John Schneider

^ It's never about the money with these guys. The 2002 MetroMoves plan of five light rail lines, two streetcar lines and a huge increase in the bus system, would have cost an average Hamilton County household about $68 per month. Brad Thomas is working on an estimation of what the streetcar plan would cost an average Cincinnati family per year, and it's probably going to be less that the cost of a lunch. Their opposition is more fundamental, that offering people choices about how they move around which are different from what they do today is somehow bad. On most other issues, these guys would honor the idea of people having choices. They just have a real blind spot here. And there is a lot of anti-city sentiment at work here too. I wouldn't ascribe a lot of rationality to it.

^ A campaign organization is forming. Stay tuned.

I've heard that we are now within reach of having enough money to build the Downtown-OTR segment. I disagree that having the money together before a November vote means that the streetcar goes forward in spite of the outcome of the vote. The way the ballot issue is written, it prevents the city from spending any money -- that could be staff time -- for passenger rail. This is going to be a city-owned project with some city staff overseeing the managers of the system. So if the November ballot passes, even if the money is together by then, I see problems down the road with respect to the operation, and certainly the expansion, of the streetcar network. There is really no other way to say it: we need to defeat the ballot issue if they get the signatures.

I wouldn't be too worried. Go to this site and see pics of where LRT and streetcars are operating successfully all over the world. There's even a pic of a streetcar threading its way through war-damaged Sarajevo. See: http://www.shugotram.jp/twrldmap/twrldmae.html

Jake's totally correct. If the depreciation and operating expenses for all those cars (and 15,000 more trucks each day) that will be induced to travel on the newly-widened I-75, one would have a totally different view of the efficacy of freeway projects. I'm not anti-highway, just aware of their total costs.

Smitherman writing this letter may be the best thing that happened to the streetcar proposal! :) He's getting some really bad advice from people with other agendas. My guess is, he will recalibrate his opposition.

^ That would never happen. In fact, in the 2002 MetroMoves plan that had a streetcar line heading toward Newport and Covington, it stopped at the water's edge. It would not have been built until KY was ready to connect to it.

Cincinnati Nation has picked up the Smitherman letter story. See: http://www.cincynation.com/

If you haven't seen the cincinnati.com article about Smitherman's letter since it originally appeared a couple of days ago, take another look. The Comments are running heavily against his writing the letter to President Obama, and the pro-streetcar "Recommended" Comments are running about 20:1 over the anti-streetcar Comments. Have a look: http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=blog02&plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3aec38bb2b-982e-46ba-819a-da01a547e8eaPost%3aa2150926-95dd-465c-a641-2dff0a399893&sid=sitelife.cincinnati.com

^ Several of the Findlay merchants have photos posted now. Tell the people where you shop that you're a streetcar supporter. Luken's Seafood could use a little education in this regard.

They have to get 6,000 or so signatures to get it on the ballot. Then they have to win in November.

But if it were to be put to a vote, I think it would pass. I think you misunderstood my comment. When I said, "Why do you think it will pass?" -- what I meant was, "Why do you think the NAACP ballot initiative will pass?" I don't think it will for a lot of the reasons you're listing. The intensity is on our side. Wait until gas prices start rising again this spring.

^ Why do you think it will pass?

^ It was widely distributed to Cincinnatians and the media yesterday via the PROTRANSIT.COM email list.

Harris was strong on the streetcar this morning on Newsmakers.

^ It would be one thing if that's all Cincinnati had to worry about -- who pays for the new highways. The more fundamental issue isn't on the supply side but on the demand side. The widening of I-75 through Hamilton County over the next ten to fifteen years will cause further decapitalization of the core county as businesses and residents move even further out. Add-in the dimunition of property values due to the extra noise from the doubling of trucks we're going to get on I-75 in the next twenty years plus the added incidence and cost of health problems due to the microparticulates from their diesel engiines, and I suspect that the widening of I-75 dwarfs the cost of the Cincinnati Streetcar many, many times over. To me, even if building freeways were costless, their construction is almost always a net loss for the core city and county. The streetcar is just one strategy to try to even up the terms of trade under which our city labors.

^ One reason it's so high is that the city built-in huge contingencies for each line item and then an overall contingency for the whole project. I note with interest that a phase of The Banks garage construction -- basically steel and concrete like the streetcar's running track -- came in at about 60% of estimates. Single-tracking really won't work for a serious urban transportation system you can depend on. You need to have turnbacks on parallel streets in case part of the line gets shut down by an accident. Tampa's is more tourist-oriented, though a fair amount of housing has unexpectedly developed nearby.

^ I'm not mistaken, nor is he a coward. He's an entertainer. He talks about what he knows. And he plays to his audience. It's as simple as that. I'm not defending him.

^ In a perfect world: * You could buy a yearly or monthly pass to ride as much as you want, whenever. * You could buy a streetcar ticket at any parking meter along the route and get a discounted rate for the streetcar if you bought time on the parking meter. I don't think Bill Cunningham is as big of an opponent as many think he is. In his private, off-air moments, he could be described as a supporter.

A streetcar could definitely reach the old streetcar landing where Celestial meets Eden Park Drive in front of the Rookwood restaurant. It would be a two block walk to the business district.

What could be more green than a system which enables people to live complete lives within a very small footprint? Somehow that message hasn't gotten through.

I was out of town today, but if it was really this bad, this is a timely observation. I'd send a letter to the Enquirer.

By the time this appears on the ballot, if it does, Cincinnatians will be offered a clear choice on the kind of city they want to have, and so this poorly conceived effort to change the city charter will lose. Resources will be needed in the next month to shape a response -- early seed money for paid, professional research. So between now and the end of the year, every contribution received by the Alliance for Regional Transit will be forwarded to those leading the effort for a balanced transportation system in Cincinnati. So today or tomorrow, please make a contribution. You can mail or make an electronic donation, here: http://www.pro-transit.com/Contribute.asp People ask, "What can I do?" Here's the short answer: there will be plenty of opportunities for personal involvement later this year, but right now the easiest and best thing you can do is write a check. Be bold. Have a Happy New Year. Who'd a thunk we'd be on the ballot in 2009? John Schneider

^ This is the most pernicious part. Right now, city staff is working to ensure that ROW for light rail is included in the plans to widen I-75. This activity would be prevented without a vote if the issue passes. The streetcar wont require any ROW except for the car barn. In some cases, support wires for the overhead catenary may be suspended from adjacent buildings if the owners prefer to do so. Makes the wires even less visible because it gets rid of the poles.

From Building Cincinnati comes this: "The new capital account will be created with $700,000 in surplus funds from Parking Facilities Fund 102 and, to reimburse the City, revenues from the new parking spaces will be collected by the City's Parking Facilities Division." This happens all the time in Cincinnati. No one even gives it a second thought. Have a good holiday, everyone. Read the story: http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2008/12/cincinnati-budgets-for-expanded.html