Eigth and State

^And a lot more water near the edge of a crowned road where bicycles normally ride. Riding in the rain without fenders, even if it's a very light rain, can be downright miserable.

Look at the background on the Cincinnati photo. The Cincinnati skyline is reversed! No wonder I have so much trouble taking renderings seriously.

I opted for fenders on mine. The first time I got caught in the rain I decided they were well worth it.

This is interesting: "The units are fitted with an on-board energy storage system (ACR) which permits both catenary free LRV travel between stops, and energy saving via maximum braking energy recovery." While this may not be applied to the vehicles Cincinnati has in mind, it looks like this manufacture has provisions for battery-operation for at least part of the route.

Rudeness isnt' limited to transit. I find the contrast between different bus routes in the same city interesting. I can think of one that serves mostly suburban commuters. The riders are typically dressed very nice, they stand in an orderly line to board the bus, they are friendly, and clean. About 70% are women who work downtown. Another bus I know has more than a few people dressed like gangsters, they crowd around the door to board, they are loud and obnoxious, and they bring food on the bus and throw the waste on the floor. About half the riders are high school kids. The first bus needs no rules, because the people are polite. The second bus might as well not have any rules, because the people are disorderly and the rules are not enforced.

I think of the Fabulous Ruins of Detroit website when I see the Crosley Building.

In the old days, it wasn't illegal to smoke on public transit, or eat, or drink. Today, it is illegal to smoke, eat, drink, or play a radio without headphones on most public transit lines. While it may not be the main factor, I'm sure that there are people who would rather drive themselves in private automobiles rather than take public transit just for the freedom to smoke, eat, drink, and play the radio. Are these rules really for public safety, or just to keep operating costs down? Airlines have no problem letting people eat and drink. Good businesses cater to their customers and don't burden them with unnecessary rules.

Time warp! That was really neat. Thanks for posting.

Got a better model?

^As if a high percentage of the automobile traffic was destined for downtown? Downtown Cincinnati contains about 14% of all of the jobs in Hamilton County. Expanding to the entire region, the percentage would be even less. Most commuters are driving from suburb to suburb.

Some photos around Race Street and Findlay Market on Opening Day 1.<br><br> 2.<br><br> 3..<br>[<br> 4.<br>[<br> 5.<br>[<br> 6.<br>[ <br> <br> 7.<br>[<br> 8.<br>[<br> 9.<br>[<br> 10.<br>[<br>

^I specifically purchased my current bicycle for riding on Cincinnati streets. I bought a mountain bike, but I traded the knobby tires for smooth ones to reduce drag and increase the speed a little bit. I also added fenders, a rack, and lights. I admit it looks a bit goofy but it does the job. My first bike was a cheap ten-speed and after about 1000 miles on city streets the rims were bent out of shape so badly that the brakes wouldn't work. Hazards that I find most troublesome are: Glass and other trash Storm sewer grates Parked car doors Interstate ramps Ice, excessive sand and gravel, or wet, slick spots Idiot drivers I'm not worried about streetcar rails.

Today at the opening day parade was a troop of 100 or so grade school kids on unicycles riding two abreast in a serpentine pattern all the way down Race street. Maybe we had better not go there, but you can guess what I was thinking. :wink:

I don't have video. I was by myself. I'll make you a deal, though. If you want to video the experiment, I'll try it again. It would be interesting to see what a cyclist can or can't do on rails. I don't have my old ten-speed anymore, though, so we'll have to come up with a bike somehow. Hey, where can I get one of those? Looks like fun.

No, I'm not kidding. I really did try it. The reason I tried it was to see if it was really a problem. Honestly, I fell pretty hard, and was surprised. I was riding at low speed, and didn't get hurt, but a lot of people saw me, and I felt really dumb. I proved to myself that streetcar rails are a hazard to bicyclists. I was on an old 10-speed bike with skinny tires, and when my front tire got caught, there was no correcting possible. That said, I TRIED to get the front tire caught, and was riding on the rail, parallel to the track. Allow me to state my conclusions again: 1. It is possible to wipe out on streetcar rails. This is a hazard. 2. In my opinion this hazard can be tolerated, and I would not allow the bicycle issue to prevent construction of streetcar rails.

I wiped out on the tracks in Elm Street in front of Music Hall, but I did in on purpose, to test the limits of what I could do. My assessment is that streetcar rails are a hazard to bicyclists, but a hazard that can be tolerated because the risk is low in comparison to the utility of streetcar service. There are other features in the street that present a greater hazard, such as storm sewer grates. It is possible that replacing the storm sewer grates with bicycle-friendly grates, or better yet eliminating the grates altogether in favor of curb inlets, along with the streetcar project will actually reduce the total hazards to bicyclists.

^ Often the new school is complete before the old one is torn down. In some cases, the new one is built right next to the old one, and for a moment there are two schools. Was that school designed by Steed, Hammond, and Paul, architects? It looks similar to other SHP schools.

As long as you aren't standing directly on the streetcar tracks, it won't hit you. The same cannot be said for automobiles. It's just an honest question. Derailments happen, but I am not worried about it because they are so rare for a system of this kind. I think the highest risk of a collision would involve a pedestrian, bicycle, or automobile that darts in front of a moving streetcar without leaving enough time for the streetcar to stop. Incidentally, Ohio law specifically states that streetcars are not allowed to hit anything, and must maintain safe following distances. You might think that it's obvious, but the same principle does NOT apply to railroads, where if there is a collision between an automobile and a train on a crossing, it is almost always ruled the fault of the automobile driver (if he even survives). I truly would like to know the reason why Duke is asking for 8 feet. The real reason may or may not be the same reason that their PR people are reporting.

You might not want to do that again. Some media outlet might pick up on it and publish it as if it were real. I recall an article from The Onion that was picked up by a Chinese news agency and published.

Just wondering,,, What is the emergency stopping distance of a streetcar compared to an automobile, at say, 25 mph?

Those are beautiful! Thanks for posting!

This isn't related to the Streetcar, but is interesting from a historical and legal perspective, and demonstrates not only the games that people play, but the nerdy stuff that I read. "After attempts by the independent management to settle the rate controversy with the City of Cincinnati by direct negotiations failed, the Company began active prosecution of the cases before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. During the hearings in the gas case, the Company proved to the satisfaction of the Commission that an emergency existed, as a result of which the Commission established an interim gas rate... ...It established a precedent that the Commission's approval of the emergency rate was upheld by the Supreme Court of Ohio...These orders of the Commission were also sustained by the Supreme Court of Ohio... Within a matter of days after receiving the Commission's orders, the City again passed new two-year ordinaces containing gas and electric rates practically identical with those prescribed in its previous ordinances which had been ruled unreasonably low by the Commission. These 1948 ordinances were, in turn, appealed to the Public Utilities Commission, which, after hearings, again ruled that the City's rates should be set aside. Ultimately, the City acquiesced in the judgement of the Commission, and rate litigation ended." - The CG&E Story

Thanks for that. The reason I brought up the two comments, "Mayor Mallory, no compromise, please," and "Duke, no compromise, please," was to demonstrate that there are two sides to the Duke controversy. I admit that a single post on a message board means almost nothing, yet politicians and corporate America pay attention to such things as a sample of public opinion. Someone took that time to post that comment, and this tells me that in the public relations battle, Duke has it's supporters just as the streetcar does. The other point that I was trying to make is that laws regulating utilities, the rates they charge, and who can or can't be protected are complicated. I know that public utilities are regulated by PUCO, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, but beyond that it is over my head. The more I know, the more I find out I don't know. Nothing is simple in construction. Always expect complications. I thnk it's safe to say that Duke's cooperation is absolutely necessary, both to relocate existing utilities in the street and also to provide electric power. In the event that Duke is sued by the City of Cincnnati, I don't think Duke is going to bend over backwards to help the City construct the streetcar project. Even if they are ulitimately legally obligated to relocate the utilities and to supply power, they may choose to take their own sweet time to get it done. No matter what happens with the infamous 8 feet of clearance, Duke absolutely has to be treated with respect for this project to be successful. Grudge matches benefit neither party.

Those commentors could have been Duke stockholders. Corporate America is extremely sensitive to stockholders, comparable to how government is sensitive to voters. If public perception is that Duke is using stockholder's assets to subsidize the utility relocation for Cincinnati Streetcar project, then Duke's stock price could be negatively affected. Duke will likely do anything it can to protect its stock price, and that includes playing hardball with the City of Cincinnati. I'm not 100% certain that Duke would be obligated to provide power in this instance. If you think Duke doesn't have a choice, I would like to see documentation for that. I think Duke and the City of Cincinnati have special contracts for street lighting and things like that, and at the minimum the sale of power for the streetcar would probably be negotiated. There IS something that Mallory has to lose, and that is goodwill with Duke. Suppose that Mallory is working with Joe the Duke utility coordinator, and Joe the utility coordinator is publicly accused of being "unreasonable" with regard to the 8 foot separation thing. Suppose that they negotiate, or go to court, or whatever, and Mallory wins. Now, suppose that Mallory wants to hook up the streetcar to the Duke grid, and Joe the utility coordinator is the man assigned to do the job. Do you think that Joe the utility coordinator is going to go out of his way to make Mallory look good? A bad relationship with Duke could delay this project by a year or more, assuming that it does in fact actually get built. The Duke issue is very important. My humble opinion is that playing hardball isn't going to make things better. I don't think that Duke is scared one bit at a lawsuit from the City of Cincinnati.

No, I don't think that Duke would refuse to sell electricity out of spite. They have already pubically stated that they support the streetcar. But, let's just say that there has already been a lot of animosity generated over the streetcar project, and on one hand Duke is being scolded for being "unreasonable" while on the other hand Duke support is absolutely necessary to provide electric power.