natininja

Because of expansion opportunity (true light rail). The current plan is more designed to have a circulator in Uptown and a circulator in Downtown and not really about connecting the two. Rail up Vine Street is sort of like inefficient (in cost/benefit and riding time) junk rail, with little development opportunity along its length.

This was Qualls's position, and in the end it created delays and opened the door to more of the ensuing insanity that may not have happened otherwise. I remember the article. Everyone was attacking it when you posted it, assuming it was anti-Cincinnati streetcar. I pointed out that it actually would support the Cincinnati streetcar. Personally, I am leaning toward the idea that the Uptown link should be done via a tunnel. I know it sounds politically unpalatable (especially after Tuesday), and it might be, but I think it's worth at least studying. And assuming the cost is less than maybe $500m, there should be a full push by supporters, as much media-whoring as humanly possible, and a ballot referendum to secure funding and make it happen. Maybe do like KC did and make a special tax district in Downtown and Uptown to pay for it. Try to get UC and the hospitals to publicly back the idea.

I wouldn't notice them if people weren't posting links constantly. Haven't visited their site since the election. They are absolutely derelict in their duty to inform the public. The press has constitutional protection because it plays a crucial educational role in a democratic system, and that publication uses its status to abuse the voting public like an alcoholic domestic partner.

Very nice. In terms of location, I especially like that the property is right next to steps that go down into the basin. Great pedestrian access to Findlay Market and Vine Street.

Like, say, right-sizing public safety spending? She is the only councilmember advocating for this, and it's the only logical way to get the city's financial house in order. This more than makes up for any flakiness.

Consider telling them you are considering legal action, should the project be canceled. (If in fact you will consider that.)

The grants are issued on a per-project basis, not to a city. I think the media is intentionally obscuring the details. Why don't they actually look into it and report how this works, instead of acting like there's no legal procedure involved and it's just a matter of an Obama administration official being like "Yup, ok, we like what you do with your eyebrows. Do what you want with the money."

I was fortunate to spend enough time w/ high school friends who went to OSU to be exposed to Damon Zex. I wouldn't know how deprived I was without such exposure.

Haha, yes. I don't know if many Cincinnatians know who that is, but he would have fit perfectly in the time slot after Smitherman's show.

Bike lanes, and more so bike paths, make novices feel more comfortable riding since they have dedicated space. From there, it's a safety-in-numbers game. If you kept the number of cyclists constant, it is probably true that vehicular cycling is safer. But the number of cyclists increases with dedicated infrastructure. It's sort of like the preference for riding a streetcar over a bus. You can argue it doesn't make sense, but perception doesn't have to make sense. Planning is as much about sociology as it is about (civil) engineering, and sociology is basically psychology on a grand scale. And human psychology is often not logic-based.

The bike share program is supposed to start in the downtown area, which is an area city planners and engineers have said they do not intend to install bike lanes. Not continuing to build bike lanes will hurt the success of an expanded system, but the first phase would be the same as under a Qualls administration. Personally, I think bike lanes should be installed on some streets downtown. But the window of what's possible seems to have shifted and gotten a lot smaller in the past 24 hrs.

I am waffling on giving up or fighting harder. If progressives can fight for the streetcar and win now, that should be a good sign that all is not lost. If the streetcar is canceled, I will probably have my pessimistic side take over. The sad thing is suburban Republicans flexed their muscles and got the government they wanted. But they won't be moving back into the city as a result. A progressive government keeps actual city residents happy (residents who might move out of the region if they are unhappy) and allows them to boast about Cincinnati to people they know who might up and move to the city. Edit: I boast about the city incessantly to people who have never been there. I have honed the art of getting people to listen attentively to this, and have gotten the city on the radar of young professionals looking for where they are going to make their next career move. I don't think I have influenced anyone to move to Cincinnati, but I have definitely gotten people to think about it who never would have otherwise. Get more ambassadors like me out in the world and you can get a domino effect. Right now, I don't feel very boastful. I may very well have to stop the practice.

I think PAlexander is arguing that favoring republicanism to populism is not progressive. Which is agnostic to the policies that result.

Don't worry. Mayor-elect Cranley will cancel it.

That's a wrap. 133/175 reporting, core precincts all in, 59-41 Cranley.

Yeah, I'm not exactly optimistic. But I hope the urban core comes through big time.

More precincts reporting now. Still only 11-B from the central part of the city, which Qualls picked up 113-73.

You can see which precincts reported here: http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/OH/Hamilton/49399/121808/Web01/en/summary.html Filter out the races you don't want to see, and click the "Map" viewing option on the mayor's race. Only one central precinct has finished reporting. Most are far west or far east. Edit: This is good for Qualls's chances of bouncing back, btw. Still, the numbers suck so far.

We should switch to a different thread, rather than cluttering up the streetcar thread with election stuff. Either mayor or council threads. Or start a 2013 election night thread. I'll leave it to someone else to pick.

Thing is, Cranley would pick up nearly all of the Wenstrup supporters, plus some low-info Dems, plus some people who are mostly well-informed but fanatically mad over the parking lease.

IMO this sets Quinlivan apart and makes her a great councilmember. I feel like she mostly arrives at right answers, often for the wrong reasons. But right-sizing public safety is extremely important to fiscal sustainability, and she is pretty much the only city politician with the b@lls to champion it.

Fixed-gear bicycles, fedoras, ironic t-shirts, and mustaches (especially pointy retro ones) all rank higher in hipsterdom than thick black glasses.

Quimbob knocks this one out of the park: We Can't Afford John Cranley http://quimbob.blogspot.com/2013/11/we-cant-afford-john-cranley.html

I don't know which thread to put this in, but I sent a letter to my close friends and family with a list of candidates supporting the streetcar. This was my mom's response: I hope the Enquirer had an accurate list. My mom does not follow this stuff closely, so I hope she is indicative of other random Cincinnatians. The fact she was called by a Qualls campaign worker gives me a good feeling.

"permanently prevent a subway tunnel from being dug under the river in such a way as to locate a station in prime Covington riverfront territory" We totally need something like PANYNJ. PATO train FTW.