Posted September 11, 20168 yr I was happy to travel across state to visit Cincinnati and partake of its wonderful, victorious day of the Cincinnati Bell Connector streetcar opening on Friday, Sept. 9, 2016. I would have been happier taking a 3C Corridor train from Cleveland to Cincinnati, but alas it wasn't to be. If you're from outside Cincinnati (or even a native!) and want a tour of the streetcar, I encourage you to register for All Aboard Ohio's Fall Meeting & Family Outing (you don't need to have a family!) on Sept. 24. Details are here: http://allaboardohio.org/2016/09/05/fall-mtg-family-outing-in-cincy/ _____ So just after 7 a.m. Friday Sept. 9 I got in my car and drove to Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland. I could've taken RTA's BRT on Clifton and then to the light-rail Waterfront Line, but I thought driving there would be faster. I thought wrong. It took me 25 minutes to go 6 miles (note the right lane on Clifton Blvd is open -- it's a bus-only lane during rush hours for the BRT)... I saw a business traveler dragging a suitcase from the Waterfront Line light-rail station at East 9th to Burke. It's really not a long walk (at least in September). Here I caught my flight to Cincinnati Lunken on Ultimate Air Shuttle, which is considered a charter flight. So no TSA security check. I got to the airport waiting area with 30 minutes to spare. A dozen people got off the flight from Cincinnati. The 32-seat jet was turned around and 9 people got on for Cincinnati. All appeared to be business travelers. It is the only nonstop Cleveland-Cincinnati. Our plane climbed VERY quickly. By the time we were over my community of Lakewood (at the Rocky River, about 10 miles west of downtown), this was the view... 45 minutes and 250 miles later, we're descending into cloudy/rainy Cincinnati Lunken.... A shuttle van provided by Ultimate Air at no extra cost took a few of us into downtown Cincinnati, with the lone stop at the Cincinnatian Hotel... The rain stopped, so I walked north on Vine from the hotel to Holtman's donut shop, enjoying the terrific urbanity of Over-The-Rhine, where I met up with transit advocates from St. Louis, Kansas City, and even Poznan, Poland! Cincinnati's own Derek Bauman, Gordon Galen, Randy Simes and others joined us for the walk over to Washington Park and the speechifying. Mr. Streetcar John Schneider! With his tours to get Cincinnati's policymakers to experience Portland's streetcars and its impact on the city, he is the reason there are now two metro areas in Ohio with urban rail transit! Former Mayor Mark Mallory. "The Bell" began on his watch and under his leadership. Former Mayor Roxanne Qualls urges expansion of the streetcar. Next stop, Uptown? Northern Kentucky? City Council members Yvette Simpson and Chris Seelbach also urge expansion and give shout outs to All Aboard Ohio Vice Chair Derek Bauman. It's time to ride the five streetcars! Thanks to Derek, I rode streetcar #4 which was filled mostly with advocates... I then got lunch with friends at Taft's Ale House and then rode the streetcar with the public, listening to comments like "I can't believe I'm in Cincinnati!" and "This is so exciting!" and "F--- the streetcar!" OK, so not everyone was stoked. But most were. And I got on/off many times to capture the streetcar in its natural habitat. Please note the large number of young people! It was time to fly back home. I caught the shuttle van to Lunken at the Cincinnatian Hotel at 4:30pm and was in the air by 5:15 pm. 20 minutes later I was over downtown Columbus, which has yet to join the rail club among the 3Cs. Soon, I was above the horrible traffic on Interstate 480, just west of I-271... That was followed up by a more peaceful setting -- one of Ohio's original Transit Oriented Developments, Shaker Square, where the Blue and Green light-rail lines converge. We came in over the east and north sides of downtown Cleveland before making a VERY HARD LOOP into Burke Lakefront Airport from the west! And that was that! It was a great day for transit and urbanism in Ohio! May more Ohio's cities get on board! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 12, 20168 yr One thing I noticed when I came back from Europe where I walked and used transit only was the reverse culture shock of driving on busy highways full of pickups and SUVs.
September 12, 20168 yr Great shots of the streetcar. I also liked the shot of downtown Columbus, as I've never seen it from the air. What's up with that traffic on 480? I never imagined Cleveland having that kind of traffic unless something was under construction.
September 12, 20168 yr Great shots of the streetcar. I also liked the shot of downtown Columbus, as I've never seen it from the air. What's up with that traffic on 480? I never imagined Cleveland having that kind of traffic unless something was under construction. That's every day each direction. Thankfully, I never have to deal with it. It's pretty much three hours of rush hour in both directions. 77N is always stopped and 90 isn't the best either. Dead Man's Curve Westbound usually starts backing up around 2:30 and by 3:30 is stopped a mile and a half back. Cleveland traffic isn't that bad (especially if you choose wisely where you live/work) but it definitely has big city jams on certain routes at certain times.
September 12, 20168 yr Great shots. I was there in the late afternoon and it was still crowded. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 12, 20168 yr Great shots! Congrats Cincinnati! Great shots of the streetcar. I also liked the shot of downtown Columbus, as I've never seen it from the air. What's up with that traffic on 480? I never imagined Cleveland having that kind of traffic unless something was under construction. That's every day each direction. Thankfully, I never have to deal with it. It's pretty much three hours of rush hour in both directions. 77N is always stopped and 90 isn't the best either. Dead Man's Curve Westbound usually starts backing up around 2:30 and by 3:30 is stopped a mile and a half back. Cleveland traffic isn't that bad (especially if you choose wisely where you live/work) but it definitely has big city jams on certain routes at certain times. That looks like SFL I-95 traffic. I experienced that traffic last year driving from Youngstown to CLE. I guess that is the new norm.
September 12, 20168 yr KJP, I'm disappointed to hear of the light loads on Ultimate's morning flights. Was the afternoon flight any busier? Remember: It's the Year of the Snake
September 13, 20168 yr No. Loads were almost exactly the same. Too bad. It's a good service. Made me feel special as a customer. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 13, 20168 yr Thanks for documenting your travels and experience, KJP. I love that we have the Ultimate Air Shuttle connecting the two cities. My sister just moved to Lakewood a few months ago and my parents have already taken the shuttle to go visit for a weekend and said its absolutely the way to go. As a transit expert, what did you think about the speed and stop spacing for the streetcar? Those both seem to be points of discussion now that it has opened.
September 13, 20168 yr I'll respond in the Cincy streetcar thread... http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,18957.msg818051.html#msg818051 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
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