Eigth and State

"We spend money that we do not have..." I'm not going to try to explain the money system, because I don't understand it all myself. I'm just saying that the transportation budget has limited funds. We can make the argument that the Brent Spence replacement is the most important project in the country, and should take priority, but every other community in the nation can make the same argument about their own bridge or infrastructure. The federal government DOES NOT have the ability to spend endlessly.

So, maybe we could build a new Brent Spence Bridge for the money we spend in Iraq in about 3 days. That's not the point. We don't have the money in the transportation budget to build the bridge, and the War Department isn't likely to share their money. I agree: it's all academic if we don't have the money.

I did some courthouse work in Union County, Indiana. The courthouse building has various rooms labeled "Auditor," "Sheriff," etc, and the County Auditor, County Sheriff, etc, actually reside in those rooms! Most counties still have their historic courthouses, but they also have their expansions, annexes, buildings across the street, justice centers, etc. The politicians are there occasionally, but the work is done by the staff, which might be a hundred people for each elected office in an urban county. The County Surveyor in Union County did the work himself, with one helper, and still used an instrument over 50 years old. Time warp! The fact that Union County has a lower population than it did in 1830 may have something to do with all of this. In any case, this is the way the county system of government was intended to work back when the laws were written. How refreshing!

^---- The area immediately south of the big bend in Clifton Avenue was the site of a large landslide in the 1970's. Be careful there. You can also barely make out the site of the former Bellview Hill Incline in that photo.

"The new development creates a higher amount of taxes generated..." We hope so. If we knew for sure, the streetcar would be a no-brainer. Borrowing money makes a good business better, but it makes a bad business worse. It's all about the money.

^--- "Once they ripped all of that rail out of the ground..." Actually, most of the streetcar rails in Cincinnati are still there, and still in good shape, covered with asphalt. Typically, it has only been removed where it was in the way of new utility construction or other road work. By the way, does anyone know what guage the streetcar would be? The old streetcar guage was 5'-2".

^----"politics is not pretty". :wink:

^----- "the streetcar is designed to attract new residents.." The key word is "new." If they move in, from say, Westwood, then development in one area is offset by decline somewhere else. If they move in, from say, Germany, then they really would be new residents, but I don't see it happening. Same with The Banks, etc. Cheers. Carry on.

^---"How will a streetcar system benefit all of cincinnati? by growing the tax base and increasing population, providing greater resources for all of the city of cincinnati." I respectfully disagree. Cincinnati and Hamilton County are losing population. This is what bothers me the most about the streetcar. Please don't hate me.

"And Surprise!!! Our car was still there! I don't know people don't just move past the stigma surrounding this neighborhood, and explore it." I had a car window broken in nearby Mt. Auburn. It's something I haven't forgotten. Thanks for the pictures.

Something's missing in those photos... I know what it is. I can't pick out a single child. I guess it's not a family beach?

Solution: don't watch television. :-D

We all know that the "Seven Railroads of Cincinnati" along with the city got together and built Cincinnati Union Terminal as a consolidation of many passenger stations around town. In "The Railroad and the City" by Carl Condit, the author argues that the original configuration was actually superior, because all of the stations were closer to downtown.

^---- The existing freight tracks in Cincinnati / Hamilton / Middletown / Dayton are extremely busy. I think it would make a good starter line if a right-of-way were available.

Still waiting for that Hamilton meet.

I can verify Jake's statement that it takes 30 minutes to walk from U.C. to fountain square. I've done it. It would be even faster if not for all of the street crossings. Figure 3 to 4 miles per hour for a fast walk with no traffic.

I think you guys are all missing the point. It's all about the money, and the City of Cincinnati just doesn't have the spare cash. A plan without funding is just a dream. This development does not surprise me at all.

Amtrak goes through Oxford but doesn't stop. Too bad.

Any good tips on living space in Downtown Cincinnati or Over-the-Rhine? Could use a smallish or low-end place, but not a crack house. Just wondering. Thanks.

Undoubtably it's an old place name. It is mentioned in the 1943 WPA Guide to Cincinnati. How it got to google maps is a good question. I checked some old maps that I have and did not find "Goat Hill." Very interesting.

The intersection of Clifton and M.L.King is one of the busiest in Cincinnati. It was proposed long ago to grade separate the two streets. The grades work out better if Clifton remains on top and an underpass for M.L.King is constructed. There is not enough room for a full, conventional interchange such as a diamond or cloverleaf. I have wondered if the situation could be improved by construction of a connector street with two signalized intersections could be done, somewhat like Kemper and Reed Hartman or East Miami River Road and Colerain. In any case, the streetcars / light rail as well as busses could pass straight through, saving a minute or more of waiting at the stop light.

This railroad offers a 10 week course in railroading. I took the course, and learned how to assemble trains in 1940's style, with hand signals. The idea is to train volunteers to work on the railroad. I never did assemble any trains, but I led a team to restore a stone arch culvert that had partially collapsed. A contractor had bid $20,000 for replacement with a steel culvert. We repaired the original stone culvert instead, for the cost of about $800 in materials and a lot of volunteer manual labor. We think that the culvert dates from the canal construction, or about the 1840's.

It's at 40 feet today in Cincinnati. The river is forecast to reach 51 feet next week, the highest level since 2005.

A rob tour just isn't complete without either a railroad or piece of farm equipment in it. Thanks for the tours.

The wheel at Metamora, Indiana is an undershot wheel and probably dates to the 1860's, when the Whitewater Canal towpath was made into a railroad grade. The railroad continued to sell water power and the wheel was installed directly in a lock. The wheel continues to operate as a tourist attraction.