John Schneider

Reality check: if we were to order modern streetcars today, they wouldn't arrive until sometime in the last half of 2013. Getting the car here from Portland last November was dumb luck, someone being in the right place at the right time to ask for it to come here.

The skepticism about the Cincinnati Streetcar is by no means unique. Even though Portland had light rail since 1986, a lot of people there -- including the transit agency, TriMet, which ended up operating the streetcar for the city when it opened in 2001 -- called it a "toy train." Now the Portland Streetcar carries more passengers per mile than light rail does, and its economic impact per mile is greater by an order of magnitude. It has been expanded four times in the decade since. This more or less has happened in all the cities that have introduced streetcars. You just have to get it done for people to understand. Some elected officials are so far out there in their opposition to the streetcar that when it's successful, as all these projects have been, it may come back to bite them.

Duke Energy's cooperation.

The last thing the streetcar needs right now is a "publicity stunt."

Need some pics if you have them. Iv'e been making presentations on the streetcar, and I could use some new pics of modern streetcars in Seattle, Tacoma and Portland. Also, anyone has a pic of the PCC car running on SF's "F" Line that is painted in the livery of the old Cincinnati Street Railway System? I have one someone took with a cell phone, but it's not very good. If you have some to share, please send them to me at [email protected]. Thanks.

^ I have no word on a groundbreaking. However, when the project does start, you may be underwhelmed by what you see at first. A lot of it will be utility work that may seem unrelated to any track work. One of the first things they will do is start construction on the car barn. I suspect that one of these days we'll all get an email inviting Cincinnatians to come to a groundbreaking the next morning, something like that.

Here are some pics of the wires in all colors of skies and backgrounds. Really, it's a non-issue. http://www.protransit.com/PICS/

The sad thing is, he knows all that.

CEO's of U.C., Chamber of Commerce and Uptown Consortium also wrote letters in support of the streetcar.

That's the same thing that Ghiz and Monzel say all the time. Does anyone really believe that they are pro-streetcar? If so, I've got a some magic beans to sell you. Great point-- Lippert says he's NOT against the streetcar, just that we need to wait and can't do it now. Hell- SMITHERMAN says he's not against the streetcar (I truly heard him say that), but that we can't afford it right now. Many times I've heard or read a statement made in Cincinnati or in another city that goes something like this: "I'm not opposed to rail, I'm just opposed to this plan at this time." In general, you should regard such an answer as coming from someone who doesn't want to see rail built. For a project to have run the gauntlet and survived for four years as the Cincinnati Streetcar has, it almost certainly has to be a good project. Everyone, including the Feds, has now had a shot at it, and no one has ever turned up a fatal flaw. To the contrary, the case for the Cincinnati Streetcar is well-established and quite robust. Rail opponents know that people generally like the idea of having transportation choices -- poll after poll has confirmed that. And they know that a lot of people have now been to places where rail exists and works well. They know that saying they are against all rail is going to lose them more votes than it gains them. So they split hairs by saying "the route isn't the right one" or "now is not the right time" or "I don't think we've studied all the alternatives carefully enough." It's a clever way to be against rail without making people think you're against it. With construction costs down now and $29 million in Federal grants that will go away if the streetcar is postponed, I can't imagine why anyone who feels that modern rail transit has a role to play in repopulating Cincinnati would want to delay a proven strategy for accomplishing that objective. The truth is, Cincinnati has never been this close to starting a rail project. Even after spending $15 million designing the hell out of the I-71 Light Rail between 1995 and 2001, that project never received the environmental clearance (the "FONSI") that the streetcar got recently, largely because of NIMBY's in the suburbs. So we have now broken new ground here. Figuratively if not literally. Yet. Remember, with rail opponents, whatever the plan is, they will always want a different plan. You need to always remember that. Here's the question that needs to be asked of all Council candidates: "Do you support the immediate commencement of construction of a modern streetcar connecting Fountain Square with Findlay Market?" Pretty hard to weasel-out of a "yes" or "no" answer on that, though some will try.

STREETCAR SUPPORTERS: Bortz Qualls Quinlivan Thomas Young Riveiro Simpson Hollan Seelbach Flynn STREETCAR OPPONENTS: Winburn Lippert Ghiz Murray Mills Sittenfeld

Yes, he is.

Are you sure Bortz is still 100% behind the streetcar? I've heard him bash the 1st phase on 700wlw before by agreeing with Mark Amazon "Ya, it doesn't make sense" I'd probably give someone a pass for something said on talk-radio.

^ Updated list: STREETCAR SUPPORTERS: Bortz Qualls Quinlivan Thomas Young Riveiro Simpson Hollan Seelbach STREETCAR OPPONENTS: Winburn Lippert Ghiz Murray Mills Sittenfeld I plan to circulate a perfected list widely a couple of times before November. I'm guessing that being solidly in support of the streetcar is worth a few thousand votes and that being solidy against it is worth many fewer votes. It's top of mind for supporters, not so top of mind for opponents, who have about 27 causes they're circulating petitions for. I mean, how many people would decide not to vote for someone they would otherwise vote for just because of the streetcar? But the reverse is true, a lot of people will vote for candidates who support the streetcar and not vote for others who don't support it because it's their #1 Issue. As Brad likes to point out, no one who has ever cast a vote for the Cincinnati Streetcar has ever lost re-election to office.

^ Lets's start now: SUPPORTERS: Bortz Qualls Quinlivan Thomas Young Riveiro Simpson Hollan Seelbach OPPONENTS: Winburn Lippert Ghiz Murray I plan to circulate a perfected list widely before November.

^ This one's worse in several ways. First, it's an outright prohibition against building rail in Cincinnati. The last one, in 2009, said, "We want a vote on it." This one doesn't even provide for a vote. It also puts city-owned streets and trackways off-limits to rail, so even if the Feds, the state or a private investor were to pay all the capital and all the operating costs of the rail project, you still couldn't build rail in Cincinnati. And since no regional rail system could ever be tied together without entering the city limits of Cincinnati, it blocks all regional rail too. Which, of course, is what COAST has always wanted. The effort to build rail here started in earnest in 1996. So it has taken us fifteen years to get to cusp of starting construction on our first rail project. If you were to freeze all that planning in amber for ten years as required by this Charter Amendment, we'll basically be starting all over again in 2021. And it could take another fifteen years until 2036, say, to get back to where we are today. So it effectively keeps rail out of Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio for a generation.

COAST's latest ballot initiative would kill all rail here An attorney recently wrote that "the drafters of the initiative were clever in making 'Streetcar' a defined term" in the petitions they are now circulating for signatures. They are attempting to leverage opposition to the streetcar to stop any kind of commuter or light rail here for ten years. In its proposed Charter Amendment, COAST has defined "Streetcar" to include any kind of passenger rail operating on streets or publicly-owned rights-of-way such as old rail lines. As a result, passage of the Amendment would not just stop the streetcar, it would also block any regional rail system from using city-owned tracks and streets within the city limits. Cincinnati -- alone in the nation -- would be barred from spending a penny planning or building rail. Even if a private investor wanted to build rail in Cincinnati, that would be blocked too. For ten years. Take a minute to read the ballot language in the link below. http://cincinnatiansforprogress.com/Ballot.asp Please forward this email to your network and make sure people understand what it means before they sign up to place this city-killing petition on the November ballot. And if you want to know what's happening with the streetcar ... Join CincyPAC for a happy hour, today, Thursday at Lunar at 5th and Elm. A member of the team that's building the streetcar, Jennifer Wirtz, will bring you up-to-date and answer your questions. http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=o7k7xccab&v=001cQcN0FSUz14MyXsNxbobldWFztuKz3bEO9WUvg5QoSd_IXqGSLVHj9UVTGYeofav1-cghadc2ahHlJQ8Ml-MhdlRzAqtIWeKt9oB0Q1puXBJRyu8cZcN2A%3D%3D

My guess is that we finally received the green light from the FTA to move on to the next step (whatever that might be) with the streetcar. There was some sort of environmental impact study being done on the streetcar project the last I heard and it was due to be completed in June. Its June, so I'm betting its done now. My question is...What's Next? Streetcar has cleared environmental review.

I hear things, but the city is ultra-cautious about over-promising on the streetcar. We past a couple of milestones recently, and to me, it looks like we'll soon, in Cincinnati time, start building the streetcar.

Some news on the streetcar soon ...

The easiest way to use Metro is to move downtown, which is pretty much a one-seat ride to everywhere Metro goes. Housing cost is higher, but transportation is really cheap and easy. Nice to never worry about a car anymore.

^ There's news. There's news all the time on the streetcar. It's just steady progress that probably doesn't qualify as "News."

Nope, wrong project. The article above is about the CBD to Lake Oswego streetcar line that would extend the Portland Streetcar south from where it ends now along the west side of the Willamette River. The Milwaukie Light Rail will take off from the end of Fifth/Sixth Avenue couplet just south of Portland State , cross the Willamette on a new rail bridge and go down the east side of the Willamette through SE Portland. I think the bridge is to be just north of the South Waterfront and will touch down on the east bank near OMSI. The Milwaukie LRT won't travel through the South Waterfront like the LO Streetcar will, but it will get pretty close. So for people living there and working in a broad area of Portland, it will provide really good access. I believe it's mostly funded and ready to go.

^ I'm guessing the CBD to Milwaukie LRT, which seems about ready to get started, will bring the South Waterfront a little more into the mainstream. I think access now is really awkward. The whole thing seems a little forced.

As of ths morning, they have collected 2,030 valid signatures out of the 7,467 needed. They will get the signatures, and it will be on the November ballot. Interestingly, they are getting more valid signatures for the ballot issue opposing a fee for trash collection than they are for the streetcar.