Civvik

For what its worth, I've lived in 5 cities. Cincinnati, Columbus, Atlanta, Chicago and Orlando. Orlando was by far the most aggressive, then Chicago, then a distant tie between Cincy, Columbus and Atlanta. Atlanta and Orlando had similar congestion patterns and very poor connectivity. That's just my experience. I think many would agree, but everyone has a different perspective.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned what Pennsylvania is doing at the state level, but it's pretty sophisticated for this region. My old company is the main consultant - here is a link to the introductory Powerpoint that's been used at the local and county level: http://www.smart-transportation.com/assets/download/BASE-15%20Min.ppt I hope some people at ODOT are following this. I guess it helps PennDOT that its director is pro-transit.

^New York, yes. But nothing else I've ever seen in matches the Florida peninsula. I got so used to the driving culture of Florida that when I came back to Cincinnati, I was astonished at the difference.

^But it's good enough for OTR?

Hey, will this really mean people in Carthage will have no kind of community center? If that is true, maybe someone could rally the community to start a non-profit one, like in an empty storefront or maybe an empty building. You could apply for grants, even grants from the city when the economy improves.

"OTR is a good place for social services because of its access and convenience." -This is far less a complement to OTR than a damnation of every other neighborhood in greater Cincinnati. Every community should have resources and an economy that is accessible to a wide range of users. "We shouldn't treat the least among us as second-class citizens." -There is an entire swath of population in the metro area who are de-facto second class citizens because they can't operate or can't afford a car. They certainly aren't felons. This is the bigger issue, and the issue that advocates of the poor should really be focusing on.

^In South Florida this is just as much a problem of of fast, reckless Caribbean driving habits and a general lack of community identity of any kind, as it is a problem of transportation policy.

I'm too lazy.

^You're not allowed to play the game!

Please cool it with the budget debate. This is the streetcar topic; it has been established that the city has separate budgets and if you want to talk about how that bothers you, take it to: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,11021.0.html If anyone can't do this, I'm going to start doing it for you. Just a heads up.

Seeing Rodeo empty on a busy shopping day is creepy. For what it's worth, I can tell you that Palm Beach was the same way when I was there last month. We were there on a Saturday afternoon and both Palm Beach proper and City Place in West Palm were so dead, we had salespeople asking us to come in off the street.

Foam parties were so 2002.

Wow nobody's posted in this essential thread in 2 weeks! I'm gonna throw some Kina up in here:

^That drive isn't bad at all MayDay, just take a little nappy nap between the Franklin county line and Mason. Works wonders. Hmmm...Cincinnati. Had my Dodge Neon broken into in Northside in '97, ripped the steering column clean open. Too bad they didn't steal it. That's the only time I've been victim of a crime in CHI, ATL, Orlando or Cincy.

The UO moderators don't classify topics as much as they manage emerging conversations. For example, the 3C Corridor and the Columbus Streetcar might both use rail, but the media coverage, laws and real-life groups behind each movement are very different, and so are the groups of people within our forum who participate in each conversation.

^There needs to be a new social services moratorium OTR. I don't care how unfair, unconstitutional or politically incorrect that is. Put this shit in Queensgate.

What is the scary bird on the side of the train?

http://www.newsweek.com/id/224968

^You can count me as one of those people who'll have a Florida plate in an Ohio driveway. :/

You guys are so sneaky...

I don't have any special themes set. Everything looks great on my computer.

^I suggest you do not open a response with a command, it comes across as bit hostile. I don't confuse anything with anyone. Did you know that Germans poll roughly the same as Americans on the issue? Around 50%, depending on the poll. Even lower than the Spanish, who are entirely Catholic. And of course they have mobilized social conservatives, like the CSU. Bavaria, Saxony and Theuringen wouldn't even recognize the damn law when it was passed. If the Germans were truly much more open minded, I believe their movement would have gone right for marriage. The German partnership law was a compromise between liberal and conservative wings in the Bundestag. I imagine that in the 90's when this debate was going on over there, polls could have looked similar to California in 2006: 32% felt that they should be allowed to marry. 32% felt that they should be allowed to form civil unions or domestic partnerships, but not be allowed to marry. 32% felt that their relationships should not be legally recognized at all. 4% were unsure or did not respond. When allowed only the choice between two alternatives, the results were: 51% oppose the availability of same-sex marriage. 43% favor the availability of same-sex marriage. 6% were unsure or did not respond. http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_marp.htm

I've said this before and I'll say it again. America's gay rights movement fucked up big time when it grabbed right for the marriage title. Going for domestic partnership status first would have been a smarter way. And for those who think that pursuing it that way, like Germany did, would forever cement gay relationships as second-class, I give you the first paragraph from the Wikipedia article on Germany's domestic partnership law: "Since 1 August 2001, Germany has allowed registered partnerships (Eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaft) for same-sex couples. These partnerships initially provided many but not all of the rights of marriage, and currently provide all except joint adoption and full tax benefits. As of 22 October 2009, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany has ruled that all the rights and obligations of marriage be extended to same-sex registered partners[1]." That's exactly how it would happen here, given time. Instead the gay rights movement crystalized a whole new generation of reactionary conservatives.