A-Rhyme

Yes this video is an awesome illustration of how you can create a flexible transit line with multi-modal connections. Baltimore has a pretty impressive transit system for a city of its size, and Ohio cities should take note of how their transit has impacted the economic health of areas connected to it. (Granted, Baltimore is part of the NE Corridor where almost every city from Norfolk to Boston has some sort of rail transit). West and East Baltimore are two of the most economically distressed areas in that region, so this should provide a world of options for residents in these communities to seek job opportunities that are currently inaccessible to them. I agree with street-running in downtown if all other options are too costly (utility relocation, topological obstacles, tunneling, etc.), however cities like Baltimore and Cincinnati, with their already narrow and congested downtown streets, can not really afford to reduce the amount of street space available for traffic without further disrupting flow. Pittsburgh did it the right way, burying their light rail in subway tunnels downtown while having extensive street-running outside of the immediate urban core. With the Cincinnati streetcar running on Walnut and Main, I don't see the "improved speed and access" of light rail being attained if it shares the same tracks or is subject to the same "street-weaving" operations/limitations. Tunnels (like the proposed Mt. Auburn Tunnel) would cut travel times in half by avoiding all surface interaction (pedestrians/bicycles/street maintenance crews/etc.) and providing an uninterrupted route through the core. I do agree, in Cincinnati's case, that cost is a big issue though. Hell, the 4C alternative Red Line proposed in the video will have a price tag from $800 million to $1.6 Billion! Luckily for them, Maryland's Department of Transportation has no issue funding drastically expensive projects like this. Cincinnatians can not have these sort of serious discussions without either a large infuse of Federal, tax or (cough) ODOT dollars. Good luck. Jake, you raise a great point here. I used to envy such place for having "advanced" rail options that weren't available to me while living in Cincinnati. However, after becoming a frequent DC Metro rider, I see how the associated costs (and fares) can be astronomical. My preference is to have a system like St. Louis or Pittsburgh which utilizes light rail, but operates in a hybrid light-heavy rail fashion. BTW I am just about finished reading your Cincinnati's Incomplete Subway: The Complete History book I bought and must say, it is "light years" ahead of the Images of America version in terms of information and regional context. One of my buddies out here in Maryland wants to borrow it when I'm finished. I am curious...have you been collecting notes on the whole Cincinnati Streetcar saga to write that book next? You should!

Streetcar work resumes with rail delivery Cincinnati’s streetcar got its official restart today with the delivery of 80-foot sections of rail. http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2013/12/26/streetcar-work-resumes-with-rail-delivery/ Full speed ahead, ladies and gents.

I felt it was time to update the Cincinnati Streetcars and SORTA Wikipedia pages, given the project's approval by the new council. I added a diagram which includes station stops and links to nearby attractions. Enjoy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_streetcars#Modern_streetcar_system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Ohio_Regional_Transit_Authority#Streetcar_route

Congratulations, Cincy! :clap: My crew and I out here in College Park, MD (DC area) are stoked for this recent development. Really gives me a significant confidence boost for Cincinnati's future. With that, I share some recent pictures I took of the DC streetcar construction/testing this week. I can't wait to see similar activity in Cincy soon! Streetcar rails & catenary at H & 4th Streets NE Parked streetcar Track stub for potential future extension is visible H & 4th Street S NE Streetcar Stop Curb extension to tracks is visible Track inspections Catenary crossover section. I am impressed by the lack of visual clutter from the overheads. Under-construction Union Station stop Here is an illustration of the construction area that I visited:

Washington, DC Streetcar Construction Update Cincinnati native and current College Park, MD (DC area) resident, I had an opportunity to visit the H Street Streetcar construction after work today. Luckily they were testing a vehicle, so I snapped a few shots with my phone (sorry for the subpar quality). I want to go back to get better photos soon and possibly visit the Anacostia Line (few miles away in SE), though I will only do that during daytime... Streetcar rails & catenary at H & 4th Streets NE Parked streetcar Track stub for potential future extension is visible H & 4th Street S NE Streetcar Stop Curb extension to tracks is visible Track inspections Catenary crossover section. I am impressed by the lack of visual clutter from the overheads. Under-construction Union Station stop Here is an illustration of the construction area that I visited: ...and an article with more pictures and also video footage. http://dcist.com/2013/12/photosvideo_the_streetcar_is_finall.php#photo-13 Hopefully we can see this sort of activity occur in Cincinnati in the upcoming years.

Here is a coincidental and positive benefit to the streetcar system's ongoing construction. http://cincystreetcar.wordpress.com/2013/11/01/streetcar-digging-unearths-leaking-gas-pipe/ Streetcar Digging Unearths Leaking Gas Pipe POSTED ON NOVEMBER 1, 2013 At the corner of 8th and Walnut Streets, nearby the Main Library, Saint Louis Church, and Taqueria Mercado, workers from Duke Energy discovered a leaking gas line while conducting exploratory digging for the Cincinnati Streetcar project. Crews immediately began repairing the line and installing new equipment. It just makes no sense whatsoever to even consider cancelling the entire project at this stage. :wtf: Oh and here's another working link to the full Cancellation Cost article by the BizJournal: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/print-edition/2013/11/01/could-a-mayor-cranley-still-kill-the.html?ana=sm_cinci_ucp12&b=1383249432%5E13143292

How about that comeback against the Pirates tonight? Down 5-2 in the 9th but still manage a clutch win. The Votto homer in the 10th and Billy Hamilton's 10/10 stolen base were icing on the cake :clap: We're now back in 2nd place and only 1.5 games back of the Cards with them tied up in a matchup against the Brewers now

He also had a plate appearance in the bottom of the eight. It looked like he was swinging for his first career HR. :roll:

The Reds set records for hits (55), doubles (15) and extra-base hits (22) for any team in a series at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Todd Frazier also set a doubles record for an opposing player in a series at AT&T. :clap: That was a pretty impressive series (the players definitely were thinking payback for the dismal NLDS outcome last fall). The Giants series wins, coupled with Latos' win last night, are exactly what we need to boost confidence and get out of that hits-with-RISP slump. Also, it's important to not fall too far behind the Cards and Bucs.

You can quote examples from many neighborhoods who resisted school integration; it isn't a Glendale thing, it's an American historical issue. And it also occurred in the 1950s when Princeton City Schools united, a pretty long time ago. There were minor issues when Lincoln Heights joined in the mid 1970s, but again the residents weren't up in arms against the additional students. It happened and no major acts of violence or harassment ensued. Glendale was home to the only African American school in the Tri-County area for years (Eckstein Elementary on Washington Ave, an Ohio Historical Site). Glendale also has one of the largest black churches in the Tri-County area, Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Coral Ave (http://www.mtzionglendale.com/), so I do not know what you are referring to with problems establishing black churches (although Quinn Chapel AME used to be in Glendale on Troy Ave and moved across the border to Sprindgale, but that was necessary to build a larger church). I walk the streets of the village with my dog at all hours of the night and day and never get stares from neighbors or suspicious looks from police. If that ever did occur to others, those days are well passed so it's definitely not appropriate to label Glendale as "racist". The predominantly white population reflects the high home values and per capita income of residents, not to mention the high taxes as well (Glendale is an old money community for sure). If there are other neighborhoods with similar economic demographics and a larger black population, please point them out. I encourage you to read about the history of Glendale. It's quite unique for a village of that wealth, given the historic black population (which is growing actually according to the census), and its difference from similar older communities that actually did resist blacks for a while, such as Reading, Sharonville, and Wyoming. It may have to do with Glendale's history as an Underground Railroad town, but either way it's an interesting read. I respect your knowledge of your town, but I'm not convinced that Glendale has undergone any evolution over the past forty years. Almost every corner of the United States was segregated 40 years ago, so it is important to examine how a community has changed in the ages since. Having one black chapel suggests that the few blacks that did live in Glendale and surrounding areas established the church as a haven for their community. There is strength in numbers, and within a discriminatory society, church is often the only organized structure that minorities are allowed to form or participate in. Church is seen as a tacit form of organization because when examining the trajectory and history of minority churches across the nation, it often takes decades for a constituency to accrue enough wealth to even erect a respectable structure, let alone be mobilized enough to be a part of any decision-making processes within that community. Being accepted into a political structure like a community council is very different. Protection from the elements of the time is how most religious ideologies were founded, and the same is true about individual homes of worship. You can go to almost any town in any state and find a black church because in the past that was the only unifying element that was permitted to exist for that community. You cannot prove that Glendale is or has ever been progressive when it comes to welcoming black residents by saying that it had two basic social functions of the segregationist era because the areas around it did not. Eckstein Elementary is a landmark of segregation. It was closed because Brown vs. Board told it to. Thank you for partially illustrating my argument...the entire Tri-State and America as a nation have historically dealt with segregation, not just Glendale, so it's inconclusive to use that reason alone as labeling the village "unprogressive", especially given the lack of contemporary evidence. You are right that blacks in the village historically lived in specific (segregated) sections of town, but those areas were also home to poor Irish families as well. Blacks during this time period also benefited from living in close-knit communities as they could protect each other easily and have a more direct say in their direct community's affairs. A true unprogressive or sundown town of this era wouldn't allow any of this sort of activity to occur within their incorporated limits. Glendale had a segregated black school, unlike adjacent areas, because other areas around it (Sharonville, Evendale, Crescentville, Port Union, etc.) didn't have any black residents period. Lincoln Heights and Woodlawn are the next closest towns to have historic black populations, and they also had their own episodes of racial tension respectively. Lincoln Heights was established as a segregated town for black residents (the first incorporated "black community" in Ohio) and Woodlawn even went so far as adding racist segregation covenants to residences that banned blacks from living in certain wards of the town (Riddle Road), so even these communities had segregation of their own form. Nowadays, there are more upper-middle class black families living in Glendale than the former towns (my street of 8 houses is home to three) and there have been no witch-hunts to chase these, or the low income black residents, from the village or council affairs. My sister recently had a great discussion with the mayor about how he wants to increase the number of affordable condominiums and apartments in the village to increase housing and resident diversity in the village, which is mostly single-family housing. Glendale surely isn't a racial utopia, but honestly where is? The more people label entire neighborhoods "racist" and distance themselves from entire areas because of hearsay, the more racism and prejudice will perpetuate in your environment. That has been my experience, and as a DC area resident now, the case cannot be more true here. The same people who avoid certain areas or people are the same ones who feign racism and hold skeptical perceptions of "race".

Yes this team has been great to watch so far (with the exception of hits with RISP, but the Giants series was a good relief from those woes). Hopefully Latos, Arroyo, and Leake will continue to give us some solid starts and Bailey will figure out the concept of consistency (don't get me wrong, he has the right stuff). I also like what Cingrani has added to the staff. Mesoraco seems to be reaching his break-out point (behind the plate and at bat). Derrick Robinson has been a good backup for the outfield and pinch hitting. This offense will be very dangerous if Frazier, Paul and Cozart can start to get regular hits as well. Should make for an exciting second half.

You can quote examples from many neighborhoods who resisted school integration; it isn't a Glendale thing, it's an American historical issue. And it also occurred in the 1950s when Princeton City Schools united, a pretty long time ago. There were minor issues when Lincoln Heights joined in the mid 1970s, but again the residents weren't up in arms against the additional students. It happened and no major acts of violence or harassment ensued. Glendale was home to the only African American school in the Tri-County area for years (Eckstein Elementary on Washington Ave, an Ohio Historical Site). Glendale also has one of the largest black churches in the Tri-County area, Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Coral Ave (http://www.mtzionglendale.com/), so I do not know what you are referring to with problems establishing black churches (although Quinn Chapel AME used to be in Glendale on Willow Ave and moved across the border to Sprindgale, but that was necessary to build a larger church). I walk the streets of the village with my dog at all hours of the night and day and never get stares from neighbors or suspicious looks from police. If that ever did occur to others, those days are well passed so it's definitely not appropriate to label Glendale as "racist". The predominantly white population reflects the high home values and per capita income of residents, not to mention the high taxes as well (Glendale is an old money community for sure). If there are other neighborhoods with similar economic demographics and a larger black population, please point them out. I encourage you to read about the history of Glendale. It's quite unique for a village of that wealth, given the historic black population (which is growing actually according to the census), and its difference from similar older communities that actually did resist blacks for a while, such as Reading, Sharonville, and Wyoming. It may have to do with Glendale's history as an Underground Railroad town, but either way it's an interesting read.

Madness. As an African American who grew up in Glendale my whole life, I have to disagree. Glendale has been around 10-15% black since the late 1800s and I have never encountered any remote sense of racial profiling by either police or other residents. Now Sharonville on the other hand...

Awesome shots, man.

The sad truth is that ODOT's budget cuts really extending the timeline of construction. There will be no delays in construction start dates/phase commencements. The construction will instead be stretched over longer periods of time in order to "alleviate costs". The rationale behind this is that cost can be distributed more economically over a longer stretch of time. In the end, the average driver will have to deal with more congestion and longer traffic delays since the rate of construction is being slowed, not postponed.