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The logic behind that is they 'estimated' that 1 million people attended in 2017 and that there will be an increase in local attendance over last year. They have allegedly been advertising this outside of the metro area, so they may be expecting 300k+ to come from outside the area. I'm guessing the figures also mean that someone that attends all 4 nights from out of town gets counted 4 times. Same for locals if they go, say, twice. I bet they hit 1.5M (if there is an actual way to estimate it).

Which is fine now that they are getting a Giga. I see KI as a pretty complete park coaster-wise, nothing wows you, but it has something for everybody. It could use some theme/scenery upgrades more than coaster upgrades at this point.

If the rhetoric used in the council meeting on Wednesday is any indication, they'll use the same excuse of not wanting to dump another bad development on the west-side (I'm not sure what other bad development they could possibly be talking about). Since when is Queensgate the "west-side?" It hasn't had housing in it since the rail yard and 75 demolished Kenyon Barr. This motion to not swap land was a really weird flex, seems like they just played themselves.

https://www.go-metro.com/news/917/72/S.O.R.T.A.-BOARD-APPROVES-0.8-HAMILTON-COUNTY-SALES-TAX-LEVY-FOR-MARCH-2020/d,News Detail Sample Via the news release, SORTA doesn't even mention BRT, they mention a fully funded Reinventing Metro plan, and that website still mentions BRT. It seems as though they are not willing to commit to it at all, which is a bad idea. At the press conference, they mentioned how Ham Co is losing young people to other cities because of the bus system. Well, extending it to 24hrs, adding a few crosstowns and increasing the frequency isn't enough to excite young people. No one with a car on the hot spot outskirts of the city (Pleasant Ridge, Madisonville, College Hill, Westwood) is going to ride the bus that takes 2x as long as driving. Indy's BRT launch was exciting and created enthusiasm among all types of citizens, just follow that game plan and this achieves that goal of catching the eye of young people. Advertise a Madison Rd or Hamilton Ave BRT during the campaign season and you'll generate great enthusiasm.

This underwhelming proposal brings up the question I posed a few months ago. What happens if Issue 22 fails and this passes? It seems like the best case scenario for the bus system, i guarantee we don't get BRT without it. Vote no on 22, because COAST absolutely played PG, SORTA and the BBC. I'm honestly incredibly disappointed in everyone involved in this proposal.

If they do it, they will get lambasted in 2020 over their lack of fiscal responsibility... then again, they will get lambasted anyway I honestly have no clue how to come down on this issue. On one hand, what the seller is doing is annoying and ticks me off, on the other, it is a big opportunity.

I've had a number of bus drivers give me a puzzled look when I whip out the ticket on the EZ Fare app, like they've never seen it used to pay for the bus before. Either that or they get slightly aggravated that they need to manually enter something into the system when I board.

Sure, but the cost (and political cooperation) will put this at the bottom of the list of most likely extensions. The Ezzard Charles spur is just the most likely to happen next given the political climate. (Low cost and those on the fence may be supportive with the FCC stadium there)

Agreed, and I have a feeling that if an extension is ever discussed, a study will be done for an Ezzard Charles spur first and foremost. It would be so much cheaper and the street is already under-utilized for how wide it is. I don't think the casino/Pendleton will get an extension, it's only a block away from main, and probably wouldn't be cost effective to have it go east for only 2 blocks on 13th. Props to @thebillshark for the concept map

I rode it a couple times during Oktoberfest, the CBD (which has always been a problem) was a mess. It took 3 light cycles to get past the fountain square stop.

Exactly, it already doesn't fund the streetcar. They don't trust themselves to be able to run a proper campaign and advertise (to the burbs) that this also fixes roads. They got scared of COAST commenting on any and every streetcar-related tweet about how this ballot measure is a streetcar tax. I honestly fully believe that they will continue that line of attack even if this divorce is finalized. It's more egregious that the city is about to spend more than half of the streetcar safety net funds to formally put it in their hands.

The bunch of man-children that troll around twitter all day hounding city officials win again...

Yep, I'm already getting a sour feeling about this. It has all the markings of them trying to back off of the BRT proposal. All they have to do is point to the enthusiasm that was generated in Indy for their BRT route's opening. Instead, they will hesitate and play it safe, and to the detriment of the regional system. How do they expect that more people are going to ride when the fastest routes take an hour to get from most parts of the county to downtown? I live in Wyoming, it's a 17 min drive downtown, or a 1 hour bus ride... The only cases in which the bus is even a reasonable choice are gridlocked busy weekends like Oktoberfest and BLINK where parking will be annoying to find. I'll vote for it, but I'm confident it will fail if you are telling voters to increase it without giving us a shiny new toy. I will be vocal whenever SORTA brings this Reinventing Metro show to Wyoming/Lockland/Reading in 2020.

Yeah, that'll quash it right there. If that's the case, it would be nice if SORTA would build this into their new plan, granted the levy passes in 2020. At the least, attempt to organize it among downtown employers and just go around DCI. They'll have a few more cents to give back to transit (as a thank you) if the levy passes. Yes, I know that's naive

After seeing how successful the Columbus transit pass has been for people getting to work downtown, it is time we considered this for our system. I-71 and I-75 are gridlocked every rush hour, and with WC and Mason growing incredibly fast every year, that is going to get worse faster than we can add lanes to these highways. The least expensive and most effective way to alleviate the congestion there would be to boost funding/# of buses for the I75 and I71 park and ride metro routes and offer free passes for those routes. We already effectively have transit-only lanes on our highways (both have signs mentioning the shoulder is for buses only). I know this isn't too fair, as the WC and Mason people don't need a handout to ride the bus like other parts of town, but the overall benefit to the region would be good. Is anyone here closely following the Reinventing Metro team or with the BBC and do we know if they are looking at the success they had in Columbus?

This is fine, and how most streets downtown should operate, but in America we prefer the open road to one where people and cars negotiate around each other, like in so many European cities. The streetcar roads should be closed for this event except to pedestrians and public transit. Maybe that will happen in BLINK 2021 after it becomes a major issue this year, but as it is, there's going to be so many cars that the entire streetcar will be effectively shut down due to traffic. I'm taking the bus, because last time took an hour to park, but I doubt many others will get the message that you need to take transit or park at the periphery of downtown.

Since it is coming up, and it seems like something would have been announced by now, is no organization stepping up to provide free weekends either this weekend or at BLINK? These are two excellent chances to show the streetcar off to people who only come into town once or twice a year and if we are running the ticket machines, we might as well close the streetcar for those weekends, we will once again be permanently be turning off people to the system. They had a few free weekends when Jeric came on, but nothing since. Someone would certainly want the exposure from BLINK, right? Every streetcar stop would be plastered with your logo and mentioning that rides are free... all 1.5M people expected to be down there. Seems like a slam dunk to me. Then again, all the city streets will probably be gridlocked like last time because people are either looking to park or want to drive through the city instead of walk, like this is the Christmas Nights of Lights at Coney Island.

This is what I'm hoping for. The park is good enough to bring foot traffic and interest to the neighborhood and get some development on the near-west side of town. Selfishly, I just want the Mill Creek Greenway extended to meet up with the Lick Run trail here, but that won't happen for another 10+ years at this pace

I'm in the exact same boat. I'm all for nuclear, and wasn't happy about the coal bailouts (not even in our state!), but because of the nuclear, I wasn't ticked off enough to want to do anything about it. The first time I saw one of those China ads on TV, I realize how desperate First Energy must be to resort to such crap, and now I'm pissed off.

It's fine for now to attract more people to live downtown. Once there's a big enough population downtown, some other player will come in and do it right. In all likelihood an Amazon Go store will be there in 5 years (and every other major metro), not to mention another small business attempt at one.

It said somewhere in the packet that a "final" final development plan would be submitted later showing the plans for those surface lots. Hopefully that comes sooner rather than later; what is shown today is agitating. I will back down on the cycle track as well, after seeing the rendering and realizing that 345 days out of the year, that's a better option for biking along Central Pkwy than the current lanes.

It's an existing parking deck that has a beer cellar underneath it. It's a slam dunk opportunity for a sports bar on the ground level (and underground!) and then whatever you want on top of that... My guess is it will stay like that and they will try and make this a plaza, but they need to hide some of that US Bank arena elevated crap, it's ugly. (The renderings show it being used as parking for the time being)

That weird fenced off plaza thing to the NE of the stadium (along Central pkwy) NEEDS to be a 3-4 story building. Would go a long way to hiding this ugly thing.

My thoughts on a 'quick' skim: -The infamous cycle track is there, and will be walked all over (similar to the one at Smale) -RIP Jehovas Witness church, parking lot is replacing it... -There was mention of lowering the amount of development from 2 buildings to 1. (Prepare yourselves, these parking lots are going to end up being permanent) -The view from John St (West End) is actually okay IF they actually plant trees that can cover some of the stadium.

If only there was a way to get a critical mass of people from population centers to shopping centers without cars... that would be a novel idea! There's so much potential for rail along 71 with the population centers and shopping/offices. But no, think of the children! There will be so much crime! The Kenwood Collection would be an excellent station/stop too if rail was ever built: tall offices/entertainment walking distance from the actual mall.