natininja

GE selects The Banks for new operations center Kara Foxx, Jun 18, 2014 Sources tell FOX19 Investigates that General Electric has selected The Banks as the location for their new global operations center. Mason and Oakley were also vying to be the location, but sources say negotiations between The Banks officials and GE were settled on Wednesday. The official announcement is set to be made on Friday. The headquarters could bring in 1,400 plus jobs to the area. Read More

GE selects The Banks for new operations center Kara Foxx, Jun 18, 2014 Sources tell FOX19 Investigates that General Electric has selected The Banks as the location for their new global operations center. Mason and Oakley were also vying to be the location, but sources say negotiations between The Banks officials and GE were settled on Wednesday. The official announcement is set to be made on Friday. The headquarters could bring in 1,400 plus jobs to the area. Read More

I am not 100% one way or the other on Messer's assertions, but I think Mann's motion for 33% affordable housing is good. With the streetcar being a sure thing, I'm not worried about development slowing down. I think we should hear people out on the possibility that 3CDC is/would be holding things back. If the streetcar battle were lost, I'd look at things differently.

^ From the BizCourier article:

It's possible they're afraid 3CDC will sit on the property and slow the development process. Edit: Business Courier article has more info. The stated reasons are 3CDC may not move fast enough to keep up w/ demand, and they won't provide enough affordable housing. http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/06/18/otr-council-don-t-turn-properties-north-of-liberty.html?ana=twt&page=all

Rollerblades aren't actually practical, though. You can point to cities where bikes have surged in popularity and maintained it over decades, because they are very practical. Plus the spike in demand for bicycle accommodations will ensure the long-term growth of cycling mode share, even if some people try it only for a few years.

Julie Zimmerman just referenced Donald Shoup on Twitter, saying he might be in Cincinnati in the Fall. I find the fact someone on the editorial board even knows who he is is very encouraging. The streetcar battle has served to educate a lot of people on transportation issues, including people in the media. Obviously, the misinformation brigade is still pretty effective on much of the population, providing a counter-balance of talking points, and it helped to win Cranley the election. But I think Cincinnati now has a greater number of average Joes who understand the nuances of these issues than many cities. Could progressive planning be Cincinnati's gay marriage issue, where the blowhards opposed become more and more marginalized in a short period of time? In other words, is Jay Kincaid basically Karl Rove?

More likely she is "under the thumb" of her employer, Gannett Co. I can't figure it out, but it seems like whoever's calling the shots wants the bent of the paper to be a thorn in the side of anyone in the mayor's seat.

Their batting average is pretty close to 1.000 since Cranley took office. But why couldn't they have supported progress when we had progressive leadership? As for the content of that article (sorry if this is off-topic): How/why is it that Cranley is allowing the form-based code to go forward (after glancing at the map tool they linked to, it seems as though that's what's happening -- NBD form-based codes). I thought he was a big opponent of FBC? I think it was a smart decision for the editorial board to not get into the wonkiness of FBC, at least for their opinion piece.

Someone should notify Smitherman that Rob Richardson is lobbying for the Brent Spence companion bridge. So Smitherman can go on WLW and preach about what a boondoggle it is.

Don't confuse choice with lack of choice. In many places, especially here in the midwest, no matter how much you might want to live car-free, take transit, live in an urban setting, etc., you're limited by what's actually available. It's NOT easy to go car-free around here, so many people have to own a car even if they don't want to. Because of governmental and banking policies, it's much easier and cheaper to buy a house in the suburbs than a condo or apartment in the city. Many people end up living where they do not because it's urban or suburban but because of other factors such as crime, schools, proximity to work, and other amenities. If you want to live close to work and in an urban neighborhood, but your job is in the suburbs, you have to either live in the suburbs, endure a long commute, or find a different job, none of which are easy choices to make. I think even more the issue is that people from the Midwest who want that simply move to those places where DM4 says "the urban living trend exists greater". It's not so much that it exists "greater" in those places, but that people who want urban living from here move there. So those people simultaneously make the trend look smaller in the Midwest and greater on the coasts than is actually the case in those places.

What's also interesting to me is how we tend to not appreciate how urban Cleveland is. True, the other cities you mentioned are more urban. But when I show people from Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis and other Midwest cities around Cleveland, they're amazed at how many buildings (and the sizes of them) we're converting to residential. Or that we're putting new buildings on the sidewalk with greater frequency than they are. Or that we're increasing putting more of our buildings at transit stations. I suspect it depends on what city the people are from. But to Cincinnatians what Cleveland is doing different is lots of midrises. And that's always been a difference in the character (and density style) between the two cities. Cincy has an abundance of (sidewalk-abutting) rowhouses, and that's in large part what's being infilled in Cincy today.

They should probably say something like "Cross tracks at 90 degree angle" (or somehow imply that). Though I like the funny graphic.

I think to justify building Wasson, you need a speedy connection to downtown. Slowing way down as you arrive at the urban core cripes it too much. Connecting Wasson to Oasis is an interesting idea, though (due to the odd political support for Oasis). I'm not sure Woodburn would be the best way to do it. Also, yes, I believe that turn is too sharp.

I guess we can stop discussing how to get to the grocery store, then.

So go to the Kroger on Vine when it is icy? Or plan your shopping around weather forecasts, since snow and ice isn't that common? Not like you should be driving in the ice either. All I said as far as "judging" cart-users was that using a cart is the same "big shop mentality" as using a car. It is. "Imagine having to come to a sudden stop and having your groceries spill out or the bag falls off your shoulder." Imagine having an auto accident where your groceries fly at you from the backseat and the meat packaging is punctured and you end up getting trichinosis through your eyeball. The horror! "for the majority of people, biking with a bag of groceries on your shoulder is not appealing." It remains to be seen if the majority would find walking or riding transit to the store appealing enough to make a store in the CBD successful. Your claim is meaningless to the discussion. If we want to discuss how people will likely behave, they will probably ride their cars a few blocks from OTR to the damn store. Truth. They do it to get to Findlay Market from within their own neighborhood. So what I'm saying is we were never talking about "the majority" just what is reasonable to do, and grocery shopping on a bike absolutely is a reasonable thing to do.

^^^ In my experience...living alone, as an able-bodied male, it's easy to get by with weekly trips to the store, a bike, and a single large bag over your shoulder. No need to live across the street from the store, no need for a personal shopping cart. Company coming over? Shopping for two+? Make an extra trip. I guess YMMV but I've never been super strong or anything.

This is still the "big shop" mentality. You can just shop more frequently and carry what's comfortable.

This whole "overhaul the charter" thing needs to be done very cautiously and openly, and it should be done over a decade or so to minimize the effect of a single election cycle's winds of change.

Do your own thing, but if I lived where you do I would consider the idea of "I don't have space for a bike" similar to "I don't have space for a bed," aside from the fact that a bed takes up a lot more room than a bike making the bike easier to accommodate. You can hook it on a wall mount, get a folding bike and put it under your desk or in a closet, or just keep it simple and set it next to the wall somewhere. I was just pointing out that it's not complicated to live in OTR and grocery shop at 4th & Race if you consider all transportation modes.

Bike + a large messenger bag or backpack is perfect for a grocery trip from anywhere in OTR to 4th & Race.

It depends on what you want out of the grocery. If you want something very small for downtown residents only, then I would say this is an ideal location. If you want something that's going to attract both downtown and OTR residents, then I don't think this is close to ideal. As someone who lives at 13th and Vine, I can tell you my chances of going to this location for a grocery--even if it is a very nice grocery--are slim to none. It's quite a haul for anyone in OTR; and it's exacerbated by not being on the streetcar line, which would make it easier when it comes to lugging groceries back as a pedestrian. I think that as redevelopment continues, we will end up with more residents in OTR than in Downtown. It may be the case that we end up with a larger store right near Central Parkway, as Civvik suggests. You, sir, need a bicycle (perhaps with a basket and panniers) and a large messenger bag! ;-) Also, the grocery is (was) to have a large parking garage.

A problem with LRT's running on MLK is the dip at Eden Avenue where a multi-car light rail train would "bottom-out" there, requiring a fairly long bridge over that intersection. And apparently, in additon to the cost, planner- and architect-types at UC and the medical campus objected to such a structure. Maybe Stetson Square weighed-in on it .... can't recall. But the topography of MLK is problematic for light rail. Maybe technology has overcome this, I dunno. As I recall, though, it was a daunting problem. Also a problem, icing on MLK, which brings traffic to a half there some days. Rail would fare even worse with ice conditions than cars. I think it has to go to Erkenbrecker and find a way out through Avondale to the east. David Cole and I spent several hours one Sunday a few years ago trying to figure this out, and we weren't smart enough. Hmm. I am inclined to think it may not be worth pursuing until the will is there to do something like jmeck describes. Unless someone can do some serious map voodoo, like cutting through the Zoo over to Forest. (Who knows, the Zoo might dig it as they'd surely get a stop.) If it is something that would stand up on its own as a quality streetcar line that would integrate well with a more ideal LRT line in the future, it could be worthwhile. Winding LRT through residential streets is just too much of a compromise without further justification. BRT on MLK might be a better stop-gap approach to a nice light rail line that doesn't cut too many corners. Get some dedicated ROW w/o tackling the big issues in the first stage. Buses could continue to use the LRT's ROW after tracks are installed.

It's especially stupid when it's a company that can't leave the region. Is Cincinnati Bell going to move to Charlotte?

^ IMO we should also be thinking about BRT and LRT and Metro+ routes, and how they would integrate. Reading and MLK are both BRT candidates (I would favor streetcar/LRT tracks on MLK in the long term (this separated ROW could also be used for buses), hooking up with 71 LRT, while I think Reading is ideal for BRT). Also, Gilbert could get some streetcar and/or BRT/M+ lovin'.