edale

^ So, basically they are demolishing a bunch of bungalows and replacing them with 'green space'. There's no reason those houses on Dana couldn't have been renovated for student or faculty housing, but instead, Xavier is choosing to knock them down so they can have more of a "campus in a park" environment. The only positive I see in that update is the construction of the new rec center, but otherwise, it seems like Xavier is making some really dumb moves. There is a ton of green space around XU, but please, knock down historic housing to create more lawns that no one will ever use. Ugh.

While it’s not perfect, I think the Watson Way bike trail is a pretty exciting citizen led campaign to make biking in Cincinnati easier. If they can get it fully operational between Xavier and the Little Miami bike trail, that would be amazing. It would give a decent portion of the city easy access to the amazing trail, and would provide fully grade separated bike access to Hyde Park and Mariemont. I know some people here are concerned that the trail will make light rail in this corridor even less likely, but I think the chances of that ever coming to fruition were low, and this bike trail will prove hugely popular. It would be amazing to have a network of grade separated bike trails in the city/region to act like he highways of the bike network. Then the city could focus attention and divert resources to make the connections to and from the trails and points of interest more bike friendly.

What. A. Joke. Perhaps ironically, I’d say LeBron’s ‘decision’ started this whole intentional stacking of the deck trend in the NBA. Boston had their “big 3” but they weren’t quite the same as what was assembled in Miami or Golden State. This era of the NBA sucks.

^ Hah, way to vilify the one guy who has succeeded in bringing a championship to Cleveland in the last, what, 60 years? After people were burning his jerseys and Gilbert reacted like a fool when he went to Miami, I'm surprised Lebron even came back to Cleveland at all. But he did, and he came through on bringing a championship to a long suffering fan base. He almost single-handedly got the Cavs to the finals 4 years in a row, in spite of the team not really giving him much in the way of a supporting cast. If Durant didn't go to the Warriors, the Cavs would have almost surely won multiple championships in the past few years. What else do you want from the guy? A lifetime in Cleveland? He's a hometown guy, and even said Cleveland will always be home, so I bet he will be involved in the region in various ways forever. He's lifted the profile of Cleveland immensely. Brought you untold amounts of exposure and positive press. But now that he's decided to go play for one of the most iconic franchises in sports, he's a villain with a super-ego who never should show his face in Cleveland again? Get over yourself. Lebron has contributed way more to Cleveland or really Ohio than just about anyone else in recent history. Personally, I hope he wins multiple championships in LA. The NBA is more fun when the Lakers are good.

Not to be a dick, but maybe rural people need to feel a little personal pain to realize they made a huge mistake in supporting Trump.

If anything, we are seeing the days of taxpayer funded stadiums fast coming to a close. Only the most desperate of cities would approve a tax increase to build a new stadium for a team these days. Maybe cities would contribute toward infrastructure costs ala the FCC deal, but the situation that allowed for new publicly funded stadiums for the Bengals and Reds appears to be over.

I'm excited to see the eventual renders for this stadium. While I absolutely hate the way FCC went about this whole stadium ordeal, now that it's going forward, and the team will be in the MLS, I think it's a very positive thing for the city and the West End.

I don't think it's all that silly. I know lots and lots of people my age who order delivery food all the time rather than going out to eat. People shop online instead of going to actual stores (including for groceries, per this thread). You can stream movies right from your TV or computer instead of having to go to the theater or video rental store. Hell, in CA (and other places too, I'm sure) you can even get weed delivered right to your apartment's front door. In general, a lot of people simply don't like interacting with others unless they have to. Look at the popularity of self checkout for an example of this. Now, that's not to say that people who rely on delivery for a lot of things never ever leave their homes to go to the park or a restaurant or whatever, but people in 2018 are certainly better able to stay home and have things delivered to them than they were in the past. With delivery being more available in urban areas than suburban or rural, it makes sense that this experience is exacerbated in these locations.

Thanks for putting this together, jonoh81[/member]. I find this demographic information to be endlessly interesting. Couple of points that jumped out at me: - Columbus is simply killing it right now. I really don't know why, but the region is definitely experiencing a boom. It's growth among all races is very impressive. - I didn't know Cincinnati was so much whiter than Cleveland or Columbus. The part of the region I grew up in was pretty diverse, so I guess I never realized this, but I suppose there are whole parts of the metro (NKY, far east and far west sides) that are just about as white as it gets. - I was surprised to see Cincinnati had more Asians than Cleveland, even though Hamilton County had far fewer than Cuyahoga. This speaks to the large Asian population in Warren County. I'm sure there is a decent amount in Butler County, too. The heart of the Asian community in metro Cincinnati is in the northern suburban counties and the northern portions of Hamilton County. I don't really understand this. According to the info jonoh81[/member] provided, Metro Cleveland lost over 51,000 (!) whites and 3,000 blacks between 2010 and 2017. It grew in Hispanics and Asians. * I now see you were referring to Cleveland city not metro. Still, the losses at the regional level are a bit alarming.

^ Exactly. I said the same thing in a post right after the city announced that they selected the housing developer for the lot and CPR began whining. The city could sell CPR the land for $1 in a more up and coming neighborhood, which would save CPR the $1-2 million (can't remember exactly how much they are planning to spend) on land costs. The last article I read about this said that CPR had enough money to buy the land at this time, but would still need to raise the funds for the actual building. So the render they are floating around is purely fantasy...no design work has gone into this, and they don't even know what their budget for construction will be. And to make matters worse, their fantasy rendering is crap, too! Doesn't it seem odd that CPR would spend so much just on land? Again, why do they need to be downtown? Outside of PBS, which shares space with CPR currently, none of the local media stations are located downtown. In fact, it seems like a poor place to locate such a facility. If you are a public entity that relies on fundraising for the majority of your budget, why the hell would you not locate in a place where costs could be kept as low as possible, at least the up-front development costs? They could have a much bigger impact in Westwood or Walnut Hills or any number of neighborhoods, and their costs would be much lower. Hell, there is plenty of developable land around Xavier; given the roots of WVXU, why not try to locate there? I just don't understand this at all. I also don't understand the point of selecting a winner for an RFP, only to reverse the decision a week or so later. Who does business like that?

It’s pretty disappointing that the city is going with the public radio option for this site instead of housing. The response from CPR is a load of BS, too. The most obvious question I have about their response is why the hell do they need to be downtown? They claim their locations are limited by needing a direct line or whatever to their satellite, so does this mean development around this site will need to be limited to not interfere with their signal? Citing the occupancy of a just-opened office building serves what purpose? To 'prove' that residential in the core is overbuilt? How inappropriate for CPR to even comment on that, much less comment in such a wildly incorrect way? And stating that they would be a bad partner in a mixed use development is laughable, again given how many residential units sit above loud or 24 hour users. I think the donors to CPR need to start asking why their donations are being used to pay high land costs in the CBD. Is that the best use of their precious few dollars? And the last little bit about really wanting to stay in the city, but if they don't get their way here, they'll pack up and move to the suburbs is a move right out of the Mike Brown playbook. Oh no, the local public radio station may relocate outside of the city, taking their handful of employees and minimal programming with them! Lol, what a joke. This whole situation reeks of corruption and Cincy’s provincialism. Both this and the concert venue at the Banks have demonstrated that the old Cincinnati mentality is still in full effect. Both times Columbus developers have been gamed by local croneyism. Pathetic. No one should be surprised when out of town developers choose to avoid even trying to work in Cincinnati given how common these little stunts are.

Advertising the streetcar in rural areas reinforces the notion that it's not a real transit line, but rather a toy or attraction. I see no need to advertise for the streetcar specifically, except perhaps as a means of getting around the core and seeing other real attractions like Music Hall, Findlay Market, OTR in general, etc. It's either real transit or it isn't. Should there also be signs in the middle of nowhere saying "Come to Cincinnati and ride the bus!"?

^ You can find that on the State website. I believe there were something like 110 applications from Cincinnati alone- far more than any other city in the state.

Why doesn't he just move the team to Sacramento if he's so intent on moving? They already have a stadium under construction (at least I have heard they do), and Sacramento was on the short list for MLS expansion. Plus, isn't Precourt from California? Seems like the path of least resistance. Why is he so set on Austin?

They have been laying off people for quite a while now at AG. Ever since the new ownership took over, really.

Eh, it's just like restaurants charging for bread, I think. It seems like a small cost, but I'm sure it adds up. At places like Nada or Bakersfield I would expect to pay for chips and salsa. The cheaper, family owned places (which unfortunately seem to mostly locate in strip malls for some reason) are the places I expect free chips and salsa at. Places like that spot in Hyde Park Plaza, or maybe even the place on Vine and 8th...blanking on the name.

^ Omg, that balloon video was hilarious! Did Cleveland have a midget reporter in the 80s!? That guy was funniest part.

^ I was just wondering if that Firehouse Row development had started yet. People have been talking about that development for years, and still no sign of action? I know they got planning department approval, so it appears the development is alive and will happen, but at this point, I'll believe it when I see it.

Holy shit, you just ruined my weekend! Ugh, who in their right mind would allow that beautiful building to be torn down and replaced with the hunk of garbage we have now?

^Maybe this garage will pave the way for the horrendous garage at 7th and Elm to be torn down and the site redeveloped. This is the ugliest garage downtown, I think: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1031764,-84.5168509,3a,75y,309.72h,103.24t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sLgr0IZHd0tqfVtrqfj11yA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

MEMI's bid was for an entirely indoor venue, which is stupid given the scenic location. PromoWest had a real indoor/outdoor venue, like the one they operate in Columbus, which is great. Setting up some janky temporary outdoor stage in the park is ridiculous, and should not even be entertained. The point of building a venue is so that you don't have to erect temporary stages. The argument about opportunity cost for the land is pretty much bunk, I think. What is realistically going to be built in the scraps of land immediately adjacent to a concert venue? We can't even get the other restaurant site in front of the Freedom Center (opposite of Yard House) built on, and the RFP for lot 24 received only 1 bid which also required a fair amount of subsidy from the city. Developers aren't jumping at the chance to build on a whole city block already elevated out of the flood plain, but they'd be lining up for a sliver of land next to a concert venue? Unlikely, I think. It will probably just be more park land, which is fine, but doesn't do much to support the opportunity cost argument.

It's a shame (actually, no, it's not) that Matthew67 is no longer on these boards, as this debacle is actually evidence of the locals first, skeptical of outsiders attitude that he talked incessantly about. Where the operator comes from for a venue like this should really not matter, but of course good ol' Cincinnati has to live up to its provincial reputation, and go with the nonsensical local choice for this project.

I heard seats with backs was a requirement for FIFA, so that would rule out most of the big college stadiums. OSU and Michigan both have bleachers (which is how they have such high capacities anyways) so they would not have even been considered. The Rose Bowl and Colliseum both have real seats.

^ Straight out of Heathers.

What would jersey barriers have to do with ADA compliance? If the crosswalk areas are a surface that is flush with the street (as I believe they are) there wouldn't be an issue with accessibility.