form a neighborhood around Union Terminal, the City has shown me that they're motivated to re-integrate the West End back into Cincinnati's society. Acknowledging that, FWW isn't the only thing that needs to be buried. I-75 and 71 need it too.

Not sure what Mahogany's has to do with the City not protecting its assets. There are a lot of people in Cincinnati that take the historic Victorian structures for what they've been to Cincinnati during their lifetime, which are beat-up shells and relics. Many people just want Cincinnati to be cleaner, and they feel that getting rid of old structures that the City is blessed to have an abundance of isn't significant. There needs to be changes to the tax code, but there also needs to be a re-education of the populus on how Cincinnati is so much different from Joe Tampa's city, and not because too many of us care where you went to sr. high. Whenever you hear the Cincinnati identity talked about on the local news or in the papers, they never include the rich architecture and historical significance of said structures and neighborhoods. Walnut Hills was home to some of America's biggest industrial barons during the late 19th century, hence the huge plots for the day along streets like Madison and such. Basic info that maybe 10% of Cincinnati is aware of is one reason why developers have such an easy time getting their way inside of Cincinnati city limits.

Where's the dough for Phillips? Votto is their top player, but Phillips is #2. I don't understand why the GM would say that an extension for Phillips would be done by Opening Day when he really meant Joey Votto. They have treated Brandon with so little respect throughout this process of negotiation that its not even funny, even for guys that are making millions.

^Used to live on Chase years ago. Most of Northside used to be rough, so proud that local TLC has really given the area momentum. Still suffers from access issues (streetcar is a must in Northside). Does anyone know how the areas east of Hamilton Ave are doing? There are many styles on that side of the neighborhood that can't be found elsewhere in the city. I'd love to see an influx of enthusiasm on streets like Langland.

^Maybe they're saving the German flag setup for a big weekend, or it hasn't occurred to them yet.

I gather that what you are saying is that it is very likely my property will become a crime scene after one or more people decide that they need my equipment more than I do? In a way I'm saying that being prepared insurance-wise is the way to go if investing in Price Hill, east or west. Hell, anywhere in the city I'd be looking to protect myself that way. There are just a lot of people that think the Westside is prime for that kind of thievery because they think it's a more isolated area than some other working class neighborhoods in Cincinnati, as if two of the city's largest neighborhoods aren't on the Westside.

Price Hill has been questionable for a while, but shifting trends in housing, along with the unprecedented revival that's going on south of Liberty, the Westside has become an out-of-sight, out-of-mind destination for poor city folk. The city has been under varying levels of pressure to clear the downtown slum for 90 years, the riots being a tipping point in its national and international visibility. It's finally happening and the Westside is a short-term loser in the process. A taxpayer like Billiam won't be hanging outside a lot, so the chances of being accosted aren't great. The facility being safe from thieves that'll take everything including the bathroom sink for the fixture and piping? No way.

In the future I feel it's a good idea to add to the street presence of Norwood and Evanston in particular. I'm all for the Wasson Line being utilized, but I can see Streetcars making the central-Eastside a very attractive part of town for everyone, especially young people.

Is the value of a TOD somehow less because it doesn't occur in the mother city? And Shaker Square gets a pass because it's too close to Shaker Heights? I think you've placed some strange, arbitrary conditions for some unknown reasons. And considering the lack of progress in station-area development citywide for so many decades until very recently, the developments I cited (and others I did not) are all the more stunning especially since they were started shortly before the Great Recession and continued unabated through it. If anything, they are accelerating, especially in the University Circle area. Or is that too close to the edge of the mother city to be counted either? EDIT: I encourage a visit -- I'll even offer a guided tour. Let me pull the Tim Tebow apology - I like the guy (Cleveland), I just don't agree with the way they're arriving at some of their conclusions. I'm sure comparing Cleveland to Tebow is only gonna get me in hotter water, but let me start. It's not that I don't want Shaker to flourish as possibly Ohio's best burb, it's that the behemoth of Cleveland is sitting there waiting, and waiting, and waiting...I have to think repopulating the City takes precedent over building on what's already rich in assets. Nothing wrong with improvements, maintaining pace is critical, but I'd like to see some transit-minded development on the Eastside that would naturally promote proper infill for an urban city in that area specifically. Cleveland gets the bulk of Ohio's transit dollars, and has the most pull in Columbus for obvious reasons there. A new line (which you've mentioned should happen) is a more prudent way of reviving and building for the City's future.

I was saying that the Rapid and the Streetcar weren't very comparable in the beginning. And I completely agree, from my experience, stations shouldn't stray much farther than 2000 feet. I believe in putting the Streetcar anywhere Cincinnati has a partially defunct commercial district and running it along the City's major arteries like Montgomery where the neighborhoods would thrive from that kind of access, not just localized economic uptick, which of course feeds the uptick. It's as close to perpetual motion as a city can get.

Tell 'em to learn from an unprogressive Cleveland ;-) Shaker Heights isn't in the City and Shaker Square is at the edge of the city limits. The Eastside suffers because the Red Line isn't sufficent service for such a broad area. I don't sense progress when examining the rate of commercial investment per square mile in Cleveland. The bulk of the real estate between downtown & U Circle and U Circle and Shaker isn't being stimulated. Not the best example on how to repopulate Cincinnati's core.

Nice Pittsburgh shots. Let me utter the obvious: Cincinnati could use an 800+ footer to complement the CBD's density.

I was almost carjacked in Avondale some years back. It definitely happens, especially in Avondale, Bond Hill and on the Westside. You're right though, it's not as prevalent as it could be, or even as pronounced as in Cleveland. Still too many armed robberies though in Cincinnati. I agree with what you're saying about homicide, if we're judging safety mostly based on a decrease in slayings, we've got a long way to go.

Don't feel too bad for East Walnut Hills, the name was conceived to divide the Walnut Hills area along racial lines.

$1.40 a month per person sounds like a convincing argument for regional transit to me. This is either an incredibly sarcastic or incredibly foolish statement. The tax would start around $2.79 monthly per co-head of household, more for single persons. Politically it makes sense to include non-taxpayers to that figure for impact in your campaign.

The local media isn't going to change. We could blame the media for the stadium deal despite the realities of who negotiated it for what personal benefit. It's a problem when I don't hear arguments critical to the venture uttered by the mouthpieces of the project, people I'll actually take seriously. Dohoney and Mallory knew out front that the local boys would fight them tooth and nail because Cincinnati's failures sells newspapers.

$1.40 a month per person sounds like a convincing argument for regional transit to me.

Originally, I wanted to go catch a Pens game against the Ducks in Pitt and check out that new line and until now I completely forgot I had put that in my calendar. Crap. Did they get new/upgraded rolling stock for the extension? Pittsburgh's T is one of my favorite transit lines. I actually felt the Streetcar's possibilities were poorly illustrated by the City. Dohoney and Mallory did a bad job of explaining that Phase I and II were just the beginning of a multi-faceted, metropolitan transit network. That was an opportunity to invite the County into the conversation on what two LRT routes would need funding after Phase II dollars are secured. The Mayor's office kept it streetcar all the way, and I think it made the ride a little rougher than it needed to be. Raising taxes is one of those issues that needs to be explained in terms of real dollars per single person and per family of four. If folks actually knew how much it would personally cost them to build MetroMoves, a 2:1 ballot result would have never happened.

Where was Daugherty and so many other Cincinnatians with sub-90 IQ's when MetroMoves was scheduled for the ballot? My blood pressure rises significantly when I hear some caveman complaining that Cinti doesn't have LRT and that the Streetcar is a bad idea b/c Phase I isn't extensive.

I think it will get like Mt. Adams. I'm thinking/hoping Wicker Park in Chicago. Of course, LRT through the existing ROW under the Parkway is what draws me to those economic possibilities. I can't see saturation in the basin without streetcars serving Northside through the West End or LRT. The lack of materialized rehabs are a major component to the high price tags right now in OTR. Lots north of Liberty can still be had for a song, and NW of the Parkway and Liberty is even cheaper to invest in for now. Brighton archictecture is fantastic, someone is going to realize the potential for a "Quarter district" there and make a killing being in such an optimal location. Being on the Parkway and being able to slide past uptown instead of through it will be attractive to a lot of people.

Isn't Boston metro fare $2.60? Might be some embellishment there by Daugherty.

What you are saying now doesn't even make sense. I thought creating more jobs for people with college degrees is a good thing. Furthermore, I know people with college degrees who have only found jobs "sweeping floors" (waiting tables, more accurately), so again your point doesn't really make sense. The argument that OTR sits between our two major job centers speaks to its inherent sustainability. How many jobs exist in Indian Hill or Amberley Village? Those areas maintain solid populations and high property values because people want to live there. Now the trend is that more people want to live in walkable, downtown-like environments. There is a reason why there is almost nothing available to rent in OTR or Downtown. We have passed the college try: there is big money as well as individuals plotting every day how they can add to the surging momentum in OTR. There is plenty of housing in OTR, just most of it is vacant, in disgusting condition, or a fire hazard. That's why 3CDC has so much free reign. People without degrees need jobs too, that's the problem with American deindustrialization when so many communities have long been at a disadvantage in obtaining higher education. That's how you end up with drug epidemics. Of course college grads have to pay the bills by any means, that doesn't dilute my point about access for low income individuals and families. Cincinnati has a serious problem with job access. Most of the job growth in the Cincinnati metro over the past 15 years has been in Butler and Warren Counties, not uptown, where the vast majority of the poor that reside in the metro live within 2 miles of.

More time must pass before we declare OTR safe. More progress must be made before we declare OTR a healthy environment that provides opportunity for people of all backgrounds. The past is a series of factual events by definition. You can't discount it or close your eyes and pretend that OTR looks the way it's depicted on the front of a Christian Moerlein lager. Embracing facts is a novel concept, don't shy away from it. No one is shying away from facts. We're pointing out that you aren't using facts, you're saying "this is my perception and therefore it is fact." That's not how it works. I also like how you can be so certain that you know the background of everyone who is commenting here. Guess what? I was spending time in OTR in the 1990s when I was still in school in various community activities. But don't let the facts get in the way of your personal campaign. You could have said that you have a relationship with the core dating back to the 90's a while ago. After all, I did prompt the question. It's not a fact that OTR is in a transition period from one of America's worst slums to a desirable, liveable tourist destination? I hope one day it's as great as it was bad once upon a time, it just isn't there yet; I can only say this in so many ways. History has long told us that poverty, homelessness and almost everything else negative that could occur in an urban society was obscenely prevalent in OTR for a very long time. It's going to take more than a couple years to undo that, and that's a fact. As jmecklenborg alluded to, many of OTR's problems have been swept to the Westside. That shows just how fragile OTR is. It has to be strained and rinsed thoroughly before it can be palatable.