OllyTransit

In Portland, I always base finding the system on the tracks, not the wire. Don't think I've really ever habitually looked up while there. But yeah, Portland has the luxury of decades-older trees pretty much everywhere downtown. The amount of greenery in the core tends to hide a lot. He's talking about finding the system from several blocks away, where you can't see the tracks, but can spot the wire without looking up. If you have to look up to see the wire, you're basically already right next to the line. Ah, yeah that's a good point. I guess that really didn't bother me either though since I just use apps to find the lines.

In Portland, I always base finding the system on the tracks, not the wire. Don't think I've really ever habitually looked up while there. But yeah, Portland has the luxury of decades-older trees pretty much everywhere downtown. The amount of greenery in the core tends to hide a lot.

Took my 65 year old suburban parents down to Findlay and the new park last Saturday. One is a little Fox News clone so I don't listen to anything he says, but mom is pretty fair, and she almost wept at how ugly the overhead wire system has made Race and Elm. I didn't prime them for it or anything. It was their unsolicited reaction. It's just new. And for now you'll either love it or hate it (or probably be indifferent). Once the streetcar itself is running, nobody will think twice about the lines. Living on the route on Elm Street between 14th and 15th, I agree. The look of the lines are at least clean and organized and I'd much rather have those than the existing power and other utility lines still above ground. I'd point those out to your Mom next time and get her thoughts on how those look. My daughter looks out her bedroom window directly at a large transformer on the line...The streetcar lines are absolutely no worse than what else is there already. Besides, could be worse. Have you ever seen San Fran's overhead wire? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Muni_trolleybus_wires_at_Haight.jpg And that's nothing against San Fran's transit system (I like it a lot). It's just the reality of the system.

Took my 65 year old suburban parents down to Findlay and the new park last Saturday. One is a little Fox News clone so I don't listen to anything he says, but mom is pretty fair, and she almost wept at how ugly the overhead wire system has made Race and Elm. I didn't prime them for it or anything. It was their unsolicited reaction. It's just new. And for now you'll either love it or hate it (or probably be indifferent). Once the streetcar itself is running, nobody will think twice about the lines.

They've helped a lot of the best systems ramp up for operation. I like the contract a lot.

http://www.transdevna.com/Rail/Light-Rail.aspx

As a fellow IT professional, I couldn't agree more. Incidentally, I recently discovered that the new pay machines and the newer meters will not recognize swipes from my Visa (which works everywhere else). Worse, it doesn't give an error, it simply adds the 10 courtesy minutes to the meter, which is REALLY confusing when you're trying to pay for an hour. I only figured it out when my wife swiped her AMEX after losing patience with me. I thought the meter was broken until that happened. Maybe I'm the only one with this issue, though... My issue wasn't with the card not being read, but rather not swiping at all. There is VERY little give in the credit card slots on these machines. If your card is even slightly bent (which all of my are from being in my wallet in my back pocket), it won't be straight enough to enter the internal slot. I went to 4 different pay machines before I realized that was the problem. My girlfriend just wanted to me to walk away because the machines were "clearly broken". Thankfully I kept trying because I don't think that was going to hold up in court.

“The city authorizes SORTA to subcontract any of its rights, duties or obligations under this agreement to a third party contract or contractors,” the agreement said. It doesn't seem like they have much of a case, unless their suit is referencing some other document aside from what it claims to be referencing. Hopefully it's dealt with swiftly. If this holds back any decision, couldn't it cause more delays?

I concur. Here's how I'd imagine the IA: Driver A parks their car. They walk to the Pay Station and press pay for parking similar to how it works now (pay with card, receive a receipt that displays on windshield). Said receipt has a large, prominent "Park ID" that you would enter into the app to add additional time. The meter maids would then be able to check via some sort of handheld device how much time is left on the "Meter" by entering that Park ID or scanning a barcode. Alright, not let's go find out what the actual procedure is.... Okay, well it looks like this doesn't really apply to the Pay Station method. But not displaying the time seems ridiculous. I can see it now: all the court visits of people with parking tickets claiming the meters were broken.

You're basically deciding between two games of chicken. In the game with the cars, drivers, while they sometimes won't be thrilled about it, almost always will lose. In the game with the streetcar tracks, the tracks will win every single time.

Well that's a mighty fun stance on streetcars from a group that could have represented our drivers.

I thought they also used the practice gyms. Could be wrong.

I'm hoping "retractable" is just a misnomer. I'd imagine they would do something more similar to the Schottenstein Center where those sections are "Removable" (i.e. for concerts and ice hockey arrangements.).

Thanks. Seems to me the turnkey would be the right choice here. The turnkey option is clearly the better option. It's just politics getting in the way. The turnkey option allows for the workers to unionize, so they're both union contracts. The difference is that with the management option, ATU operators for Metro will get to keep their seniority and heightened pay, which is well earned and deserved, by not a reflection on their skills as a streetcar operator. This is why it's the more expensive option. They will need to be trained (at another added expense) on how to drive a streetcar. The turnkey option will hire trained streetcar operators to start the system and will allow for any Metro drivers who want to drive the streetcar to get certified and apply. They will lose their seniority, by that's only fair when you leave one job and go to another where you need to be trained. As streetcar operators they will be allowed to unionize and get all of the same benefits as Metro employees. The more I read about it, the more I actually just support the turnkey option. I didn't realize they would still be unionized (all for workers' rights) under that option. I thought that was the biggest difference. If I'm sitting on council as a dem, I'm saying "Hey, let's do the cheaper option that keeps us under-budget by about $200k AND the workers will still be unionized. Just a different union."

I was wondering the same thing (although I am on vacation in Portland soooo). Saw a story about Cranley maybe budging on the operating budget a little to get union workers?

Wasn't sure whether to post this here or Crime/Safety.... Club Glitter hit with an eviction notice. https://twitter.com/BillGRinehart/status/612473357435596800

Was thinking the exact same thing. No worries. Fixed with Big XII logo:

or leverage the subway tunnel cost with that federal matching grant we could get and run the vehicles through the tunnel to cincy state. make waterworks move that damn pipe Very curious to see what, if anything, could happen to relocation costs for those pipes if Cincy wins the case vs Duke.

"Shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday, it was announced that the three-day total attendance was 60,000 as patrons came to see acts such as twenty one pilots, Akron-based blues rockers The Black Keys, alt-country stars The Avett Brothers and rapper Snoop Dogg. The attendance number is a record for the festival." Not sure how this could be as Bunbury's daily capacity is 20,000. They would had to have sold out all three nights. From what I witnessed, they definitely hit 20,000 Friday but I don't believe they were anywhere close to that on Sunday. Couldn't speak to Saturday as I wasn't there. Noise: "All of the larger stages also had video screens for the first time. Those were enjoyed Saturday night as The Avett Brothers played about 15 minutes after an 11 p.m. curfew. But city of Cincinnati spokesman Rocky Merz said there were no complaints, so the city's noise ordinance was not triggered." But on Sunday... Police: Snoop Dogg's Bunbury performance draws several Hyde Park noise complaints Future: "As to the biggest possible change - the location - both Luther and Donabedian said the festival was perfect for Sawyer Point, but no promises could be made yet." This is concerning... where exactly in the city could this be moved to? Hopefully they don't do the same thing they're doing with Buckle Up (also purchased by PromoWest) and move it to Summit Park in Blue Ash. That's going to be a nightmare for that festival. A downright terrible location to do a festival traffic-wise.

​ODOT makes decision on State Route 32 The Ohio Department of Transportation has killed two key alternatives for the relocation of State Route 32 through the eastern part of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, according to Hamilton County Commissioner Chris Monzel’s office. ODOT officials could not immediately be reached for comment or to confirm the decision to not recommend both the southern and northern rerouting option, the most controversial part of the Eastern Corridor traffic improvement decision.

Great news. Puts more options on the table. Hope this gets wrapped up soon and we get past another hurdle!

The official response by the Wasson Way group is they are proposing the shared ROW that would preserve light rail lanes. Not sure they have that much say over it though, ultimately. I really really really hope that groups like Believe in Cincy and others are doing some behind the scenes lobbying to make sure this isn't overlooked. I see Wasson way as a crucial component to the future of light rail in Cincinnati. It really doesn't get any better than the path it takes.

Taft's Ale House is working to get it removed before their official opening on Opening Day. The roadblock has returned. Not sure when. Just noticed in this weekend as well. I'm assuming it's back because of illicit activity again. A little peeved about it though. Having that street opened again was great for the flow of the area.

Plum Street politics at play again: Black demands a 90-day violence reduction plan by Friday from Chief Blackwell: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/06/01/city-manager-to-chief-show-me-a-plan/28320561/

Second this. The entire album is great. Worth a listen (or 20).