John Schneider

He'd lose to Driehaus

Residents of the neighborhoods just outside of downtown Buffalo forced it underground

I'm talking in terms of developing a streetcar line to Uptown that is capable of hosting light rail trains someday. People do seem to respond to a picture that's bigger than just getting the streetcar to Uptown. I think by the time the tunnel idea is more fully developed, the light rail conversation will be in full bloom.

^ It was OK, but the tunnel from Main to Jefferson with a stop at The Christ Hospital is better.

^ Working on it

I'm sure the streetcar will be the main issue in the 2017 City of Cincinnati elections, just as it was in the 2009, 2011 and 2013 elections. Except that now we don't just have an idea, we have a product that seems to be well accepted. The issue in the 2017 election will not be about stopping the streetcar. It will be about which candidates are willing to pledge to build the streetcar to the University of Cincinnati. Assuming the downtown leg is successful, there will be a huge demand to do that. Will be interesting.

We heard 5/3 is going in on the corner interesting choice... they already have a location a block north on Court and Main. are they getting out of that one? That's the rumor

We heard 5/3 is going in on the corner

Troy Miller overplayed his hand in the union's bid to operate the streetcar. May be doing it again.

^ Probably not enough parking to do it in OTR, though the streetcar could ferry people from the garages in the CBD. Dunno what Parks' problem is, just that they don't want events down there.

Resistance isn't so much from Oktoberfest managers as from Cincinnati Parks not wanting it on the riverfront.

I think they will operate five streetcars during some events, assuming the vehicles and the route are reliable.

I think you have to look at this in the simplest terms. Could be the plan is to widen the tunnel through part of the cavity now being created. Would require widening under 550 East Fourth apartments and probably its demolition, but I assume the air rights could be renegotiated to allow a tunnel widening and a much larger building there.

It's not just the maintenance needed. Every vehicle also requires a driver and power, and that adds to an operating budget that is sort of wishfully constructed already.

I like this route a lot. My only thing is that I'd prefer it to be built as a light rail line rather than "streetcar". Which luckily for us, the difference is mostly semantics. Longer trains and longer stops, but with the streets it's following doesn't it lend itself to be that? Dunno know about the stop at Corry. It would be forty or so feet underground and very expensive.

The oil-spray on the wheels is controlled by GPS which opens the valves right before the streetcar makes a turn.

^ it's a beauty. The cabin is spacious and with soft, curvy lines that' s gonna make it really popular. If it's quiet and smooth-running, it's a real winner

Wonder when the opponents will figure out that while they were focusing on the limited-route streetcar, we actually built the core of a regional rail system complete with light rail vehicles

So few people have ridden the bus that they don't know what happens when somebody in a wheelchair gets on or gets off. When people say the streetcar isn't faster than a bus on the same route, they're wrong because the boarding process (handicapped or otherwise) is much faster. Amy Murray has often talked about how great the Southbank Shuttle is but I don't think she has ever witnessed its wheelchair boarding process. The driver has to park and get out to operate a lift at the back of the bus. Easily 5+ minutes; not great for traffic say around rush hour at the Walnut & Freedom Way stop. Also, the steps on the shuttle are much steeper then Metro/Tank buses which I've seen cause boarding issues with older riders. Plus the ride is very rough -- rougher than a standard bus and much, much rougher than a modern streetcar

Mid-November, on Sundays to start

Pretty sure SORTA will have the final say on the operating hours. And Cincinnatians would prefer that.

I think Mayor Cranley still regards the streetcar as a toy and not serious transportation. He'll learn.

I'll be on Bill Cunningham's show @ 12:05 today, where I will negotiate the terms of his surrender to the streetcar mafia.

It would definitely be an outlier if it ran until 2:00a.

^ This is just a start. If there is friction in places along the alignment and we can demonstrate good and growing ridership, we can ask for more dedicated lanes