John Schneider

Something's gotta give here. Just using the example above, is it reasonable that we're spending $133 million dollars to build a modern streetcar in the publidc right-of-way and still sweatng-out the problem of providing 2+ parking spaces per unit in the same right-of-way? I mean, much of the logic for building the streetcar was is that it will be a substitute for private auto ownership. It's car-competitive. Seems to me that with Uber, Lyft, the Red Bikes and the fact that our CBD and OTR are really compact to enable a lot of walking, we're trying to continue to apply the suburban model to an area where substantial investment in transportation choices is being made. Can't have it both ways.

I agree 100%, but I've found saying so will catch you a lot of flack. I think the argument that "it's the most expensive of all American cities, therefore it's too much" is borne of the fallacy that Cincinnati can't be at the forefront of anything. Leadership is, in part, the ability to change minds. People will come to see the bigger picture here. Anyway, who knows if Cranley's plan will even include residential parking permits. Personally, I'd rather deal with it by modernizing the meters and repricing them. That way, visitors will pay more.

^ Really? You wouldn't pay $300 per year, $25 per month, to park your car in a dense urban area? I live downtown and pay six times that to park my car in an open, poorly paved lot. I'd happily park on my street in front of my house for $300 per year. Maybe some OTR residents will do what residents in other cities with modern streetcars do: sell their cars, incorporate the streetcar part and parcel in their daily lives, and save way more than $300 per year, probably $300 per month. At least.

^ I think is a matter of degree. When Columbia Parkway was built, people had transportation choices that didn't cause the destruction of communities that has taken place since.

^ A more plausible, less paranoid theory as to where we are now.

^ Yeah, I'd wait and see what he proposes. I sense there is an eagerness to get this behind us.

^ These arguments -- "buses run the same route" (not true), "blocks traffic" (much less than a bus does, and what abut all those cars that would have otherwise been driven by streetcar passengers?), "transit carries only 2% of all trips" (true, depending on your definition of a "trip") are the arguments Stephan Louis has used for years around here.

The fare ought to be viewed through the lens of what produces the greatest ridership. More riders = more transportation service and. more importantly, more residents. businesses and investment along the line. The marginal cost of the Nth passenger is nil.

^ They'll come. You'll see.

^ AJ, to some people, including those who oppose the Cincinnati Streetcar, facts don't matter. They really don't. If Dayton were willing to write Cincinnati a check to build and operate the streetcar for 25 years, they would still hate it -- just doesn't comport with their view of the world, limited as it is. It's just going to take getting it done and showing Cincinnatians, many of whom are skeptical but fair-minded. I'm not asking anyone to love the opponents, just pointing out that their hate of the streetcar will grow dim over time. People have already started to tune them out.

We'll outwit, outplay and outlast them. That's because it's a lot easier to love than to hate. Think about things in your life that you once said you hated -- I dunno, your sophomore English teacher, the girlfriend who dumped you, your landlord, whatever -- that hate probably burned out over time. Now think about the things you've loved. My guess is, you still love them. We're the lovers, not the haters.

^ Our new streetcars should have been yellow and green.

^ Trips to Portland will do that. Still have a couple of rooms for the trip late this month. Won't be many more of them.

Look, the streecar is going to be successful. Every one of them built to date has achieved ridership and economic development well beyond projections. The opponents just keep digging a deeper hole for themselves. They will be discredited. Over the years, I've also noticed that rail opponents seldom advance to higher office. Even people who are rail supporters start to regard them as "out there" -- especially as the development keeps blossoming along the line and they travel to other cities and see what higher-level transit can do for a city. They are "shooting stars" who ride to initial electoral success based on the simple fact that they can say stuff and people don't know enough about urban rail to know any different. And so some believe believe them until the project opens and is successful. I've seen this movie before, and I know how it ends. And it won't end well for people now taking their shots at the project. Let'em talk.

Maybe some students, their reach extended by the streetcar, will choose to give up their cars and live somewhere along the streetcar line. I doubt we're talking about a huge increase here.

^ Ditto.

I like Cranley's idea of using parking meter revenue. Very logical.

Y You would have one alignment, but few people would ride end-to-end. I mean, how many people travel the entire length of I-75 from Michigan to Florida? More like Downtown Cincinnati to, say, West Chester.

If someone we're traveling end-to-end, yes, that would be a long time to stand through a lot of frequent stops. But the average trip on an American streetcar is about a mile.

^ Doubt you'd get LRT through Ludlow.

^ What should the end-point Uptown destination be? The prevailing assumption is that it should be Childrens via the Zoo. But, you know, the entire stretch north of MLK along Vine and Erkenbrecker to Childrens will be dead as doornail after, say, 6:00p especially in the winter. There will be very little ridership. I've been thinking the sweet spot is Jefferson to Clifton Ludlow, which sets it up nicely to go on to Northside.

^ Excellent way of visualizing your plan, and a lot of the latest thinking on transit seems to favor establishment of a sort of grid like you've done here. But it's well beyond the financial capacity of Cincinnati to have four parallel streetcar lines in Uptown. How would you merge these into one N/S line and one E/W? Good luck -- I think about it all the time and haven't had a breakthrough on the N/S serving all the important destinations yet. It's a tough puzzle. I still haven't given up on the Mt. Auburn Tunnel with streetcars running on Walnut and Main north of 12th.

^ Looking out over the next two years of increasing repopulation and commercial activity along the streetcar line, I doubt there will be a majority of the 2016 City Council interested in qllowing a $133 million investment to be idle much of the time. And if there is, it will be one hell of a taxpayer's lawsuit.

^ I wrote to a reporter today suggesting just such a story.

I'm hearing the HealthLine's fleet is already starting to crash. Unexpected number of vehicles out-of-service and requiring heavy maintenance.