John Schneider

Pretty sure you're going to want a unified system using the same livery on both sides of the river -- if you want it to cross the river

I always love when I see that car going up and down Market or along the Embarcadero. The color scheme is stunning. ^ Actually a Philadelphia car painted in Cincinnati livery

I do like the current color scheme, but I think I would have preferred a modern version of what you see in that link. I argued unsuccessfully for that color scheme four years ago

Pretty sure KC ordered their gray over white vehicles so they could plaster the most ads on them. Cincinnati is going to put ads on our streetcars too, but we're being (mostly) thoughtful how we're doing it.

Our streetcars look great. Kansas City's streetcars look bland and washed-out.

I'm thinking it's even-money the streetcar will be operating during this year's Oktoberfest. The Chamber wants it to happen. It's just a safety issue at this point. One thing I learned today is that the mayor has directed that they can't even operate the OTR loop during Oktoberfest. The whole system has to shut down even though the loops were designed from the get-go to operate independently. In any case, time's on our side. i think the events are headed to the river sooner or later.

I think it looked before they added floors. More in scale with the rest of the street.

Adding a stop is not that big of a deal. Portland just completed a whole bunch of track improvements along several blocks of First Avenue -- replacing some track and switches, improving drainage of the trackway and replacing the ties under the tracks there. They closed this section of track for two weeks, diverted some trains, and ferried other passengers on a bus bridge. The point is that everything changed in the past few years around 12th and Elm in a big way. And the area will change more as the Streitman Bakery Building office project starts to pull development west of Elm. Think about the distance between the stops at 12th and Vine and 14th and Elm. Nowhere else has that great of a separation between the stops -- even the distance from Fifth and Walnut to The Banks stop is less than that, and the line between those points has much less activity.

Think we need another stop near 12th and Elm

We're fine. Atlanta's had a troubled project for the get-go. Poorly conceived, poorly executed and poorly managed. Other than that, it's a great project.

I wouldn't assume the streetcar won't be open for Oktoberfest

Especially since it wold be a long, deep park. You could never see what's going on at the east end of it from Main Street.

^ We do have this. In 2001, and Inter-Local Agreement was signed between TANK and SORTA allowing them to jointly operate a light rail line from the CBD to CVG. It probably still exists or could easily be resurrected.

^ Yeah, there's nothing like affirming your intent to violate the law in writing. Columbia REI has been poorly advised on this whole thing.

Meh

On account of the prior ruling, I bet Duke and other utilities will try to widen the instances where they don't have to move utilities for other municipal projects

I suspect that all cities in Ohio are pretty much screwed if this decision stands

Can you imagine the length of the platform and the downward forces if we were to build one of these things for the Cincinnati Streetcar to climb the face of Mt. Auburn as some have suggested?

I'm guessing September 8th or 9th

Pat called me a few weeks ago and asked me what I thought. I told him the Dennison ought to be saved - said this was a different set of facts compared to the Donato's building.

They've hired Pat Crowley for PR on this.

This is true. I remember listening to WLW when they were building the Green Line light rail on Fifth Avenue, which was still several months from opening -- just beginning to test vehicles and train operators. A WLW listener said he was calling from the U.S Bank Tower on Portland's Fifth Avenue (as if) and said he could see "streetcars passing by empty all the time." First, the project was incomplete and unable to board passengers. And second, it this was a light rail line, not a streetcar line. But hey, it was a good story for the rubes ...

I see this plan as a streetcar circulator plan, not as regional rail. Tunnel could serve both. We probably need to get more streetcar miles on the ground before we can fully engage the region. But even something like this could easily take fifty years to build. But you could have that Blue Line today without having to fight a Tunnel War. Also going up Vine means there would be an at grade intersection with the Green Line meaning those streetcars could use the existing MOF. Tunnel War is worth fighting

I see this plan as a streetcar circulator plan, not as regional rail. Tunnel could serve both. We probably need to get more streetcar miles on the ground before we can fully engage the region. But even something like this could easily take fifty years to build.

Looks about right. Kind of a dead zone for redevelopment on Jefferson north of Burnet Woods, but maybe that's the price you pay to get to Ludlow