Eigth and State

Yes, overpasses are expensive, but my point was that in urban areas there wouldn't be the need for very many of them. Look at a map of any modern American city and you will see that the walkable, urban core is probably less than 5% of the whole metro area by land area. Most of the crossings in urban areas have already been separated anyway. Also, overpasses have a nicer appearance when the street is on top and the railroad is on the bottom. When the railroad is on top it functions as a barrier.

A word of advice: be careful when talking to railroaders about whistles. Locomotive engineers can get charged with murder if they happen to run over someone and there was no whistle. They take this very seriously. On another note, the ideal solution is to separate the traffic at crossings with an overpass to eliminate the need for whistles and improve safety. Of course, this is a capital cost. In urban areas, the cost is justified. In rural areas with less traffic, long sight lines, and fewer residents, the crossings can be protected by whistles without disturbing too many people. Once again, the main problems are in the suburban / sprawl areas.

^ Yes I can. It's the Roebling Bridge. :-) And now that you mention the Golden Gate: Did you know that the Roebling Bridge, like the Golden Gate, was the longest span in the world when it opened? The Roebling Bridge held the record for about 20 years, until it was surpassed by another bridge designed by Roebling, the Brooklyn Bridge. Did you know that Roeblings successor firm, John Roebling's Sons, built the main cables on the Golden Gate Bridge? Did you know that the designer of the Golden Gate bridge, Joseph Strauss, was a University of Cincinnati Engineering grad? Did you know that Cincinnati's most popular landmark is the Roebling Bridge? (Eden Park, the Central Trust Tower, Union Terminal, Fountain Square, the various inclines and Riverfront Stadium are the closest runners-up.) ------------ Ok, back to the Brent Spence: Have you noticed that so many of the famous bridges have a high length to width ratio? For example, the Roebling Bridge is 2,252 feet long, and is only two lanes wide, or about 24 feet wide. That's a ratio of about 100 to 1. The Golden Gate bridge is 6,450 feet long and 90 feet wide, for a ratio of about 70 to 1. The Brent Spence is also about 2,500 feet long but is 4 lanes, or about 50 feet wide. That's a ratio of about 50 to 1. They are talking about a new bridge that may be slightly longer, say, 3000 feet, and 7 lanes wide, or about 90 feet wide, in eacy direction. That's a ratio of about 30 to 1 if they are stacked in two levels, or 15 to 1 if they are side by side. Pardon me, but in my humble opinion a signature bridge that looks anything like the Roebling, the Golden Gate, or any other beautiful bridge is out of the question simply based on ratios. Compare the narrow old Central Bridge to the wide one that replaced it. Which one is more graceful? Long, narrow bridges are always prettier than short, wide ones. Finally, the existing Brent Spence has a beauty all of it's own. The mess of approach structures detract from that beauty, unfortunately, and the Brent Spence also lacks a sidewalk. Will any of this change with a new bridge?

"...They did not have enough information about the public investment in the site." Those are the key words. Developers are not jumping on the opportunity to build The Banks because they know that they will not make money on it without a heavy government subsidy. Can you blame them?

Sorry, I take back what I said about the tall skinny skyscraper on Central Parkway. It shows up in a photo. It might be a chimney or a tower, not a skyscraper, though. Anyone notice anything different about the Roebling Bridge photo? It has a solid deck! (The present deck is a steel grate.) I had no idea. Thanks for the photos.

The object in photo no. 6 looks familiar. Could it be the lightpole or flagpole mentioned in the fountain square thread? I have also wondered about that Central Parkway postcard. Sometimes postcard artists took there liberties to make a pretty picture. The Eden Park photo below it, for example, seems to be based on a photograph, but the pavement and cars appear to be superimposed or hand drawn. As a result, the street looks wider and cleaner. In particular, there is a tall, skinny skyscraper in the distance in the Central Parkway postcard. I've never come across that one anywhere else. To be fair, there have been some buildings demolished on Central Parkway and turned into parking lots.

Ford is on television from time to time, usually invited to comment on issues of his presidency and that of Nixon's. I have a newspaper photo of Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush walking side by side. This may have been the first time five presidents had ever been together, as political differences in the past kept former ones apart. The funny thing was that Reagan was the oldest, even older than Nixon. Another interesting tidbit is that from 1933 to 1961 there were only three acting presidients: FDR, Truman, and Eisenhower. No wonder Kennedy was so popular. Not only was he young, but people must have been ready for a new president! Presidents fans and those who enjoy scavenger hunts may enjoy this site: http://www.diplom.org/manus/

Keep in mind that it takes energy to lift water. I've read that about 8% of our nations industrial energy production is used to lift water. So, even if Las Vegas or Phoenix could get legal access to the Great Lakes, it will take a lot of energy to move the water. I suspect that this would be the limiting factor; hence, we probably don't need to worry too much about it. I have a drawing of the North American Water and Power Alliance plan (NAWAPA) from the 1960's that shows a very ambitious system covering most of North America. They proposed diverting water from the Yukon in Alaska and conveying it to the U.S. Southwest, and also constructing a transcontinental seaway for ships between Seattle and Lake Superior! However, the plan did not propose any diversion of Great Lakes waters to the Southwest; in fact, it proposed diverting more water to the Great Lakes from the west! It's easier to divert water downhill than to pump it uphill.

Go to the website and note the short pedestrian bridges on the rendering. I wondered if they were going to make people climb up and down the steep parts every time. I just hope they don't clutter the bridge too much.

I have no problem with four story buildings but I think 350 feet is a bit long for an urban area. Can't they break it up into some smaller ones?

I'd be happy to if I had a server to post it on. In fact, I have a lot of pictures I'd post if I had a server to post it on. :wink: I'll go take a picture of the bicycle right now.

I bought mine at Campus Cyclery. It's a Koa mountain bike. I had them take the off-road tires off and put smoother street tires on. I also ordered lights, fenders and a luggage rack. I almost always use the luggage rack. Total cost was about $800. I've been riding this bicycle for 10 years. I had to replace the plastic pedals with steel ones. The mountain bike does well on Cincinnati streets, with it's big tires, low gears, and heavy brakes. It will not win a road race, however, and rides of 25 miles or more become uncomfortable. The best bike is the one you use the most. I wouldn't count on a cheap one lasting very long.

About a year ago I found a model of this project at Cincinnati City Hall outside of the planning department. I don't know if it's still there or not.

The piers of the Taylor Southgate bridge (New Central Bridge) are larger than they need to be to hold the bridge up. They were designed to withstand a tow collision. Only in the last 50 years or so have the tows been so large; thus, the other bridges have more slender piers, except the Roebling Bridge.

"But the stones are the same, right?" With a few exceptions, the stonework is all original 1866 or earlier, as far as I know. Not much is ever said about the anchorages, the massive stone structures that hold the ends of the cables to the ground. When the second set of cables was added in the 1890's, the anchorages were expanded. On the top of the two piers are brick structures. These were built in the 1990's to replace the domes. Their purpose is to protect the cables from the weather.

"Research indicates that when the Roebling Suspension Bridge opened over the Ohio River in 1866, it was painted brown - apparently to complement its stonework." True, but it was a different bridge. The original trusses and deck were made of WOOD. All of the steel you see today was built in the 1890's, 1950's, and 1990's as the bridge changed over the years. John Roebling never saw the present bridge. For the record, I want blue.

It's CVG. I found the building and runway layout on a map dated 1968.

"Central Trust" in red letters on the Central Trust tower has been replaced with "PNC Bank". Central Bridge still there. Newport on the Levee not there yet. Bus ramps from Suspension Bridge to Dixie Terminal still there, and in operation. (They had not been used for years when they were torn down for the new FWW.) Cozy little Sabin Park on right edge of photo also lost for the new FWW. Can anyone tell me more about the Carew Tower Garage?

In another speech Chavez said that Venezuela is pumping all the oil they can.

"The American Petroleum Institute estimates that there are at least 100 billion barrels that are fairly easily recoverable in Alaska and offshore that oil companies are not permitted to exploit." Ok, this may be true. But, at today's consumption rate of 20 million barrels per day, this 100 billion barrels would last us only 5,000 days, or about 14 years. In the meantime, other sources are in decline. That's the point of peak oil: the easiest oil is extracted first. So, the author says that oil will not run out in our lifetime, then blames the government for not allowing the extraction of 14 years worth of oil. "A child born in 1970 will see 80% of the world's oil consumed within his lifetime." - M. King Hubbert

Monmouth is the name of a street in Newport. :-)

Oh dear. Words such as "unlimited" and "plentiful" show that the author just doesn't get it.

Ashtabula county has several NEW covered bridges; the county engineer there likes them. :-D

I wonder if the automakers, by keeping an eye on the oil industry, expected gas prices to go up, and therefore sold all of the inventory of SUV's at bargain prices while gas prices were still low. Even before Katrina analysts were calling for higher gas prices. This is good news or bad news, depending on your point of view. Fewer cars on the road might mean a better quality of life; however, if you are the guy who loses his job manufacturing SUV's, then you are in for a big lifestyle change.

Thanks for the photo, Rob. I heard a story once about a farmer who pumped his own oil and distilled his own gasoline in a homemade still. Eventually it blew up on him. Anyway, at least there was a time when the average person had a clue of where their resources were coming from. The petroleum and coal industries capital intensive but not labor intensive and only a small percentage of the population has any feeling for where coal and oil come from or how they got there. Compare to the days where every factory had it's own power source, and coal was carried about for all to see in horse drawn wagons.