mu2010

Cleveland and Cincinnati people like to talk about Columbus' annexations a way to assert their city's position as more of a major city than Columbus, in spite of Columbus' larger population. (I am a Cleveland person so I can say that haha) And to a certain extent it is true... there are way more people, as well as various cultural, historic, and architectural significance, in the metro areas of CLE and CIN than in Central Ohio. However, that doesn't mean that Columbus' annexations were not absolutely the correct strategy. Most of us dislike sprawl on here, but sprawl was the trend during the time of the annexations... why should Columbus not benefit in it? Why should Columbus give away all of their wealth? Columbus city leaders looked at Cleveland and looked at Cincinnati and saw disaster, and they formulated a strategy to protect themselves from it. They had an advantage in that their city was surrounded by far more unincorporated land than CLE or CIN. (Although Cincinnati still has lots of unincorporated land bordering the city so Cincinnati leaders really dropped the ball on that one). They kept wealth and a tax base in their city, as well as avoided the crippling decentralization caused by the presence of 60-some bickering municipalities in Cuyahoga County. And today the positive effects of that decision show.

They definitely want to do parking first at nuCLEus... and their hope is to have at least some of it ready by the RNC. I have a cousin that is apparently in the loop on it from his job and he told me this over Christmas. He actually was being all secretive about it and claimed he couldn't say much, but I got that out of him.

Yes, the neighborhoods North of downtown are certainly chugging along fine, that's for sure. But, a North High Streetcar would certainly be used and appreciated by the people in those neighborhoods. Plus, it is an employment center similar to what you described about Downtown Cincinnati. East Broad/Old Towne East would probably be the best option for development opportunities galore. Maybe a giant L from OSU down to the statehouse and then Eastward along Broad.

The nice thing is, in Cincinnati, I imagine there was practically only one choice. You could argue about which route to take, but West of downtown is rail yards, East of downtown is freeways and a steep hill up to an isolated (albeit nice) neighborhood. South is Kentucky. The only way to go was North. In Columbus, I would hope it is also a similar no-brainer. East/West Broad is unlikely at this stage. German Village is great, but the gravity of OSU as not just a place where people live (many of them without cars), but also an employment center, would hopefully pull consensus to going North. The fact that the neighborhoods to the North of Downtown really only have one major commercial street, hopefully would make that street the no-brainer as well. If Ft. Worth couldn't even agree even on which neighborhood to go to, seems like that would lead to a very simple case of divide & conqueror.

That's what I mean. The Short North was able to leverage a nearly endless supply of future residents who spent four years living 10 blocks to the North, and already had familiarity with, and good associations with, the area.

It's painful to see how far behind we are other states, and how backward-thinking we are. However, I think political will and consensus towards transit even among Repubs is building. See that Republican state legislator in Georgia the other day who came out in favor of MARTA. Also see that ODOT study. Long term, I think Ohio's transit funding can only go up. The mere fact that Kasich proposed an increase is inspiring.

Oh... actually what I meant was that the success of the urban core since about 2000 is due to OSU more than any other factor... not necessarily for the past 60-70 years. My bad. And I'm not saying it's the only reason, just the biggest reason. I think the fact that campus is so physically close and connected to the Short North, combined with the fact that there's so many college kids who love to stay for fifth years and keep living in the area after graduation, that supplied the area with a steady stream of young kids to repopulate. Because they all had these fun college experiences and associated that with the city, for them it didn't have the "CITY=BAD" stigma that the other two "C's" had to deal with. This is just what I've noticed anecdotally, from living around here and being in that generation. I did not go to OSU but I moved to the area after I graduated from Miami. (It's not just that though. It's also the University's increased role in the local economy. This is happening everywhere but no University statewide has the muscle and clout of OSU, to Columbus' benefit.) In Cleveland, Case is too small and isolated, and CSU has too many commuters, for a similar effect to occur. I am not as familiar with UC but it seems like the middle ground between the two.

Columbus' annexations helped the City financially survive the postwar suburbanization era, maintaining a more stable tax base as most Americans with the means to do so left cities. Probably left Columbus more poised for success at the beginning of the 2000s, the beginning of the reurbanization boom. And, they didn't have as much industry leave town during that time and all the social problems that creates. However, IMHO, the biggest reason for the success of the Columbus urban core is three letters... OSU.

Maybe it could work South of Fifth Avenue on 3rd and Summit. These are the "roughest" areas of the Short North, and also relatively close to High St. (North of 5th, I think Summit and 3rd are too far from OSU's campus.) A big difference however is that while OTR and presumably the streetcar route have a lot of old mixed use buildings, the alternative streets in Columbus are 90% residential, detached houses. The Short North and OSU are incredibly High Street-oriented. There is almost no other retail/restaraunts/offices/etc anywhere else. German Village is a bit more like many CLE and Cinci neighborhoods, with less of a 'main strip' and more of business and restaurants scattered on random corners.

I'd think it would be better to have a slightly slower moving streetcar on High, than a faster one on Summit, 4th, or Neil. The walk to High St would probably take longer than having the train sit through some High St traffic. Also, if a rider's destination is near Neil and the train runs up Summit, or vice versa, the walk would take a prohibitively long time for many people. Another reason - South of campus there are more people West of High, whereas at campus and points North, there are more people East of High. Due to High St's angle. Get rid of the street parking and build the thing on High St. They could even build garages on the city surface lots in the Short North to pacify people who complain about the loss of parking. Construction would be a nightmare though. Remember when everyone freaked out about Euclid Corridor in CLE and all those business supposedly shut down and whatnot? There would be a lot of resistance from Short North and Campus business owners.

And, a little bit of the plaque below the poster.

I'm not sure if there is a more fitting thread, but I was looking at some old photos on my hard drive and I knew that you guys would enjoy this. I snapped it a few years ago at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. As an eastsider, I can identify the Italian and Hebrew. :D Anyone know the other languages? I'm assuming Slovenian, Croatian, and other Eastern European varieties.

Kroger hasn't been in Northeast Ohio since the 80s.

Tim Ryan wouldn't win. Northeast Ohio Democrats are nearly unelectable statewide at this point. Look at the last few... Nina Turner, Fitzgerald, Lee Fisher. Sherrod Brown got lucky by first running in 06, one of the biggest Democratic landslides in decades. Strickland... He could win. People like the guy.

FLL December 2012. Perfect Winter Warm Up. Las Olas is very nice. I remember stubbornly taking the city bus from the airport to the beach, I think I had to transfer and everything. https://www.dropbox.com/s/pnjwxgh9uzhlcbw/2012-12-11%2010.40.59.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/qwkrkznuiuw6h4k/2012-12-13%2008.25.29.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/ns5ua0pskykqfw5/2012-12-11%2010.26.20.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/pvd5rqu8k44b2lh/2012-12-11%2011.19.33.jpg?dl=0

Wooo 1%!!! With an overall population loss, that's not bad.

My grandma just died last week. She had her purse nabbed at Randall Park Mall in the mid 90s and kept going back, much to the chagrin of her children. She was a trooper. It's almost fitting that the mall was torn down the same week she died, because I will always associate "Randall Mall" with her. Great photos.

This may have already been discussed in this thread, but I couldn't easily find it... what's going to happen to this route when the shoreway is converted to a boulevard? Will they add stops along edgewater park?

OK, I think it's Russell looking east. See link for view today. The new Pizzuti Collection now sits where that garage door is. https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.975484,-83.003423&spn=0.001831,0.003484&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.975491,-83.003866&panoid=Q0PkLID4RXPgf1uLiq4ctQ&cbp=12,93.91,,0,0.62

Thanks Casey. Those images are very cool and inspirational... Also Luigi's Pawnshop still going after all these years! That picture of the back of ideal furniture... that can't be park street, can it? Russell Street looking east?

NYC is the best in the world, nothing comes close. Chicago, however, is just oh so damn accessible and affordable for Ohioans, and I am tempted to pick up and move there. You've got me looking at a map thinking about major cities I've visited and spent time in the urban core. Really, I've only ever been to the big Ohio Cities, Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Detroit, Las Vegas (if you count that), Ft. Lauderdale, DC, NY, and Boston, so my experience is limited. I've been South but mostly just to go to the beach somewhere. I guess I should give the whole Seattle/Portland/Denver thing a try as well as the California thing. However, I'm mostly comfortable with my Northern/Eastern bias.

Hopefully, the Cincinnati Streetcar is a success and will cause state officials in Columbus as well as local officials in Cleveland and elsewhere, to take a second look.

If anyone has read the book "The Power Broker" about Robert Moses, it explains all of this perfectly. A lot of insight about how those public authorities, particularly the Port Authority and the former Triburough Bridge & Tunnel Authority (now part of the MTA) grew to be so powerful. They really can do practically whatever they want, based on how the original corporate charters were written, their pull with investors who love their bonds and have influence over politicians, and due to stipulations they work into their debt covenants which are inalterable by law.

Also they could extend the N or Q from Astoria Blvd, along the parkway, to the airport. Edit: It's probably some kind of funding thing though. AirTrain (also the airports and PATH) is funded by the Port Authority of NY & NJ, while the subway is the MTA.

Anybody have photos of the Short North/Victorian Village during its nadir in the 1970s-1980s? I'm very curious, because you often hear about how bad its decline once was but today it is so pristine it is hard to imagine.