GCrites

A lot of these anything-but-a-train "solutions" from developing nations come from cultures where there is no stigma against riding buses and motorbikes.

I wonder what the driver salaries are in that country.

I know, we in the "minority" sure are a bunch of malcontents. We should just shut up and live our lives the way the so-called majority tells us even if we don't like it. Yes, the "winners" on the "winning team".

A place that gets remodeled every five years is even more unpleasant than something that is "dated", trust me.

If the entire state was allowed to vote on the Portsmouth bypass it would go down in flames. Only people in Scioto and Lawrence counties would vote for it. Maybe some Marshall students from Circleville as well. And I bet a lot of people in P-town would vote against it because it will slow commerce in the city.

Lookin' up Cranley, the Gold Star fam is Eastern Orthodox. A lot of Chinese in the US are Christian. The David family is Orthodox Christian, but they only own the corporation and a few stores. Since I sincerely doubt that the particular store staying open was a company-wide mandate, I think it's safe to assume the franchisee that owns that particular location decided it was worth staying open (no matter his/her particular religion). I thought that about Gold Star. The wildly different hours seen at various locations led me to believe that there were multiple franchisees.

It's stupid. American companies would rather be open and have 2 customers in the place, lose money all day and piss off their employees than admit that there are some times that aren't appropriate to conduct business.

Weellllllllllllllll, I was on 670 today and heard some I Want You coming out of the radio (CD 102.5 to be exact). The band Washed Out sampled the song on their tune "Feel it all Around" about 4 years ago (2009 was the landmark year for Americans discovering '80s Italo Disco). Apparently the Washed Out song was big with hipsters according to Youtube comments. And we have come full circle -- I've found out that the Gary Low/Washed Out song is the theme music to Portlandia.

They expected him to manhandle Mann, Flynn and Stittenfield.

Each time you stop at a stop sign or traffic light you are on someone else's schedule.

Americans sure are creative in finding ways to attempt to curb people's vices.

He's trolling again.

I so called that!

Rail is not a step backward. Everybody knows this except some American suburbanites.

One thing I learned about UC's endowment is that various parts of it were earmarked for very specific things. The program I studied had a very tiny endowment and thus was dropped after only 3 years of degrees were awarded. Does anyone know what portion of UC's endowment could eventually be eligible for streetcar line expansion or operating subsidies?

I own two road cars, participate in autocross and track days, and am working on a ChumpCar endurance racer. I can easily afford to drive (and race) but still prefer walkable areas. And if I wasn't in Columbus I'd aim to live near rail transit.

Just because something doesn't make sense to you doesn't mean it's not true. As I get older I accept that there's things I just don't understand because of my age and that's OK with me. Pokemon for example. But I don't try to tell younger people how Pokemon works because I don't know. And this is something you don't understand. And it should be OK with you. But it isn't. You say I don't understand it. Oh but I do, and again it boils down to the lack of good paying jobs. The number of grown adults living at home with their parents is the highest it has been in decades, since they can't earn enough for a place of their own. Of course there is a percentage of the younger crowd who are fortunate enough to have a good paying job and they may also desire to live in an urban setting without a car and walk to work and the bar. But they are not the majority. Increasingly the majority are working at low pay jobs and barely capable of keeping their head above water. How to I know this, because I talk to their parents that's how. An other significant factor is the number of young people is going down as parents are having fewer children. So naturally there will be fewer getting drivers licenses, etc., but I usually see this reflected as a drop in overall numbers, not as a percentage of a given age group. So you think you know more about it than people who work in the auto industry that actually know that the other factors are affecting their sales in a big way? Or the automotive journalists that also know how the other factors at play? Perhaps they should fire all those eggheads and just hire you.

I'm trying to figure out just what is it about the streetcar that raises so many people's ire so greatly? My guess is that it's highly visible - to them, a thorn in their side constantly reminding them of defeat. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the 700 WLW crowd aim for another referendum or amendment to the city charter to try to rid the city of the streetcar. Seems they'll fight it to the death. Their unrelenting hostility reminds me of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. These people are full of anger for a variety of reasons, many of which probably have little or nothing to do with the streetcar itself; it's just that it provides them with an ideal high-visibility, high-profile target at which to vent their rage. Tom Luken just called in and started digging into...John Cranley. It was totally surreal. Another caller speculated that Cranley hates the streetcar so much because he's worried that he won't be tall enough to ride it. These callers are a reminder that we need to continually reiterate to people that 700 is nothing but entertainment radio. Relying on them for factual information for anything, nevertheless something you'll vote on, is the equivalent of doing the same with The Onion. Cranley bamboozled and hoodwinked the American People into building this boondoggle.

Just because something doesn't make sense to you doesn't mean it's not true. As I get older I accept that there's things I just don't understand because of my age and that's OK with me. Pokemon for example. But I don't try to tell younger people how Pokemon works because I don't know. And this is something you don't understand. And it should be OK with you. But it isn't.

LOL! Years ago I came up with the idea of drive on/off train cars for people who wish to travel cross country but don't wish to fly. Some common areas (such as restrooms) but also the opportunity to sit in your car for awhile if the desire to avoid the herd strikes. Those do exist. But I don't think you can get back in your car until you debark for good. Though I don't like just sitting in my car anyway. I always feel sketchy.

I think that's actually happened to me before but Cranley wasn't involved.

I like how they didn't fix the typos.

You know, Cranley might have known all along that it wasn't a good idea to stop the streetcar. He may have just used a front of streetcar opposition to collect suburban money and get the help of BOAST, the NAATP, other TPers, WLW and the Enquirer. Then all of the hullaballo in the past month was his Bush Sr. moment of having to explain that Congress wouldn't allow Bush to keep his "Read my lips... no new taxes" promise. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the organizations I listed above feel the same way too.

You can't force people to recognize their own ignorance, or to experience their entire city and gain a greater awareness of it. Some people just like to be afraid or want everything to be the same. That's their right. And to enjoy that right, they can stay in their suburban settings locked in their houses and cars. But don't prevent those of us who love cities from designing them and enjoying them the way we want to. It's awfully oppressive for suburbanites to deny us our pursuit of happiness. The only thing I object to is that the urbanists in their pursuit of happiness want to deny all of us suburbanities our own pursuit of happiness. Far as I am concerned, let the greater majority in numbers prevail. Luckily you said that here. Now we have a record of this statement so that we can choose you as one of the first ones to be rounded up, stuffed into a 100-story condo building and have your house bulldozed. And the traffic flow in the condo building is going to be terrible.