John Schneider

Adjusted for inflation, gas prices in November 2002 were at just about the lowest level since the end of WWII.

And remember, Downtown and OTR voted 2:1 for rail in 2002.

Yep

Seems to me that Peak Oil has arrived.

Umm ... no. But bring the ten guys -- and ten girls.

Noon, May 22nd at City Hall, 801 Plum Street, room unknown but probably in Council Chambers on the Third Floor. Bring a cast of thousands.

Transportation engineers call what Jake described above as a "freeway ladder." Cincinnati is almost unique in the nation, for a city its size, that it has this arrangement.

Cool, I'll try to attend and try to bring a bunch of people along with me! Numbers of people at council hearings do make an impact. People are still talking about all the people who showed up at OKI last month to see Chris Bortz's presentation on the streetcar.

I would love to go and speak, but I have training in Mason that day. :( Do you think there will be another chance? I'd write letters to city council members that arrive at their offices the day before the presentation. Letters are always better than emails.

In Wessels' article, no mention of the fake truck-trolleys. Just learned the details of the rail streetcar presentation at City Hall. It's to the Economic Development Committee at Noon on Tuesday, May 22nd. There will first be a half-hour presentation by city staff and its consultants on the project, followed by speakers from the public at large (you) for and against the streetcar. You'll need to get and fill-out a yellow Speaker's Card from the Clerk's Desk, and you will be given three minutes to make your case. Bring a friend if you can.

The report will be presented to the City's Economic Development Committee on May 22nd. Don't know the time. We're going to get a preview on May 18th -- both the plan and the benefit/cost study. By the way, with respect to the comments about USNWR article regarding average speeds commuting. Opponents often claim that light rail, which averages about 21 MPH end-to-end in the United States, ought to be dismissed because it is "so slow." But these averages are derived from the National Transit Database which includes layover time at the end of the line while the driver takes about five minutes to walk to the other end of the train and drive it back in the reverse direction. But actual schedule time -- which is what matters to passengers -- will always be faster. The transit industry wants to know end-to-end times because they have to pay the driver for layovers and also for trips from and to the train yard when starting or ending service for a particular train, but these data don't matter otherwise. But here's an idea. Just for the hell of it, one day when you're driving a lot around town in different conditions -- some local streets, some freeway, some peak, some non-peak -- keep track of the minutes you spend behind the wheel and the miles you drive that day and figure your average speed. I bet you won't average more than 21 MPH.

Sounds like we're presenting a second time to the Downtown Residents Council on May 21st @ 6:00p at the Tower Room of the Main Library -- third floor, facing west to Garfield Park, a really beautiful room, one of Cincinnati's best public places. You should bring your group. Why am I not surprised that the speaker focused on financing and the operating costs for the system?

So what happened at Jackie Danicki's salon tonight?

Don't presume that this will be a pro-streetcar presentation.

In The Banks presentation yesterday, Trent Germano of the AIG Carter team that's developing the The Banks mentioned without prompting how his company often works with MARTA in their Atlanta projects. I hope he was mentioning this in the context of the streetcar and not the Eastern Corridor diesel rail project.

Former Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls was the keynote speaker at Downtown Cincinnati Inc.'s annual meeting yesterday, and the Cincinnati Post had the money quote: "A person of talent has choices," she said. "They have the choice of living anywhere in this country or probably the world." What they care about most is the quality of that "built environment" - public transportation, public squares, wide sidewalks, and active urban areas. They also want "spontaneity, unpredictability and creativity," she said. "That's the standards we need to be building in this community," Qualls said. "These are the values of people of talent. It requires that we have a deeper respect of the public realm." DCI's Co-Chairman, Mayor Mark Mallory, showed up with a surprise guest: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. A pretty good day for Cincinnati in general and our downtown in particular.

I've been going to OKI meetings for most of the last ten years, and I've never seen the room as crowded as it was today. People who regulary attend these meetings took note. John Cranley handled our major streetcar opponent deftly. And I agree, Chris Bortz did a great job. Next Portland trip is May 25th. Seven people have signed up so far.

Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Bortz will present his case for the Downtown Cincinnati Streetcar to the board of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) this Thursday, April 12th. Bortz's presentation will start around 12:50p and last a half-hour. The meeting actually begins at 12:30p, but feel free to come just for his presentation. OKI is located in Suite 420 at 720 East Pete Rose Way -- the northwest corner of Pete Rose Way and Eggleston Avenue opposite the entrance to Sawyer Point Park. On a nice day, it's an enjoyable 10-15 minute walk from Fountain Square via Lytle Park. You can also pay to park in the Sawyer Point parking lot. I'm guessing we'll see and hear some new things, and a show of support is always valuable. Hope to see you there.

$4.00 gas by summer? http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=3007435&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

Today Chris Bortz sent the following email to some streetcar supporters, and he said it was OK to share it with you. _____________________________________________________________________________ "I want to be clear about my support for a true streetcar system, operating on permanent tracks. I am fully committed to getting funding for a streetcar and want it underway within two years. Period. I would be very concerned about any other proposals which would detract from accomplishing our goal. I look forward to continuing our work. Please feel free to call me to discuss. -Chris Bortz" _____________________________________________________________________________ Nice to have a champion, for once. John Schneider

The streets look nothing like CBD/OTR. Much wider and more open. * Most Portland streets are 48 feet wide, just like Cincinnati. The handicap access is disturbing in that it does no show a person getting in, securing and unsecuring their chair. * The ride is so smooth that disabled people don't have to be strapped-in like they do in a bus. There are no fares ? Nobody actually seems to pay. * Fares are free in the downtown. Otherwise, there is an onboard pay-station that doesn't show up in the video, but it's there. Riders are randomly check for tickets. There were no cyclists in the bike lane. No cyclists wrecking on the track... * Cyclists in Portland are some of the biggest supporters of light rail and streetcars there. This is not an issue with them so far as I know. There is no indication of the frequency of runs & stops. * Seven minutes at peak, average of every thirteen minutes at other times. The stop in front of the sidewalk cafe interested me as Cincinnati frowns on such things and there are next to no areas in CBD & OTR that could afford such a place. * Portland's sidewalks are generally 13 feet wide, the same as downtown Cincinnati's. I hate to say itbut if there were, it would be overrun by obnoxious teenagers (who seemd conspicuously absent in the video). * Downtown Portland is filled with teenagers and they are every bit as obnoxious as the ones here. Plus, purple hair. I agree that the dumb trolleybusthing is a lousy idea but I think dedicated shuttle buses would be a better idea. * Not like it's never been tried here before. In fact, the bus shown in the photo above was bought at a fire-sale price from the transit company that went broke providing this service. You guys say that the investment in track gives an idea of commitment & permanence to people but I remember driving over old abandoned track as a young'n. I don't get that part at all. * No electric rail system that has opened in the United States since the end of World War II has ever gone out of business. Don't understand why the permanance is important? What if CVG weren't permanent? What if I-71 could be moved on a whim? What if your street were "flexible." Permanence in transportation is the essence of its value. Think about it. I will now duck. * Better yet: go to Portland and see for yourself.

You'd think. Watch this video of the Portland Streetcar if you haven't seen it already:

Based on the phone calls and emails I've been getting from people in the know, there may be less to Portune's proposal than meets the eye. Reminds me of what LBJ once said about a colleague, "The trouble is, he's all hat and no cattle." I'd give Chris Bortz the benefit of the doubt at this point. The electronic media seems to be catching on: http://www.cincynation.com/

No and maybe.

Montecarloss, please keep re-posting the photo of the fake truck-trolley every now and then, just to keep this vision for our city firmly fixed in our minds. Thanks.