Gordon Bombay

He never implied that at all. He implied that it connects another large business along the route meaning there could be more potential riders.

So what you're saying is: we should get a GTO and put it on rails and hook up a diesel generator onto it, place it on the oasis line and run it to Bengals games as a publicity stunt?

Two lawyers > The guy using Google. We can sit here and nit-pick of every word for the rest of this year, but everyone's missing the key point. This is exactly what COAST wants, what "public-right-of-way" refers to is irrelevant at this time. In the event that this garbage amendment should pass, this kind of arguing would be done through lawyers and courts and hamper the project for years to come. I don't know why they even put the ten year ban on it, it would take ten years of legal battles just to figure this stupid thing out. Doesn't matter what language Finney wrote for it, doesn't matter if you even support the streetcar - this amendment is misleading and all around just bad governance.

So what happens when they want to run the Eastern Corridor trains in existing public right of way on Pete Rose Way and into the RTC?

Since the Enquirer never followed up on their Streetcar Word Association Game, I took the liberty: Queen City Discovery: "Let's Play the Streetcar Word Association Game." http://bit.ly/nvc6bU

^Were you using Google Chrome? For the longest time, Chrome was reporting Malware on the site, but I thought I had it fixed. Are you still getting it?

Did they say how long they're gonna let this go on before they reveal their "word cloud?"

The Enquirer has a handful of talented photographers, sadly, they don't use them. So much of their "photography" is done by "journalists" utilizing "Point & Shoots" or their iPhone cameras.

Sounds like the same rhetoric we heard last time when COAST was going to "kill" it. They were really successful with that. Mary Kuhl, Chris Smitherman, Tom Luken, Chris Finney - what a bunch of degenerates who never amounted to anything.

Have you been down town recently? North of the Stadium is FOrt Washington Way and what used to be parking lots is currently closed for Banks Phase II. To the East those lots are closed and currently being converted to CRP. At the South, Mehring Way and a small sliver of a lot. West, the practice fields. Where's this "Sea of Parking Lots" you speak of? As for highway and parking infrastructure around Kings Island for a Football Stadium, I use that exit on an almost daily basis. It's a mess when the ATP is in town or when the park has a busy day. Build the Streetcar, people coming to and from games would use it.

Another great endorsement by COAST! http://coast-usa.blogspot.com/search/label/Mecklenborg

^Typical Tea Party nonsense. These days everyone is some kind of tax watchdog. Chabot is just trying to pose himself as one. Given how inaccurately the local media has covered the project so far, why would they cover this any better? I sincerely doubt that they would. Again, with all the logistics involved to pull off such a "stunt" and given how it doesn't reflect the actual streetcar project it's probably not worth the time. It has been shown that the streetcar isn't a "toonville trolley," we had one on display. You could go see it for yourself.

The point is that it is a publicity stunt to build support for the project. The typical person will never see it, but they will see pictures of it in the Enquirer or on television. The boathouse tracks do not run in a street, but a portion of the boathouse tracks runs through a paved area in bicentennial park right next to a street, so it would make a good photo op. It only need run for a few weeks, and doesn't require a maintenance facility, etc. But again, it misses the point. The point of the streetcar is not photo ops and having it run through Bicentenial Park does not reflect nor would it achieve the goals of the proposed project. Renting one, modifying the tracks and then running it through that area would be a waste of money. In terms of building support, the money could be much better spent on helping to drum up support for the project or campaigning against the opposition. Not to mention, we already had a photo op and a chance for people to see it:

^But again, that misses the whole point. Why waste money on something that even you admit isn't viable transportation option (which the streetcar is), won't promote economic development (which is a key point to the project) and wouldn't run in the same fashion (as you stated before: running it on a generator). The tracks by the boathouse are nice, they'd be great for light or commuter rail and I wish they'd be used, but as a streetcar demonstrator they defeat the purpose. Mainly, they don't run in the street. It's not a viable publicity stunt, it doesn't properly represent the project and the point of a streetcar is to not just attract tourists.

That's what I was trying to say about 100 pages back. ;) I think people understood that and got that point you seemed to reiterate quite a few times. Still was a weak argument against the streetcar.

^Woah, can't believe 8th & St. said that! What a surprise.

I am now a converted Columbus Crew/MLS fan. The past few years whenever someone brought up soccer, all I'd say is "I hate soccer." And to be honest, I did. However, my experience was based on playing it as a kid, being bored watching my younger sibling's games and trying to watch the World Cup. I hated (and still kind of do) when the World Cup rolled around, because all of the sudden it seemed like everyone around me pretended to be the biggest soccer fan in Cincinnati. Things came to a head when I tried watching with a friend at a bar and every time I called it "soccer" he'd correct me and say: "No, it's football!" (he even threw in a faux accent and would say it like "fuutbawl") Some co-workers finally convinced me to join them on a trip to Columbus to see The Crew though. I love Columbus and even though I wasn't a soccer fan, I always thought they should've put an MLS team in Cincinnati at Paul Brown Stadium (which is able to accommodate a regulation soccer field). The experience was great. I loved the stadium, the atmosphere and seeing the game up close gave me a new-found respect for it. Watching it on TV never gave me that appreciation. Despite the weather and low attendance, I thought the crowd was great. The Hudson Street Hooligans are what I love seeing at games, AWESOME fan support. I had a blast and am now a Columbus Crew fan. Baseball will always be the most interesting thing in the world to me, but I have a new found appreciation for the MLS and especially The Crew. Just thought I'd share my story and wanted to say I've enjoyed reading this thread as a way to keep up with The Crew while working. I loved the video posted from Portland, that seems like a wild time. Edit: My only complaints about the game (and maybe someone can explain this better to me than my friends did): - Why does the referee just get to arbitrarily decide how much time to add on later? Couldn't someone just fake an injury and drag it out to waste time? - What is with everyone wearing scarves? It's summer. It's hot. Why the scarves?

^Is The Banks/GABP definitely cut out? Maybe, I missed that in the press release, but I thought we were still going with the downtown loop?

I got an idea, let's just build it with proven over-head wire technology.

Eight and State. I certainly understood where you were coming from with the promotion idea. However, it's not a viable one nor do I feel in any way would it have positive results. For one thing, it would cost way too much money just for a promotion of that scope nor is it similar enough to base off of as a "test project." You say it was a promotion and not viable transportation, that's just the problem - the project we support is viable transportation, not exclusively some tourist carrier. You bring in cost, but it would cost itself quite a bit just to pull this "promotion" off. While it is technically graded, the rails would probably need substantial upgrades in some places, not to mention you'd have to rip out the asphalt/bricks through the park and put in new pavement around the rails just for a "promotion." Then you have the factor of, this doesn't go anywhere. You could add track all the way to PBS, but then you're spending money on just a temporary "promotion." Not to mention, there's more physical obstacles in the way than just that paddlewheel sculpture. I can see where you're coming from though, every time I jog or bike through Sawyer Point/Friendship Park I always think how nice it would be to have a modern streetcar running those rails through that beautiful park, but the route just doesn't make sense. Even if you ended it at the coliseum, the US Dump Arena hardly ever has any big events that I think would warrant people parking far enough away just to ride this "promotion" which wouldn't even reflect the intended results of the real project. So, I'm proposing a new idea: Let's look to cities that have similar systems and see how they work out. I think Portland and Seattle have something similar, we could take a look at those, they seem pretty successful. Then lets compare demographics, I hear Portland is quite similar to Cincinnati in size and scope. If other world examples look good, lets move on with a test project like you proposed. How about we construct a loop around downtown? Maybe we'll go from The Banks, up through the CBD, to the tip of OTR and then back. If that works out, we'll continue to build off of it. Has anyone proposed an idea like that? Oh, wait... No disrespect, I enjoy reading your posts because you reflect a different viewpoint and when you stand opposed to something, you can do it in a professional way whereas COAST will call you names like we're arguing over what to trade for lunch in the 5th grade. However, throughout this topic you've consistently brought up ideas on how to put this off and be really cautious about it and taking time etc. etc. etc. That attitude is what this city has had for years. We get a good idea, we look for a way to distract from it, because hey - this is Cincinnati, then the opportunity passes or we never get around to doing it. It's time for this city to do something bold. It's time for this city to do something worth attracting young people to come and work here. I work two jobs. One downtown, one in Mason. Everyone I work with in Mason has the same "lets try a rubber tire trolley attitude," it's engrained into generation after generation. It's time we thought differently or else projects like the Streetcar end up like the subway and Cincinnati continues to be "20 years behind the times" as Mark Twain allegedly said.

Even if the plan goes forward, it seems like Wayne Lippert is still opposed, so do we have the votes since Bortz is abstaining? I know Amy Murray won't change, she's a COAST mouth piece.

^Yeah, during the last ballot initiative when Mark Miller of COAST called in, Cunningham referred to Smitherman as a "clown." Now they're best buddies.

IMHO The Banks/Riverfront has to be included. The stadiums are an area where people from outside the city come, go watch a game then leave (not all, but a lot). Having the Streetcar right at Main outside of GABP becomes an option for these people to see it and think "hey, that looks easy to navigate, lets go explore downtown."

Seems to me the reason it hasn't been built yet is because we were waiting on an environmental assessment to be completed. Now that that's done, the governor and Shannon Jones decided to add an amendment to the budget bill attempting to keep state funding from the streetcar and until that's resolved the plan is temporarily halted pending a TRAC vote. Then after that how much of it gets built.

Hasn't this been what they've been saying for years? In a day and age when Kasich and ODOT went out of their way to try and muck up the streetcar, does anyone really think they'll pursue commuter rail on the East end? I'm all for it and really wish it had been done a long time ago. The Transit Center is a nice facility and the ROW for rail is just sitting there. I was at a Reds-Cubs game last year and was walking out of GABP with some nice (seriously, not kidding) Cubs fans. As we exited the park and crossed 2nd they saw the Transit Center entrances and asked: "Is that where your subway is?" All I said was: "Don't even get me started."