natininja

I also have a feeling the operational costs of tolling everywhere would be greater. That's just my gut instinct, though. I mean, it requires new infrastructure and likely a large payroll.

There's a lot missing from there, too. Like, what percentage of census tracts (or land area of the city) are along the streetcar route? Of course, that brings other questions to light, because some census tracts (or land area) would not have as much growth potential. I guess I'm just saying, you can find flaws with any way of presenting the data. So maybe it's just best to make as many charts as you can! :)

Kasich is like an internet troll with actual power. When all is said and done, and he loses his bid for reelection, I just hope he can admit he did it for the lulz.

Using a payment at the pump system (like KJP suggests) might be a good solution. It would do a few things well: 1) Provide a decent paper trail where (odometer) fraud can be detected. 2) Space out payments to make them manageable (like Gramarye's utility idea) 3) Really help people see the connection between costs and miles driven, by making them keep it in mind.

Yes, exactly. I think the perceived problem with using an odometer is that it's easy to tamper with, and the incentive to do so in this case could be huge. I'm not really knowledgeable, though, about how easy it is to detect tampering. Another issue might be that odometers can be unreliable, or they can simply break (sometimes maybe intentionally!). But the GPS concept is ridiculous to me. EZ-Pass and speed/red light cameras are bad enough.

I agree it's a good tax solution and a privacy threat. There should be a way to count miles without GPS tracking.

Also possible: rent a bike under the purple (people) bridge and bike along the Serpentine Wall/river. From there, you could go across the river and do a short bike tour of Newport and/or Covington, KY, or go somewhere else nearby on a short trip. (If your leg muscles are up for it, Mt. Adams could be a fun trip as you'd be right at the foot of it.) http://www.wheelfunrentals.com/ListLocations/90 One of my absolute FAVORITE things to do in Cincinnati is go for urban walks on the hillside steps. http://www.ohioswallow.com/book/Walking+the+Steps+of+Cincinnati Since the river basin is relatively flat, you would probably venture into Mt. Auburn to the north of downtown/OTR or Mt. Adams to the east. There are other options, too. That book I linked to is a great resource, if slightly outdated. Another resource is this UrbanOhioan's (joetraveler's) maps: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=24907.0 If you find yourself near Findlay Market, it is a relatively short walk up the Ohio Avenue steps to the university. There's a park at the top of the steps with great views of the skyline. If you aren't exhausted from your whirlwind day, this is more fun than a bus (or you can bus up the hill and walk back using the steps). Just as a heads up, the part of Over-the-Rhine north of Liberty (the "NoLibs") is a bit shady after dark. via http://www.findlaymarket.org/market-history/

Yes, I was going to mention Northside. Gays and artists, I would argue, have been the main forces behind Northside's revitalization. (They kind of go hand-in-hand, traditionally: the gays have money and no kids, so they fix up buildings without "family-sized" living quarters, then the artists (who are historically more tolerant of gays than the general population) come and live in those buildings and take advantage of the low rents of a transitional neighborhood.) Artists certainly are an element in OTR, but OTR's proximity to the CBD and corresponding higher rents (generally speaking) make it more suitable for those making a more money than your typical artist. I think hippies and artists were responsible for turning around Mt. Adams, which is now definitely too pricey for artists. Hopefully OTR, given its size, will remain affordable for artists. There's a fine line between a "safe" neighborhood and one affordable to artists. That may be part of the answer to your question: artists are overlooked because their role is temporary and short-lived. Northside is, again, illustrative of this. Its position on the crime scale is at a bit of a sweetspot, where it is safe enough where most people don't fear to hang out there, but shady enough that the rent is still relatively cheap. I think it will stay that way for the foreseeable future, because OTR, and to a lesser extent the university area, are keeping Northside's transition at a slow pace. Also, it's a little far from the urban core to capitalize on the mainstream side of the back-to-the-city trend, which the census seems to show is currently focused sharply on city centers.

Kasich makes this site depressing. That probably scares people away.

Walk Vine and Main between Central Pkwy. and Liberty St., if you want to see the progress happening in Over-the-Rhine. Or just to see a sample of the neighborhood, since you've never been. Eat some chili and Graeter's ice cream. What day will you be going? Someone might have some date-specific advice.

Okay, so the answer is Wray. Honestly, I don't think this matters anyhow. The powers-that-be clearly have an agenda, and they will do what they will do. Defunding the streetcar proved that.

They've already been studied by HDR, an international transportation consulting firm with an excellent reputation.... http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/noncms/projects/streetcar/docs/EconomicAnalysis.pdf A review of the HDR study by the University of Cincinnati..... http://www.cincystreetcar.com/docs/UCStudy.pdf Obviously, you didn't catch my meaning. My point was, with all the studies showing the streetcar to be a boon for economic development, you would think if the TRAC board were using that as their main criteria they would not have singled out the project for defunding. Clearly they were not following the assessment provided by professionals. Whose assessment were they following? Whose will they follow in the future, when determining which projects to fund based on their ability to stoke economic development?

We're so lucky to have a governor who is pro-business.

^ Considering their alleged focus on economic development, the streetcar should be a shoo-in. However, we all know that is FAR from being the case. So who gets to decide the expected economic impact of proposed projects? Kasich? Wray? Apparently not people who study such things professionally.

That language should actually improve funding chances for rail, due to its untapped economic development potential. I guess the question is: who gets to determine the expected economic impact of a given project?

It seems to be monkey-see-monkey-do at this point.

+ >9000

Judging by the article I linked, it seems unlikely current technology makes this viable, and even more questionable that it would be cheaper. That doesn't mean the possibility of future implementation shouldn't be considered in the plans.

This article sheds some light on the battery-power issue: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/5774/fully-wireless-streetcars-feasible-soon-but-not-today/

So apparently there was a new, shortened streetcar route announced and no one here has posted about it. Y'all is slippin'.

I vote the fourth option: I really don't care!

Except that all the posts from the vBulletin bad dream are now gone.

Refreshing.

I wouldn't let the gay thing sway you one way or the other, as both are just fine for that. In the long term, I'd say Pittsburgh being located in PA speaks to better prospects for marriage rights than Cleveland being located in OH (PA being marginally more liberal). That's probably the biggest difference. (I am gay too, btw.) I can't really speak to the rest. I like both cities. I can say I would prefer Pittsburgh, but that's me. And family in Cleveland might sway me the other way.

QFT The fact that the tax rate was approved by referendum and encoded in the Constitution (an aspect which I personally opposed) makes it 1) a blatant disregard of the will of the people, as they spoke on the same day they elected him and 2) a blatant disregard of the supremacy of the Constitution. While I agree the tax rate is too low, this is just ridiculous. He is not acting on behalf of the people who thought the tax rate should have been higher (including me). He is not acting on behalf of the people who thought the tax rate and other regulations should not be encoded in the Constitution (including me). He is not acting on behalf of the small government/lower taxes crowd. He is not acting on behalf of the hard-core Constitutionalists. He is acting on behalf of 1) the people who are morally opposed to casinos, who were soundly defeated on election day, and 2) his cronies. Does anyone here care to dispute this, because I really find it hard to defend what he's doing. As someone who actually opposed this Amendment largely due to this exact issue (too low taxes -- and also the fact that the tax rate was too rigid by being encoded in the Constitution), the fact that I can't get behind what he is doing makes it really clear the whole thing stinks to high heaven. If anything, he should let the casinos be built and begin operations, then look for a way to increase taxes over time (likely by amending the Constitution).