Jeffery

I think there is a vague classist thing going on in the busses versus streetcars or other rail transit discussion....this is usually not really articulated very well, except in that controversy in LA btw the bus riders and advocates of a subway. The arguments are more around streetcars as an economic development tool, with transit as a side benefit...where the fixed-path makes areas more popular for development. So we are not really talking as streetcars as mass transit, but more like a development faciliator. The benficiaries are really property owners, developers, the more upscale/yuppy market who can afford the housing and retail/food/drink places in these developments, and local governements who benefit from tax revenue. So we are not really talking about transit. Transit is almost a side benefit. To make a generalized transit system work as transit, as an alternative to the car, the issue (says I who is a frequent transit user) is frequency, so its more convenient to use and there is less downtime waiting for the bus (or train). Or to use dedicated ROW so there is less traffic delays. That is the concept behind, maybe, light rail or rapid transit, that you can get across town fast, vs slogging through stop & go traffic.

Technically we are NOT in a recession, but the recovery is weak and we apparently ARE locking into higher structural unemployment coming out of the Great Recession. I vote for changing the title to something along the lines of 'The Big Macroeconomic Thread", since calling it world economy is too limiting....we still talk about the Ohio and US economy too sometimes...

Im about 15 -10 minutes from that south bus hub, biking time, so I could just ride to the hub, catch the bus to Miamisburg, and catch the bike path from Miamisburg. I dont really need to bike to work as the bus works fine. Its pretty cool being able to use the bus and bike in combination, or the bus + hiking as a recreation thing. I am doing that quite a bit now..biking out to Yeck Park (via Forest Field Park) out east of St Leonard, doing some hiking (which can be extended out to include hiking the Sugarcreek Reserve trails), and then riding back to catch bus 23 at Clyo Road, to ride back home, if Im too tired. @@@@ Second attempt at Sycamore State Park this weekend: hiked the full 8 miles, and made it back to catch bus 14 in Trotwood and home by 1 PM. Sweet!

Apparently Forbes picked Dayton as its most affordable city....Cincinnati (15) Cleveland (16) and Akron (22) are also on the list. Most Affordable Cities

The Trotwood trip was sort of ironic since I was waiting at the old Deopt for the bus back and noticed people using their cars and SUVs to carry their bikes to the rail-trail that crosses there. I realized I could just ride up the bus stop in Centerville, but the bike on bus 14 with me, and ride the bus to Trotwood with my bike and then go rail-trail riding! Dont need a car at all to use the bike paths here! @@@@ I did take my bike out on the bike paths along the rivers north of town on Derby Day (decided I didnt really want to go Derby drinking that afternoon)....went farther than I thougt I would..as far north as Wegerzyn Gardens and that "Edorado" river rat community

Had the Bike for about a month now...and yes it is coming in handy as a time-saver errand bike! Used it to run some sweaters to the dry cleaner, to the PO a number of times now, to Wal-Mar and Drug Mart and the Indian markets for food and sundries, to the Centerville library and to the Miami Twp library. Realized the other day I could probably even go to Boosalis Bakery for morning croisscants (Boosalis is a French bakery...imported ovens and french-trained bakers)...which was always too far a walk for me. Tomorrow is Urban Bikes at Urban Nights, sort of "critical mass" (without the attitude) group ride, with police escort. I will take the bike to work (on the bus) and then take it downtown to join this group. So starting to integrate the bike into my daily life.... @@@@@ Walking continues to be the hobby/exercise, though. The bike is really enhancing this as well. The other day I took the bike out to Forest Field park (about 4.5 miles away), locked it, and then took a nice long hike in Yeck Park...all this in evening , doable after work! This is excellent! @@@ AND...using RTA for longer distance hiking...Bus 14 through old part of Centerville (about 30 minute walk form me) ALSO goes to the old part of Trotwood. And from Trotwood only about 25 minutes to the woods and fields of Sycamore State Park...25 minutes on small town sidewalks and nearly empty country road walking. So I have a place that I rarley went to becoming a very real possibility for hiking.

I wish we had something like igo in Dayton. If they did I would give up my car. Would a car-share thing work for longer distance trips...like down to Cincy or Louisville? Right now I'm limited to the car rental places...tho the Avis place downtown is a great convient place to rent cars.

...and I saw this first on FB. Apparently the UOers are also on facebook. Anyhow, wonder if UO gets much attention like this? I always thought of us as sort of this urbanist underground....our own little thing....

This film was made by the same guy who did Helvetica from a few years ago, which is a pretty good documentary treatment on an sort of specialized or obscure subject...using the history of a typeface as an introduction to "visual culture" (AKA "graphic design"). Urbanized Director Gary Hustwit has an impressive track record when it comes to exploring the world of design. His popular essay films Helvetica and Objectified profiled the mak­ers of graphics and household objects, respectively, by combining smart interviews with stylish cinematography. His latest film completes a design trilogy and hits even closer to home by looking at cities. In Urbanized, we meet architects, politicians, city planners, activists and others who bring fresh approaches to urban living. The film presents invigorating new strategies for meeting the challenges faced by popula­tions that are expanding (like Mumbai) and shrinking (like Detroit) ...and it will be showing at the Neon Movies on Wed, May 9th, at 7 PM. Maybe an impromptu field trip for local UO folks....

Im reading a bunch of bike stuff.... "Urban Bikers' Tricks & Tips: " is pretty good (illustrated) Big Book of Bicycling seems a bit more macho-sport oriented but some good stuff in there on exercise and nutrition..not really just for bikers ...from the zine world, On Bicycles: 50 Ways The New Bike Culture Can Change Your Life, which is more a collection of short essays. This is a good bus book...a book to read on the bus. Finally, Pedal Power is sort of interesting...more the political side of things. ...and some Chicago stuff. ...this old multi-volume history from the 1930s. Read that it was good and it is good...better than I expected....

I took that poll and I am..get this..in the 75% to 100% range. And that I can do this in suburban Dayton, too.... I do still have a car and occasionally use it. No more than once a week, if that much....really no more than two or three times a month. For basic commuting and errands I am on the bus, on foot, or..now..on a bike.

Doing this bus-bike thing one can appreciate the possibilities here in Dayton for pushing a different take on suburban Quality of Life..not just city stuff.....or for city people to bus out into the suburbs and do hikes and rides....the possibilities are here!

I continue my carless adventures. With the bike...exploring further afield. Rode out to Forest Field Park and now realize i can cycle out here, tie up to a tree, and go hiking in Yeck Park and Sugarcreek Reserve and hike home... ....also tooled around St Leonard. St Leonard was something I never did take pix of when I was doing those Dayton & suburbs pix threads...but its this big goofy-modernist take on a monastary , but now converted into a nursing home/seniors housing complex. They have a lake & forest that backs up on Yeck Park and I bushwacked there once during the winter... ...this time I CYCLED there! They have paved walks around the lake and through their forest...sort of fun yet odd riding my bike through this big forest on a paved sidewalk..... As I was tooling around I think I saw their security spotting me...but we waved at each other. I realized that Im pretty gray myself nowadays! A potential customer! Well...that was a bit much, so timing was right, so I took bus 23 from Clyo & Centerville Station back to my apartment (beating that uphill pedalling into the old part of Centerville...Centerville sits on a high point so its up..or down...). Nice to work with bus and bike like this...realize I could probably do this in Trotwood, too...take the bike to Trotwood and then cycle out to Brookville... @@@@ Also did some bus/hiking things. This was an experiment. Took bus 17, which runs right by my place...all the way up to Vandalia, got off at one of the last stops, then walked down to the Taylorsville Reseve and bike path. This was nice, hiking the bottoms and along the Great Miami River....realized I could go further afied and maybe do the rugged country east of the River, or ...and this would be very aggressive...walk all the way to Tipp City (or take my bike there). Still, nice to have this option. After the walk, there was opportunity to stop at a local donut shop and have coffee and donuts to wait for the bus, or to this outdoor bbq smoker in a parking lot near Bunkers tavern. So, great way to finish off what I think would be a 7 or 8 mile hike. Then bus it back home...single seat ride to and from some nice hiking country.... Also, thinking of doing this in Trotwood....bus 14 from Centerville goes right to Trotwood, and I could get out and then hike Sycamore State Park along Wolf Creek...nice place and very empty...sort of a forgotten gem of a spot....

I think I did a big series of posts on Trotwood that mentions Westbrook Village and similar plats stalling.....

Man there is some good stuff here. I particularly like the ones of the block the Riebold Building was on, showing the Canby bldg and the Kresge. I've seen an old shot of the corner building (NW corner 5th & Main) but was wondering what those buildings looked like in modern times. Also the pix of the mall are neat. I did find out that the "New Orleans style" wrought iron treatment (now gone) on the bldg w. the bay windows was installed at the same time they built the mall. But neat to see it in the original design (with that neat cubist/modern mural on the Joy Shop wall, I think). ...you should scan and post 'em!

yr welcome. Yes..this would be the elevation that had the nicer apartments. Btw...there are some 'historical" posts on the Arcade here that I put together a few years ago. More explanatory. I was working with the Lutzenberger collection and some old online Sanborns.

Excellent elevation shot! How did you do that?

The CHS location also had a full-service restaurant on an upper floor. That was very traditional for a downtown dept store. That downtown store was one of the things I thought was 'different' about Dayton since most cities Daytons size had lost their downtown stores by the late 1980s (when I move to town), let alone having such a new one.

In the view you can see they hadnt built the parking garage yet next to city hall, and the Arcade dome was still covered....

Legend, Guided By Voices to play downtown ...Guster and Rusted Root also have signed on for Revival Music Festival. DAYTON — The first-year Downtown Dayton Revival Music Festival has signed performers including Train, John Legend, Guided by Voices, Guster, Rusted Root, Tony Lucca and Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk for the Sept. 8-9 event. Matt Luongo, president of Downtown Revival LLC, which is organizing the privately funded street fair, said more than 30 bands will perform on three outdoor stages. There will also be family-friendly events and other activities. ...reading deeper into the article they steve Steve Kellog and the Sixters will be playing. I might just go for that act...the rest sound like yawners to me (not a fan of Guster, or GBV, for example). But looks like this guy who is organizing it is one of those locals who went away, saw a good idea elsewhere (in his Birmingham, ALA, of all places), and brought it back home. This means three music festivals in Sept..the Reggae Festival on Dave Hall Plaza, this one, and the Dayton Music Festival (which is a bar-based festival using a blanket cover charge concept). "Music" of various types is the one strong suite, the one big stand-out "scene" in Dayton's local civic culture.

...I stopped by this place the other evening (he is open late), and the guy repairs and I think even hand-builds bikes. He has some vintage bikes he is restoring. Pretty neat to see this place in operating. He says he's the only bike shop within the city limits.

A report on office vacancy rates in the Dayton region: Dayton leads U.S. in vacant offices, report says Dayton has the highest office vacancy rate among the nation’s metropolitan areas, and the portion of its office space that is unoccupied is at least at a 13-year high, according to new data from a real estate research firm. ....research firm is based in NYC, but the local real estate grouip tha tracks this gives these numbers: Downtown Dayton has the largest glut of unused office space in the region, and its office vacancy rate was about 33.2 percent in 2011, according to a survey by the Dayton-based Gem Real Estate Group. But the city’s vacancy rate improved last year from 34.2 percent in 2010, even though the vacancy rate worsened in Dayton’s suburbs. In the suburbs, it climbed to 22.4 percent last year from 21 percent in 2010 Basically we are bottoming-out w. this commercial real-estate stuff. Only threat on the horizon here is possible defense sector contraction leading to more vacancy in the Greene County/Research Park submarket.

I should also say that the connection btw the Dayton Mall/Bus Hub area and Washington Twp has drastically improved with a new paved sidewalk/bike path along Lyons. I can now ride/walk all the way to the bus hub (actually to Wal-Mart) and my place using this route without having to ride or walk on a shoulder.

More bike notes....so far, experimented with that RTA/bike mix on Sunday...taking the bus downtown w. bike then cycling to certain locations I walk to. Particularly wanted to test run to Old North Dayton (Charlies Market) and 2nd Street Market, but also did the hipster poser thing and rode to the Oregon and to Press coffeeshop for a latte. Also did a run into Miami Twp (to bus hub, but also to Wal-Mart to see about tie-down locations for grocery shopping and to get some stretch tethers at Harbor Frieght Tools). What I learned: I have to be very careful re broken glass and debris in curbs and even on sidewalks (they dont call Dayton "Dirt-town" for nothing). And I am having to walk the bike on steeper grades because Im not fit enough yet to pedal those. Also, noticing how I can mix using the bikeway with the painted bike paths and regular street cycling in the city...but on-street riding is dicey. I did this downtown/Old North Dayton/Webster Station/Oregon route on a Sunday, with minimal traffic. I would be very leery of riding some of these areas during regular hours with more traffic (esp Troy Street and that Troy/Valley intersection, and Keowee, and Wayne Avenue). Thinking i'm going to pretty much stick to my original plan of just using the bike for local errands in Washington Twp, where I can use their "shared use" sidewalks. I can use these to get into Miami Twp to go to Wal-Mart for groceries and the credit union. Probably not going to take the bike into the city much....feel its safer to walk, though it takes longer. Walking is OK. Should be enough for me.

Yeah, I agree with ColDayMan as this is interesting info to follow. Do agree that percentages are maybe more valuable for comparison purposes.