DEPACincy

Thankfully the Eastern By-Pass's biggest proponent just lost his election. Unfortunately, I know several local NKY officials are still on-board with the idea.

So Houston has a 1% sale tax for transit, and 0.25% of that goes back to municipalities in the service area for road projects. So actually 0.75% goes to transit. On Tuesday, they received permission from voters to take out $3.5 billion in bonds, backed by future sales tax revenues. They'll use this to upgrade the bus system and get rail projects done. This is something to consider when voting on Cincy's sales tax. A lot of people here are upset because this plan doesn't go far enough and doesn't include rail. Well, let's get this passed. Then in a few years there is nothing stopping SORTA from coming back and asking voters to float a bond to add rail to the mix. That would likely pass with ease because it wouldn't involve raising anyone's taxes.

Or they are a highly self-selected sample. I've lived in several states and never heard ANYONE be worried about riding in an older car. We need to stop basing our opinions of popular opinion based on what we read online, whether it is twitter, urbanohio, comments sections, what have you. This is not picking on you, I've been guilty of it too. But so many people post here about how "x group believes this" or "y group believes that" when none of us have actually heard members of those groups espouse those views in real life. There are posters on this board (you're not one of them) that have based their entire view of political parties, of generations, of people who live in other states, of other countries, etc. based on what they read on twitter from a small handful of people in that group. It's kind of insane.

American Airlines Arena (Miami) American Airlines Center (Dallas) AT&T Center (San Antonio) AT&T Field (Chatanooga) AT&T Stadium (Dallas) BB&T Arena (NKU) BB&T Ballpark (Charlotte) BB&T Ballpark (Winston-Salem) BB&T Ballpark (Williamsport, PA) BB&T Field (Winston-Salem again) BB&T Center (Sunrise, FL)

Why does that matter?

I strongly disagree. If this passes and SORTA gets double their current funding the changes will be amazing and once people see what a good bus system looks like it will be easier to sell them on rail. If that means then trying to re-institute the earnings tax to fund it I think the city voters would approve. And if that means the rail lines primarily serve the city, that's fine too. Because once county voters see how successful the rail system is they'll want in on it too.

Where did you see any of this stuff? BRT is still a part of the plan. Bus-only lanes and signal priority are a part of that and so are real-time arrival screens. New transit centers for all buses and BRT stations will have off-board fare payment. There will be 6 routes with 24 hour service. 26 routes will get more frequent service. 18 routes will get longer service hours. There will be 8 completely new routes. The list goes on.

It's not really pessimism (though I am pessimistic). In this case, it is just an observation of reality. They are pushing 22 and the sales tax as a package deal. Issue 22 will pass and then we'll be faced with the option of voting yes on the sales tax or doing nothing.

All of the mailers they're have sent out clearly outline that it is a two-step process. The website also spells it out. https://moveforwardcincy.com/overview/

I continue to push for rail. But I know enough about the powers that be in this county and region to know that it's not happening any time soon. I really hope that changes some day, but we don't have progressive leaders. And it is more than just the mayor. It applies to elected officials of all stripes throughout the entire region.

No, because they are a package deal. There is not an option of only passing the sales tax. They're counting on people voting for the sales tax because they will get an earnings tax repeal. I'd love to just have the sales tax and keep the earnings tax, but based on all the evidence we have it isn't politically viable.

We aren't getting light rail any time soon, regardless of whether we construct bike trails.

I mean that's ignoring the fact that the sales tax and earnings tax were never in place at the same time. It's a tax swap. One goes away, we get a different one, and total revenue goes up. There will never be a time where there is higher revenue and then lower revenue.

But, all else being equal, it does not do that. There is no universe in which 22 decreases funds available for bus service. It's a conditional tax repeal, on the condition that a new tax that provides more funds gets passed.

To be clear, no decision has been made that I know of. It's wait and see time. But the general feeling is that if 22 fails it is an indication that people are not interested in improving transit. And I think that is rational, since it is being pushed as a transit initiative. Personally, I would just push for the 1% tax in 2020 if 22 fails. What do they have to lose? BUT, I think this is all moot because I believe Issue 22 will pass overwhelmingly. It wouldn't surprise me if it gets 80+ percent of the vote.

I've said all I can say ?

The problem with this entire discussion is that the way it is being done is the way it is being done and we can't change that now. SORTA wasn't going to ever go for a 1% increase because they didn't think it would pass. Whether we think it would have is irrelevant. And now, if 22 doesn't pass there is no way SORTA will go for the sales tax. So our ACTUAL, no hypothetical, options are: 1. Pass 22 and the sales tax and SORTA gets more money, while most of us who post here would get a tax cut. 2. Vote against 22 and SORTA does not go for the sales tax, and instead we all get to watch the bus system begin to be dismantled. And in reality, it is pretty likely that 22 passes in the city, so then our options next year will be: 1. Pass the sales tax and take the tax cut while giving SORTA more money to improve the system. 2. Vote against the sales tax (see #2 above).

I don't think Nashville should be anyone's standard of good urban development. Evan so, this is an exaggeration for sure.

Right. And Clintonville isn't very urban either. I just got back from DC. I go there every few months and often spend time in the Maryland burbs. There are tons of places that are firmly suburban, but that are 1000x more city-like than Norwood or Clintonville. More dense, better transit (obviously), buildings up to the street, etc. EDIT: The point I'm making here is that despite being firmly suburban, they are better at being urban than a supposedly "urban" place like Norwood.

Northside Transit Center finally broke ground this morning: https://www.go-metro.com/projects

Respectfully disagree. It is extremely suburban. It isn't Kenwood or Mason, but it is suburban. No one would ever mistake it for an urban business district. And what historic buildings remain are rundown and the upper floors are vacant. The strip mall has completely ruined the business district. But it has good bones and could be returned to its rightful place. And Oakley has many sins, but Oakley Square blows it out of the water.

Yea, cities still haven't learned that these big retail developments are net-negatives on their tax situations. They take up so much space, and so much of it is for parking. You have to add multi-family housing to the equation if you want it to be sustainable.

SORTA already made it clear that they now believe the amount they are proposing is enough to get the plan done. Those projections in the Reinventing Metro plan are now outdated. The 0.6% to Metro is enough to get 2 of the BRT lines started with the others slated for the future. The only way this region is EVER going to get BRT in any form is if we count on an 80% federal match, so that part is not surprising. But there's no reason to believe they won't get the 80% match. It might take a few years but, in the long run, the funding will be there. This plan is not going to give us all a completely revamped bus system over night. It will take many years to implement all of the changes, especially the full BRT plan. But we keep not doing stuff because of some hypothetical world where we could be doing something more. We have to live in reality. And in reality, this is a good step forward for the region's public transit system.

Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man.

Convenience. You can grab one when you want it and leave it where you want it. You don't have to lock it up or walk it home if you're tipsy at the end of the night. Personally, I had my $1200 bike get stolen a couple years ago. I never bought another one. Didn't want to drop another $1000+ for a nice bike. It's much easier to have a Redbike membership since there is a station right next to my office.