Jeffery

I'm in the middle of this book and thought it would be of interest to Urban Ohio transit fans. It's been informative for me as a bus rider. Human Transit "Public transit is a powerful tool for addressing a huge range of urban problems, including traffic congestion and economic development as well as climate change. But while many people support transit in the abstract, it's often hard to channel that support into good transit investments. Part of the problem is that transit debates attract many kinds of experts, who often talk past each other. Ordinary people listen to a little of this and decide that transit is impossible to figure out. "...... >snip< .......Human Transit explains the fundamental geometry of transit that shapes successful systems; the process for fitting technology to a particular community; and the local choices that lead to transit-friendly development. Whether you are in the field or simply a concerned citizen, here is an accessible guide to achieving successful public transit that will enrich any community." The author also has a blog, with recent posts discussing "Bus Stigma" and some complaints about being taken out of context by Randall O'Toole. Human Transit ...he also says some interesting things (that I sort of thought about, too, when it's more than jus me putting his bike on the bus rack) about bikes & busses: "Small racks are widely accepted in North America now, but in the long run it should be obvious that bike racks on buses only work if they're not very popular."

I tend to be really cynical about much of the boosterish stuff said about Dayton by the locals, but this area really does rock when it comes to this outdoor rec stuff....

The more I do outdoors things the more I recognize the outdoor rec opportunities here could be a way to brand differentiation, making Dayton, which is pretty average in many ways, a bit more special. This city has the peculiarity of having three rivers come together in the heart of the city, but beyond that, the river valleys upstream are held free from development via a mix of parkland, flood control easments, well field protection zones and a military reservation. So the effect are wedges of open country extending pracitically to the heart of downtown. Through these flow the three rivers, the Mad, Great Miami, and Stillwater. And in two of the three cases they are parallelled by bike paths that in one case connects to a rail-trail to yet another river valley system (the Little Miami). On top of that there are various nature preserves for mostly day hiking, though one is being developed for backpacking. So there is a wealth of opportunities for some low-intensity outdoor recreation: 1. Cycling 2. Canoing 3. Kayaking 4. Hiking. I'd add sailing and power boating due to Ceasars Creek Resevoir being nearby but thats not so uniquel, and Great Lakes or Ohio River cities are obviously the choice for people into serious boating. Now the above four are maybe not so special, but what is special is that they can be accessed from the heart of the city, that you dont need to drive to do these things (well, maybe kayaking if you are not renting, unless a livery is set up downtown). You can live in a downtown loft or restored old inner city house in the Oregon, and be cycling through cornfields and forests within an hour, or be hiking in the same...this is almost like Europe with nature close at hand. One can cycle out to places to go hiiking, or even take the bus with bike to go cycling, or just take your walking stick on the bus and go hiking. One do all this outdoor recr back-to-natur stuff without a car, particulary if one lives in the center city (but also in the suburbs, like were Im at in Centerville). And if one wants it can be even MORE like Europe, in that one can cycle to nearby villages and have a lite dinner, drink, etc, the way the Germans would use a gasthaus or cafe as a stopping point to relax and partake, before the return trip. So civilized!. There's been some recoginition of this, yet I think it could be maybe a better marketing pitch, in terms of quality-of-life or active lifestyles as a selling point.... Some links on aspects of this, more on the paddle-sports side. I personally focus on the hiking and now the cycling possibilities. Water Trails Designation May Boost Paddle Sports The popularity of canoeing and kayaking is growing rapidly in Ohio, and Thursday’s designation of three regional rivers as state water trails will help the Miami Valley capitalize on the trend, officials say..... Kayaking in SW Ohio Growing in Popularity Kayak country! While you have to travel to kayak in whitewater rapids or the ocean, the good news — the great news, really — is that you live in a terrific place for recreational kayaking.... ....According to the Miami Conservancy District’s website, the Great Miami, Stillwater and Mad rivers were named as Water Trails by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in the summer of 2010. These three rivers make up the new Great Miami River Watershed Water Trail, the largest water trail system in Ohio, offering 265 miles of waterway accessible to recreational boaters, fishermen and wildlife watchers River improvements to facilitate paddling: $1 million grant spurs Great Miami River project "DAYTON — Imagine the scene a year after the hazardous Monument Avenue low dam is removed and replaced with two dam-like structures that offer safe passageways for recreational paddlers on the Great Miami River. Downtown, many more people will be in the river piloting canoes and kayak play boats that dart and dance on engineered whitewater. Some will be pros executing elaborate moves and others will be newbies gliding down some fast water. " The concept of outdoor recreation as a positive selling point is a regional one... Recreational corridor envisioned WEST CARROLLTON — Miami Bend is, or would be, an entertainment district centered on a $10 million whitewater park planned along the Great Miami River here. It’s also another stop envisioned along “Ohio’s Great Corridor,” a series of recreational destinations to stretch from Troy and Sidney in Miami County south through Montgomery County to Hamilton in Butler County. “We can become sort of the Boulder, Colo., of the Midwest,” said Dusty Hall, the Miami Conservancy District’s staff representative with the Ohio’s Great Corridor Association, an organization formed in October 2010 to promote the Great Miami’s regional recreational potential. ...and a list of things done by the local regional park district: MetroParks Has Achieved Much... Since 2000, the parks agency has: • Built out downtown Dayton’s RiverScape. • Opened a Children’s Discovery Garden. • Started an Outdoor Recreation Department, • Added 3,700 conservation acres. • Overhauled the neglected Hills and Dales park to the tune of $4 million. • Built a backpacking trail in Germantown. • And added bike trail miles that will eventually connect Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to the system. Listing the frequently over-subscribed fall activities at MetroParks locations requires a 51-page booklet. ...and this is supplemented by local park districts & preserves, and the state with its local state parks (like Sycamore, which is under-appreicated) All this isn't really "urban", but Dayton isn't going to compete well for "urban"....it doesn't have quite the population or the built environment for that. Outdoors/Active Lifestyle IS one thing the region does do well and has a good chance of being distinctive in, especially since it's not in an area know for scenery or terraine (no sailing on Lake Michigan or skiing the Wasatches, but a lot of lower key stuff).

I used to be skeptical of those rail-trails...until I started using them. I continue to be amazed how far I can go on these, and how quickly....and how close I can get to corn, soybeans, and livestock :wink:

So, they are going to connect Tusculum/Columbia with the Little Miami Bike Trail someday, correct? It would be cool to pedal down to the Ohio River from my house, via Waynesville and then points south!

I answered all the questions. The survey was focused on highways, but even the highway questions were good ones...if you think of it as choosing btw tradeoffs. The bias I have is toward maintaining the existing system, while a lot the questions seemed to be pitched toward expansions. Since this is a declining state, it seems like 'expansion' is probably not what we want....more like keeping what we have or even shrinking the system in some fashion.

At best it's a demonstration project on how to do suburbia better, esp. since Louisville has such poor quality/poorly planned suburban development.

The more I think about it the more I think that the Warren Correctional Institute is the best location. That would simplify land aquistion but probably a lot of site development $$$$ for grading cut & fill since the prison is on somewhat rolling terrain. A flatter site (to accomodate runways) would be that flatland south of AK Steel, say btw AK Steel and the highway from Monroe. Same benefit being halfway and also close enough to I-75. I think that land is zoned industrial, too....

Just 24 percent of the adult residents of metropolitan Dayton have four-year degrees, well below the average of 32 percent for American metro areas ...missed this. Explains why people here seem so ignorant. Yet, there is this bit of info.... Dayton area No. 8 in region for growth in STEM-related openings Among its peers in the Great Lakes region, including metros in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the Dayton area ranked No. 8 for growth in STEM-related jobs from 2009 to 2011, according to a new report from the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research, a nonprofit think tank in Indianapolis. The Dayton area added 700 STEM-related jobs that required at least two years of post-secondary education over the past two years, outperforming much larger metro areas, such as Cleveland and Milwaukee, Wis., which added 458 and 512 STEM jobs, respectively, Sagamore found. 700 doesnt sound like a lot, really. But I guess it is in comparison. The artcile says these jobs are really in the manufacturing sector; engineering and advanced machine shop work as part of the industrial economy, perhaps. Here are the leaders for this type of job, according to report. The Ohio cities on the list are Columbus, Dayton and Cincy: 1. Detroit, +8,668 2. Columbus, +2,214 3. Pittsburgh, +2,105 4. Cincinnati, +1,347 5. Chicago, +958 6. Grand Rapids, Mich., +843 7. Ann Arbor, Mich., +777 8. Dayton, +700 9. Peoria, Ill., +587 10. Madison, Wis., +546

Had that Summit of Louisville been built a mile closer, I believe this could've actually been a nice, functional place ala the extension of downtown development in Hudson (OH). ...imagine a residential/office development of this scale and quality and site planning surrounding The Greene and you would have the perfect combination....the town center with shopping, food, offices, then the walkable "town" surrounding it. (which makes dealing with "shopping center parking" a challenge, true.)

A grab-bag of bike news from Dayton. New website launched for the Miami Valley (Dayton region) bike trails. This site has fairly good trail-specific maps: Miami Valley Bike Trails Dayton awarded "bike friendly" status by the Wheelmen (national bike organization): Dayton awarded bike-friendly status (Columbus also is in this category, and nearby Troy, Ohio, got an honorable mention) Dayton’s commitment to becoming more bicycle-friendly was “huge” in the judges’ consideration, said Bill Nesper, director of the program for the 130-year-old league, the nation’s largest bike advocacy organization. He cited the recent adoption of a citywide complete streets policy, new bike lanes downtown, and the city’s bike parking ordinance as contributors. Dayton also benefited from the work of regional agencies centered here, he said. Nesper lauded last year’s cycling summit and the new bike hub sponsored by Five Rivers MetroParks, the river corridor trail system built and maintained by the Miami Conservancy District, and the regional bike plan coordinated by the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission. “We think the commitment is there,” he said. Bicycling Magazine mentions Dayton in it's "Americas Best Bicycling Cities", ranking fairly low at 45, but the only Ohio city on their list: America’s Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities "To determine our top 50 bike-friendly cities for 2012, we evaluated cities with populations of 95,000 or more, using data provided by the Alliance for Biking and Walking and the League of American Bicyclists, as well as input from local advocates and bike-ped coordinators. To make the list, a city must possess both a robust cycling infrastructure and a vibrant bike culture.." ...the bike culture here is more sport- & recreation based, yet I do see people using their bikes to get around via RTA, and this is more the lower-income population. So people are riding. Bike path system, for recreation...well, I used to by skeptical of this until I started using the paths, and boy I am impressed! You can really move out on a bike and places that I thought would be too far are a lot quicker than I thought. I use the trails in conjunction with RTA (dont have a bike rack for the car, and really I dont need one since I can use the bus), but use them only for 'Sunday Drives'. Regular errand biking is on the street or on sidewalks. In that regard, car-dependent suburban Beavercreek is incorporating bikes/walking into it's thoroughfare plan as "non-motorized transport" Thoroughfare Plan Update 2012 "The City of Beavercreek Planning and Zoning Department has been working together with the Engineering Department and the Beavercreek Bikeway Advisory Committee over the past year to update the existing thoroughfare plan and to incorporate bike and pedestrian facilities into that plan" Finally, in two weeks (and I have registerd for this)...a casual ride, not race (despite the name): Tour de Dayton "Roll along Dayton’s bike friendly neighborhood streets, experiencing cultural and historical destinations that promote our growing healthy quality of life!"

Then competetion is with Greene County. Mont. county and the two Mont. County localities invovled (Miamisburg and Miami Twp) see lost revenue due to sprawl along I-675 in Greene County and this is a revenue generator to compete with that. Your sort of seeing the same thing with Centerville wanting to annex into Green County to tap into the the sprawl growth at the I-675/Wilmington Pk interchange. This intel would probably not be seen by Cincy-centric posters, but the srpawl situation is a bit more complex than this bi-polar thing (or really---interchange sprawl---).

^ They have a small fountain up in the park on top of the bank in the pix, and a much larger (actually pretty impressive) one in the river at the confluence btw the Mad & Miami. @@@ Yep, it looks like this is going to happen. Not too convicned of the aesthetic merits as removing the low dam would remove that large pool in front of downtown, which makes the river look larger and gives some opportunity for things like paddle boats, and less intense paddling than those kayaks. There is a backstory (so I've head) to this in that a Cox family heir is in Dayton in a management position at Cox Ohio, and he is apparently a kayaker or canoist or something, so this is sort of a personal project (hence the intial seed money from the Cox foundation). I think this is still a good concept as one way Dayton could differentiate itself from being just another run-of-the-mill Midwest rustbelt factory town is via this outdoor rec push, that Five Rivers is sort of the lead on. Paddling is one part of a larger strategy involving cycling and hiking/backpacking that positions this community as a good place to be if you are into these kinds of sports, if you want to be active outdoors...

Ping Tom Park is neat. You can see it off the Orange Line. I really like what they did with that site, good riverfront site but a lot of good old Chicago grit around to give some character. That close-in area was always interesting to me (mainly the area on the other side of the river, Canalport Avenue and vicintiy). However this following pix is great. You can just sense the mild early summer night here.....just beautiful and anticipatory of a night out on the town....the possibilities of the city....

^megadittos on that Walgreens! Put one of those in downtown Dayton and we are SET. (but yeah, these pix tear my heart out. Sweet Home Chicago. Im going there for a quick weekend in July, for the Bughouse Square free speech/soapbox event and the Newberry book sale).

Logan Square has a great collection of greystones, doesnt it?

THis building... ...looks like one a bit further north on Milwaukee, up at Six Corners.....(Milwaukee/Cicero/Irving Park Rd)

Logan Square has turned hipster? Wow....

^ I have a tough time believing that. Wonder if there was some ballot box stuffing going on.

I used to think a lot of this recreational cycling was silly. That people would strap their bikes onto their vehicles and then drive somewhere to bike. Well, I beat that (and am saving on a bike rack). The other weekend I took the bike into the old part of Centerville, got on Bus 14, put the bike in the rack in front and... ...rode to the old part of Trotwood, got off the bus, and was right at the rail-trail that heads northwest to Verona, on the county line. So I did my recreational rail-trail thing...road as far as Brookville and then got a soda, took a break, and cycled back to Trotwood to catch the bus back. This was sweet. I can do bike path riding without needing a car! Also did some long distance hiking...took the bus 17 from my apt, all the way up to Vandalia, then hiked....three times now...the Great Miami Valley, along the bike path...Tadmor, Taylorsville Reserve, and now hiked into Miami County to Charleston Falls preserve. Next will be to the village of West Charleston...doing German-style long distance hikes to country villages. Of course, could ALSO put the bike on the bus to Vandalia, and then cylce down to connect to the bike path and ride up to Tipp City (and even Troy, but not in shape for that). Vandalia is a good spot for recreational hiking/riding as they have a good pedestrian path/sidewalk/bikepath connection over the freeway, the old part of town is walkable, AND there is a good local donut shop, ice cream place, etc, for a before- or after-hike/ride bite to eat/drink. Very civilzed. All this can be done without use of the car. Nice.

I need to take a closer look at the BLS monthlies, but this recent jobs number is worrisom. Stalling employment growth in May and June was a signal that the 2008 recession was about to hit....tho I think there would have been leading indicators showing this, too, these particular numbers...the employment run-up in during spring and into early summer is an annual trend, and it noticeablly stalled in 2008. So if we are repeating this pattern we could well be getting a strong signal that something is up.... Need to take a closer look, and also at the June numbers....interesting stuff..... I believe these are leading idnicators? And awaaaay we go..... >snark<(dont change that thread title just yet!)>/snark<

I'm in the middle of a book referenced in the NYT article that explains this clustering/agglomeration effects, as well as "thickness" vs "thiness" of employment opportunities and labor pools.... Here is the Forbes review: The New Geography of Jobs (the book is probably a populariztion of economic development theory...tho written by an economist, not heavy math involved in the text...just a good narrative with examples...) It also might explain why that biotech play might not be that sucessfull for Cleveland, and it would explain that polymer thing for Akron....depending a bit on uf the scientific/R&D talent decided to stay after "Big Rubber" pulled out...pretty much what 327 said...

...and Youngstown.

The rankings of metro area pop with degrees in 1970 was a bit suprising: For Ohio 1. Columbus, 12.3% 2. Dayton, 11.0% 3. Akron , 10.8% 4. Cleveland , 10.5% 5. Cincy, 10% 6. Toledo, 9.3% 7. Youngstown, 7.1% ...suprising in that Akron & Dayton are near the top of the list. Today, the rankings have shifted, with Dayton dropping to near bottom, and Cincy rising. 1. Cols 32.5% 2. Cincy 29.3% 3. Akron 28.5% 4. Clevo 27.7% 5. Dayton 24.4% 6. Toledo 24.3% 7. Younstown 19.3% ...and the rate of change in college grads since 1970 tells a similar story: 1. Cols, 20.3% increase 2. Cincy, 19.3% increase 3. Akron, 17.8% 4. Cleveland 17.2% 5. Toledo, 15% 6. Dayton, 13.4% 7. Youngstown, 12.2% I guess the positive number, the real suprise, is how well (relatively speaking) Akron is performing, for being a former heavily industrial one-industry city. The bad number is Daytons, mainly because expectations would have been higher since there is that big military R&D presence in the community combined with two engineering schools (WSU and UD). Apparenlty not enough to withstand the hemorrage of talent elsewhere. Columbus is one of the very best peformers regionally (ie Midwest)..in the same range as: Indy: 32% grads, 20.3% growth in grad % since 1970 Des Moines: 30.7% grads, 20.5% growth.. Milwaukee: 3.7%, 20.6%, Top Midwest perforer was the Twin Cities, 37% grads, 23.6% growth in grad % since 1970

The New York Times features Dayton (including a pix of Main Street downtown) on the growing divide btween educated and uneducated metro areas... As College Graduates Cluster some Cities are Left Behind (article has a good set of comments). DAYTON, Ohio — As cities like this one try to reinvent themselves after losing large swaths of their manufacturing sectors, they are discovering that one of the most critical ingredients for a successful transformation — college graduates — is in perilously short supply. Just 24 percent of the adult residents of metropolitan Dayton have four-year degrees, well below the average of 32 percent for American metro areas... The "dumb-ass list" of dumb-ass cities (, ie.e ones that are poor prerformers in porportion of college grads to the population and in not being able to generate a college educated population since 1970) can be found at this link Note that Columbus shows VERY good on this list, once again showing it as the outlier among Ohios big seven metro areas...