John Schneider

Uum, there is no hospital in downtown Portland. The closest is a couple of miles away, like, say, Christ Hospital here. Portland has no Fortune 500 headquarters companies; Cincinnati has half a dozen. Portland has no major league sports facilities downtown; Cincinnati has two. Portland has very few historic properties along its streetcar line; Cincinnati has one of the largest historic districts in the nation. Portland has no public market: Cincinnati has the oldest west of the Alleghenies. Friends of mine who live in Portland and who've visited Cincinnati would be happy to tell you that Cincinnati has much more to work with than Portland had when it opened the streetcar.

I took a Cincinnati Enquirer reporter along on our streetcar tour of Portland last month, and I understand an article about the trip will appear in this Sunday's paper.

Do you mean the Cincinnati Streetcar? Looks like mid-January at this point. A lot of details to pull together.

Figure a new tunnel at $10 - 12,000 per lineal foot and a deep underground station at $25,000,000.

A straight-line rail connection between downtown and uptown has been a dream for well over a hundred years. We tried to revive it in the late-Nineties with the proposed Mt. Auburn Tunnel for light rail. It would have been a good thing -- eight minutes travel-time between Fountain Square and Jefferson & Corry. With the I-71, I-75 and Eastern Corridor Lines all passing through the Mt. Auburn Tunnel on their way to Idlewild where the lines would have branched (see cincinnati-transit.net above), you would have had a train every three minutes or so at peak -- effectively "transit on demand." It would change how our city functions. Living and working in downtown and uptown would become, by far, the most convenient of any place in the region. I believe that the Mt. Auburn Tunnel will come back someday.

I dunno. The ones in Portland seem to move along with the rest of the traffic stopping for the lights and/or boarding stops about two or three blocks apart.

Ok, so here's my question: If John Cranley is the principal champion for including Uptown in the first phase of the streetcar, how come he placed third in the Uptown voting? Just asking.

Gee, that was quick. Brad, I honestly think someone could post a question here like, "How do we cure cancer?" and that you would post the answer within an hour. You or Jake. Thanks. Since you're so adept at this, here's another question: Who were the top-vote-getters in, say, Clifton Heights and Corryville, where the streetcar is going next?

re: yesterday's City Council election Look at the results from yesterday's City Council election. The incumbents who rose the most in the standings compared to 2005 -- Bortz, Crowley and Thomas come to mind -- were among the strongest streetcar supporters. Ghiz, Cole and Monzel are somewhat less supportive; they fell in the standings. None of the non-incumbent opponents were elected. Be interesting to see how downtown and OTR voted.

It was a good day. The Cincinnati City Council, which has supported the Cincinnati Streetcar by an 8-1 margin, was entirely returned to office. In general, the strongest supporters of the streetcar moved up in the results. Nationally, residents of the Charlotte, NC region voted to continue its investment in light rail transit by a margin of 70% to 30%.

Portland's Aerial Tram is the E-ticket. We always take people on it when we lead groups out there. It was expensive - a little under $60 million. All during constructon, as costs escalated, elected officials lined up to take shots at it. Funny thing when it opened though -- people lined up two blocks long on the opening day to ride it, and every time I've been on it, it's been well-used. Hardly anyone says anything about it today. It's weird to see surgeons in their scrubs riding it down from the mountain to other medical office facilities on the banks fo the Willamette River. But one thing to remember: its destination is the largest employer in the state of Oregon, the Health Sciences University atop a hill adjacent to downtown. The take-off point is Portland's "Banks" project, except that it's much larger. I don't think the Downtown to Mt. Adams route has that much juice. An aerial tram from The Banks to Covington would be a better bet.

Remember, these City Council candidates support the streetcar: Berding, Bortz, Cole, Crowley, Eby, Fischer, Ghiz, Harris, Kaup, Monzel, Painter, Qualls, Thomas, and Zamary.

CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES WHO SUPPORT THE CINCINNATI STREETCAR: Here's an updated list of Cincinnati City Council candidates who support, more or less, the streetcar plan presented by City Manager Milton Dohoney on October 16th. Each candidate listed below has voted for the Manager's plan or has written in favor of it. These City Council candidates support the Cincinnati Streetcar: Jeff Berding Chris Bortz - the leading City Council advocate of the Cincinnati Streetcar Laketa Cole David Crowley John Eby Pat Fischer Leslie Ghiz Greg Harris Joan Kaup Chris Monzel Mitch Painter Roxanne Qualls Cecil Thomas George Zamary

Jake, I probably should have posted follow-up comments from the blog from where I flinched this article. There were several other examples -- Philadelphia, with stations serving St. Joesph's, Penn and Villanova plus San Francisco State. And some others. Considering the number of colleges in the U.S., there weren't many.

It's not a 15:1 benefit/cost ratio. More like 2.75:1 -- still an amazingly high B/C ratio for any kind of project, public or private. What people are calling a 15:1 benefit/cost ratio is really a 15:1 cost/cost ratio. You get $15 of new construction (measured by cost, not value) around the streetcar line that costs you $1 to build. The 15:1 relationship is really sort of an impact to cost ratio which suggests that if you make this streetcar investment, a lot of real estate investment will follow because of it. This shouldn't surprise anyone. Think of all the property development that occurs around any freeway interchange. The benefits that need to be compared to the streetcar's costs are mainly real estate benefits, which is why TIF's are an appropriate way to finance the streetcar. The property benefits arise in two ways. First, there is a benefit from the rising value of properties that have already been developed but can now command higher rents. But more important, there is the value gained from properties that otherwise would have little chance of being developed without the streetcar. These are mainly properties that don't now have, nor ever will have, adequate on-site parking. There are blocks and blocks of these buildings all over OTR. And more of their values will be liberated by making OTR a "streetcar community" again. The other benefits are transportation-related -- congestion reduction (think of parking around Findlay Market on Saturdays or before an Aronoff performance) and increased mobility benefits to low-income and zero-car households. So when you take the future stream of all these benefits (and operating costs) over 25 years or so and discount them to Present Value and then compare that number with the cost to build the streetcar, you get the 2.75:1.00 B/C ratio. It's like you showed up at the bank one day at 9:00a and deposited $1.00 and then returned a little before 5:00p to withdraw all your funds which by then had grown to $2.75. Even if this calculated value were off by 100%, it would still be a great deal for Cincinnati.

Cincinnati = 6.6 persons per acre, no rail Portland = 6.2 persons per acre, four light rail lines, another under construction, rapidly expanding streetcar line Who says that Cincinnati is not compact enough for streetcars and light rail?

MINNEAPOLIS By Anna Ewart , Minnesota Daily The University wouldn't be the first U.S. university to have a light-rail train on campus. The Central Corridor Management Committee will be taking lessons from universities that have already put light-rail lines through campuses. On Nov. 5 and 6, members of the committee will visit the light-rail trains that go through the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and San Diego State University. Click on link for article. http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/7639

Crowley for Streetcars--Financials Need to be Examined I support the streetcar proposal. In fact I am not afraid to admit that I have seen the impact of the streetcar firsthand. When I was a kid I can remember riding the streetcar in Cincinnati. My friends and I would get a day pass and ride around the City all day long. I supported the vote at Council because it represented the next step—we did not approve a financing plan. It is our duty as elected officials to ask questions about the proposed plan and its implications on the rest of the City’s budget. For example we should understand how the proposed financing plan would effect neighborhood infrastructure projects already in the pipeline. When the City Manager brings his recommendations to the Finance Committee in a few weeks I look forward to taking a hard look at the finances before a final vote is cast. http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/forum/

Greg Harris: Build, Create New Wealth, Prosper There was a time when Cincinnati was audaciously confident, as we were a city of many firsts (professional baseball, night baseball, concrete reinforced skyscrapers, the nation's first contemporary arts museum, etc.). In the mid-1800's we were known as the "Athens of the West" for our considerable arts and culture--institutions that we still enjoy today. No small city in the country can boast of so many big city amenities. We should be cocky about this. How do we re-capture this Can Do spirit? Do we say "no" to street cars that will generate over $1.5 billion in new wealth--an over 15 to 1 return on investment? Development, jobs and growth cluster around transit. As seen in other cities, the evidence is conclusive. Do we say "no" to the Banks because it is not want everyone wants it to be? Let's not make the perfect the enemy of the good. A deal is imminent. Let's sign it. In neighboring cities like Indianapolis, we see the effect that new residential development has had on their downtown. Unlike Newport on the Levee, the Banks will include a critical mass of residential properties that will make this economic development sustainable (as opposed to cyclical like the Levee). Regional and international perception of our city is based largely on our downtown and urban core. We build the Banks and street cars, Cincinnati will become America's comeback city. It's expensive to build the Banks and a street car system, for sure. But the costs of not building are so much greater. A city with so many incredible assets has no excuse not to leverage them. There are currently 98 acres of parking lots downtown. Street cars will not only unleash new development on this cement, but embolden developers to rehab properties in downtown and Over-the-Rhine. By building the Banks South of downtown, and propelling redevelopment in O-t-R while reinforcing downtown's current expanding housing market, we we will grow the population of our core and generate the resources needed to combat the most pressing problems in all 52 of Cincinnati's great neighborhoods. A prosperity agenda anchored in riverfront development, historic renovation, and transit, will grow the city's wealth and allow City Hall to deliver basic services and invest throughout Cincinnati while holding the line on taxes. Let's not have a future defined by cuts, defeatism, and timidity. Cincinnati can and must recapture the confidence, boldness and Can Do spirit of those who built the Queen City. http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/forum/

Monzel's Response - Streetcars This past Wednesday Council passed a resolution, which I voted for, that asked the city administration to report back to council in four weeks regarding the specifics of the proposed streetcar system. During this time, we need to make sure the financing plan is sound and realistic. My preference would be to utilize State, Federal and private funding. I do not agree with taking funding that could be used for neighborhood development projects. http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/forum/

Something like this, maybe? http://www.thecrowellco.com/

Pat Fischer on Streetcars Public Transportation Is A Key Component Of A Thriving City Other cities are significantly ahead of Cincinnati in the use of public transportation. I support a complete streetcar system as proposed from downtown to uptown. It must connect downtown and uptown though to be a worthwhile project. Given the City's budget constraints, it is imperative that the funding for this project be in place before it begins. I support the City administration's continued efforts to work on the financing options. See: http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/forum/

I think the 17 should bypass Clifton and, at Northside, continue downtown along Central Parkway. A streetcar originating in Northside could distribute passengers to Clifton Ludlow, Clifton Heights, Corryville and Peebles Corner. Could tie-in nicely with light rail coming up Gilbert to Xavier.

Now we know.

Nice to have a champion on Cincinnati City Council: http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/forum/2007/10/bortz-on-streetcars-cure-for-naysaying.asp#comments