^I don't understand what this guy is talking about in terms of fare projections

 

"The streetcar people keep sliming every naysayer they come across, but I truly believe the naysayers are just trying to get them to deal in reality, not a field of dreams where if you build it they will come. Yes, I've moved to Covington, but somewhere down the line my tax dollars will also be spent on this fiasco and the more I see this project develop from a fiscal standpoint I truly believe it's being developed in virtual reality."

 

well maybe that is because the counter argument the naysayers make is 'it just isn't going to work' without any real support for their claims

The comment is retarted from every perspective.  I just wrote out a whole post that explained the logical failings, but frankly, its pointless.  The only folks playing hide the facts are the folks who say "it just won't work" and its because they lack the facts to support this supposition.

According to DCI, in 2007, 7,684,983 visitors attended a Recreational, Performance, Festival, or Museum event in venues along the Riverfront/CBD/OTR portion of the streetcar line. That means on average there were 21,054 visitors downtown attending events every day. That is in addition to the 13,000 or so people will live and the 90,000 or so people who work along phase 1A of the streetcar line.

 

And yet people say it doesn't go anywhere and no one will ride it.

 

(Tall stack wasn't held last year, in tall stacks years that number increases by about a million)

(This also doesn't include 1.2 million visits to the museum center)

I understand its human nature, but I've really noticed it as a transplant, the people who complain loudest about nothing ever changing complain the loudest when things change. For instance Fountain Square, guys I work with who haven't been there in eight years complain the loudest about how its changed.

It wouldn't be bad if it was constructive criticism, but it seems especially spiteful, or is it me? Someone else had mentioned this before, if it happened in Newport, everyone would use it as a shining example of how they get things done and Cincinnati doesn't.

 

Has anyone asked who owns all the empty buildings along the proposed streetcar route in Over-the-Rhine and stands to benefit? I drive this route multiple times a week on my way to Findlay Market, and I know the answer. Maybe a newspaper, say CityBeat, might want to investigate and report on this situation.

 

-- Patrick Garland, Covington

 

 

I hear this argument all the time, and can't for the life of me bring myself to understand it. Isn't the whole point to drive reinvestment in this area? Isn't the whole point to make these buildings viable and useful again? It just baffles me that naysayers believe this is all some scam to benefit the Big Bad Real Estate Developer.

 

Doesn't it make sense that people who own property there would be supporters of the streetcar?

 

To answer your question specifically, Mr. Garland, the owners of the buildings along the routes are developers such as Greg Hardman and Martin Wade who have purchased blocks of buildings in large part due to the anticipation of the streetcar. That's what real estate prospectors do. And there's more to come. Tell me - how is this a bad thing again??? :weird:

According to DCI, in 2007, 7,684,983 visitors attended a Recreational, Performance, Festival, or Museum event in venues along the Riverfront/CBD/OTR portion of the streetcar line.  That means on average there were 21,054 visitors downtown attending events every day.  That is in addition to the 13,000 or so people will live and the 90,000 or so people who work along phase 1A of the streetcar line.

 

And yet people say it doesn't go anywhere and no one will ride it.

 

(Tall stack wasn't held last year, in tall stacks years that number increases by about a million)

(This also doesn't include 1.2 million visits to the museum center)

 

7,684,983 is more than the populations of the cities of Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington DC combined.

Has anyone else noticed the massively increased frequency of articles in national media regarding America being screwed because we don't have a decent rail system?  Everyone is facing the same gas crunch and people are finally realizing that it's not going to end.  The streetcar needs to get built NOW.  A LOT has changed since the proposal was first brought on the table, and it's becoming more of a pride issue than anything with the naysayers.  The longer it gets debated the more difficult the next few years are going to be for everyone.  TAKE THE MONEY FROM ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS!!!  No one going to be using those fancy roads in a few years anyway.  (That was an overstatement.)  But seriously, people want to take transit but bus systems just are facing the same financial crunch. 

 

Okay, rant over.  I realize that this was not constructive at all, but I just had to get it out.  It was festering.

 

To answer your question specifically, Mr. Garland, the owners of the buildings along the routes are developers such as Greg Hardman and Martin Wade who have purchased blocks of buildings in large part due to the anticipation of the streetcar.  That's what real estate prospectors do.  And there's more to come.  Tell me - how is this a bad thing again??? :weird:

 

If RE investors show no interest, the naysayers will say streetcars don't work (and obviously they would be right). However, if investors show interest, investors are made out to be greedy.

"I understand its human nature, but I've really noticed it as a transplant, the people who complain loudest about nothing ever changing complain the loudest when things change. For instance Fountain Square, guys I work with who haven't been there in eight years complain the loudest about how its changed.

It wouldn't be bad if it was constructive criticism, but it seems especially spiteful, or is it me? Someone else had mentioned this before, if it happened in Newport, everyone would use it as a shining example of how they get things done and Cincinnati doesn't. "

 

I couldn't agree more. I am also a transpant.  Cincinnati is full of nothing but potential, but the same people who complain about the city, don't WANT it to change.  This city is self-loathing.  It's extremely frustrating.  Between the sensationalized WLWT story (who can't find drugs in the inner city at 4am!?) and the quote in the paper that a woman from colerain made to mayor mallory (I would come downtown if it weren't for the piles of bodies)?!  REALLY? 

 

The only thing I can think is that these feelings are perpetuated by media outlets, specifically 700wlw.  They rant and rave about falsehoods while targeting undereducated, provincial, and mostly racist audience.

^yup.    I strongly believe that the root of that perception lies with our IRRISPONSIBLE JOURNALIST and other media outlets who KNOW things are/have been changing for the better over the years.

 

But, "If it bleeds, it leads!"       

>Isn't the whole point to drive reinvestment in this area?  Isn't the whole point to make these buildings viable and useful again?

 

Right, on one hand people say it won't encourage investment, but then I suspicious that it's all a scam led by a few people looking to make out big. 

 

>Everyone is facing the same gas crunch and people are finally realizing that it's not going to end

 

Not even close to everyone...I just talked to someone yesterday whose neighbor drives daily to teach at Wright State University, about 110 miles round-trip.  He himself "needs premium" for his Acura, and is convinced that the high gas prices are "all political".  Meanwhile on talk radio they complain about people siphoning gas but then argue against electric-powered rail transit.  It's amazing to witness.   

 

^ That very driver right there is the audience of WLW.  Think about AM radio -- long distance range, does frequent traffic updates.  They have a captive audience of primarily exurb+ commuters. 

 

I think the whole its "all political" thing is absolutely hilarious.  I keep hearing that and it always comes from a mouth that will say "I just don't believe it" after I lay out all the facts about the projected future costs of oil and gasoline.  Its really funny when you lead with "Have you ever heard of Goldman Sachs?  GS is predicting $7 a gallon gas in 2 years and oil at $150 - $200 a barrell"... Which is immediately followed by "I just don't believe it".

 

Its really getting on my nerves, these folks say "prove it," I lay out the facts and figures, and their only response is "I just don't believe it?"

 

Makes me very very angry.

^ It depends on what that guy means by "all political".  If he means that the reason we're in our current predicament is because of political games that have been played by both major parties over the last several decades, he's partly right.  We're sitting on a ton of oil that we're not allowing ourselves to drill, which allows OPEC to determine (for the most part) our level of supply.  Additionally, the level of demand is ratcheting up steadily with China, India, and others industrializing.  On top of that, we don't have enough refineries and can't build more, yet our environmental laws require that we refine dozens of varieties of gasoline instead of going the cheaper route of having just a few.  Meanwhile, historically the US has enjoyed ridiculously cheap gasoline (compared to most of the world) and we have unfortunately allowed our rail infrastructure to decay because of it, meaning that a major spike in the price of oil could be devastating in the short term because we're now totally dependent on it via driving, flying, and shipping. 

 

So from a purely objective standpoint of "could US gas prices be cheaper if the gov't would just get out of the way?" then obviously the answer is yes.  We might not like that alternative either though, as we'd have to drill in places that we don't want to, build refineries that no one wants to live near, drop laws designed to protect our environment, and stop subsidizing "alternative sources of energy"; all of which would make us even more dependent on cheap oil and thus more vulnerable.

 

I'm perfectly fine with gas prices skyrocketing.  It's going to be painful, but it's a gut check that will force this country to finally address the woeful state of our rail system across the board, from streetcars to light rail to high speed regional passenger rail to freight.  In the long run it will be good for us, as there is finally an economic incentive to investigate new technologies which will help reestablish us as a technological power and make us less dependent on other nations.

 

All of that said, I doubt this guy had thought all of that through, and probably just believes that politicians are somehow artificially inflating the price of oil to have a hot button issue to use in their reelection campaigns.

 

/EDIT: This post might have been more at home in the Peak Oil thread.  Oh well...

>Isn't the whole point to drive reinvestment in this area?  Isn't the whole point to make these buildings viable and useful again?

 

Right, on one hand people say it won't encourage investment, but then I suspicious that it's all a scam led by a few people looking to make out big. 

 

It is what it is. Hardcore suburbanites are going to think its a scam because they know they are never going to reap the rewards of the investment. They already know that, no matter how nice OTR becomes, they are never going to live, work, or play there. So, as far as they are concerned, it's just another subsidy for all those poor people in OTR.

 

(Of course, ironically, lots of the poor people in OTR also consider the streetcar a "scam" because they don't think they'll reap the rewards either. They see it as a ploy for all the rich white suburbanites to come in and steal their neighborhood.)

^ LOL!  True!

Apparently channel 9 is around Fountain Square right now, asking for people's opinion on the proposed streetcar.  Should we anticipate that is will be overly negative and probably include comments like:

 

"I dont want the streetcar running near Court St which is overrun by male prostitutes and Drug Dealers" 

 

"How can streetcars get around the inevitable pile of bodies?" 

 

"The streetcar is for all the criminals to come down to Fountain Sq and Paul Brown Stadium to rape and pillage."

 

I can imagine the tease for the story-

"Channel 9 went to the streets to ask Bill Cunningham's listeners their opinion on the Streetcar to nowhere, which happens to run through the crack dealer and male prostitute's territory".

 

....which will be immediately followed by "...and gas prices hit a record high today.  Find out how high the prices are in the tri-state"

^ Mike Moose, Dan Deering and I met with Clyde Gray of Channel 9 for an hour last week. He watched our PowerPoint presentation and had a lot of very informed questions.

 

 

 

 

I understand its human nature, but I've really noticed it as a transplant, the people who complain loudest about nothing ever changing complain the loudest when things change. For instance Fountain Square, guys I work with who haven't been there in eight years complain the loudest about how its changed.

 

It wouldn't be bad if it was constructive criticism, but it seems especially spiteful, or is it me? Someone else had mentioned this before, if it happened in Newport, everyone would use it as a shining example of how they get things done and Cincinnati doesn't.

 

I don't think I could have said it better myself.  It is most often the people who haven't been into the City for many years who are the most outspoken about it being terrible.  The people who are in the City on a more than 9-5 basis seem to have opposite feelings.

 

But for some reason these opinions don't count or have weight.  It reminds me a lot of how everyone wants to know how Joe Sixpack and the grounded people in rural America feel about politics...essentially discarding any thoughts/opinions of those that live in cities.  Obviously their opinions are skewed since they have been poisoned with diversity/culture. :)

It reminds me a lot of how everyone wants to know how Joe Sixpack and the grounded people in rural America feel about politics...essentially discarding any thoughts/opinions of those that live in cities.  Obviously their opinions are skewed since they have been poisoned with diversity/culture.

 

I think the media just assumes that they already understand everyone's opinion in the city/suburbs, since that's where all of the major newspapers, radio stations, and TV networks are based, and that's what they cover 95% of the time.  Meanwhile, they treat rural places like a third world country, only covering disaster stories there, so whenever an election rolls around they're somehow fascinated that these people have political opinions on a national scale.

About the media

Some of my colleagues are also very set in their beliefs so no matter what you say' date=' they won't change their beliefs.[/quote']

 

But he scolds us

To form opinions about them[journalists] with little experience is to make the same mistake you accuse them of making.

 

And they are making the same mistakes we are so its a vicious cycle. But I believe the few journalist who are sympathetic to the streetcar probably are not allowed to portray it professionally.

 

"Gas pushes above $3.67 a gallon, while oil passes $126 on Venezuela supply concerns

 

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil rose above $126 a barrel for the first time Friday, bringing its advance this week to nearly $10, as investors questioned whether a possible confrontation between the U.S. and Venezuela could cut exports from the OPEC member. Gas prices, meanwhile, rose above an average $3.67 a gallon at the pump, following oil's recent path higher."

 

And the Cincinnati backstory is ...

 

At $126, a barrel of oil now costs $100 more than it cost on November 5, 2002 when Hamilton County voters defeated an extensive plan for transportation choices here. Economists hired to study the plan concluded that it would cost an average Hamilton County family $68 per year, about what I paid for a tank of gas last week.

 

The plan defeated in 2002 would have built sixty miles of light rail in five corridors: along I-74 to Green Township; I-75 to Tri-County; I-71 to Blue Ash; and a line from Uptown through Hyde Park to Newtown. Another rail line would have enabled Cincinnatians to travel across the county without having to go downtown and transfer. There were two streetcar lines, a 25% increase in the bus fleet, new bus routes and neighborhood hubs and more hours of bus service. When the plan was fully built-out by 2030, 95% of Hamilton County residents would have transit within a mile of their homes. It would be nice to have that option now.

 

The first line to be built, the Northeast Corridor, would have linked Downtown with Uptown, Xavier and Blue Ash on a route roughly parallel to I-71. At the time of the Hamilton County vote in 2002, the Federal Transit Administration rated the expected performance of the Northeast Corridor project to be equal to similar rail project planned for Norfolk. Neither city's project was recommended to receive Federal funds at that time because Cincinnati and Norfolk hadn't yet agreed to match a Federal commitment with local funds. At the time of the vote here, rail opponents waved the bloody shirt of Cincinnati's "Not Recommended" rating as proof of our project's unworthiness. The plain truth was, and is, the Feds won't commit any money for rail projects unless the locals do. As it should be.

 

Cincinnati said no. Norfolk said yes, got its Federal commitment, and its project is now under construction.

 

As we ponder a breathtaking 500% rise in the price of oil in less than six years, maybe it's time to start planning for a balanced transportation system here once again. Building the Cincinnati Streetcar is a start.

 

 

And they are making the same mistakes we are so its a vicious cycle. But I believe the few journalist who are sympathetic to the streetcar probably are not allowed to portray it professionally.

 

"They"? As if all people who work in the same field all think alike? Where is that ever the case?? And to suggest that a bias or slant is controlled by editors is incredibly naive. No editor I've worked for has had the time or inclination to rework a reporter's story so as to conform to some bias or managerial instruction. This sounds like some sort of conspiracy theory, which is what impatient and uneducated people usually resort to to explain something of which they have little or no understanding.

 

As we ponder a breathtaking 500% rise in the price of oil in less than six years, maybe it's time to start planning for a balanced transportation system here once again. Building the Cincinnati Streetcar is a start.

 

All good points. Look to the future. Check out the peak oil thread. Scary stuff.

No editor I've worked for has had the time or inclination to rework a reporter's story so as to conform to some bias or managerial instruction.

 

Interesting as I knew more than a few reporters at the Youngstown Vindicator who ran into brickwalls all the time in what they wanted to write vs. what the management wanted them to say. We always got our breaking news from the Plain Dealer.

I even knew knew an editor who went to bat for a writer and then ended up quiting in discuss and taking a job in another state.

So I don't feel I'm talking out my ass.

I'm interested to learn more about that. My cousin and his wife used to work as reporters at the Vindicator and never reported any problems. When I ran OARP's Cleveland-Pittsburgh Corridor Campaign that promoted expanded passenger rail service in the 1980s and 1990s, I dealt with two Vindicator reporters during those years and also had no problems. Maybe your friends did, but as any reporter would hopefully do, I would get more than one source before reaching a conclusion.

The plan defeated in 2002 would have built sixty miles of light rail in five corridors: along I-74 to Green Township; I-75 to Tri-County; I-71 to Blue Ash; and a line from Uptown through Hyde Park to Newtown. Another rail line would have enabled Cincinnatians to travel across the county without having to go downtown and transfer. There were two streetcar lines, a 25% increase in the bus fleet, new bus routes and neighborhood hubs and more hours of bus service. When the plan was fully built-out by 2030, 95% of Hamilton County residents would have transit within a mile of their homes. It would be nice to have that option now.

 

The first line to be built, the Northeast Corridor, would have linked Downtown with Uptown, Xavier and Blue Ash on a route roughly parallel to I-71. At the time of the Hamilton County vote in 2002, the Federal Transit Administration rated the expected performance of the Northeast Corridor project to be equal to similar rail project planned for Norfolk. Neither city's project was recommended to receive Federal funds at that time because Cincinnati and Norfolk hadn't yet agreed to match a Federal commitment with local funds. At the time of the vote here, rail opponents waved the bloody shirt of Cincinnati's "Not Recommended" rating as proof of our project's unworthiness. The plain truth was, and is, the Feds won't commit any money for rail projects unless the locals do. As it should be.

 

Cincinnati said no. Norfolk said yes, got its Federal commitment, and its project is now under construction.

 

You're bumming me out John.  I agree with you 110%, of course, but I hate thinking about how far along that project would have been if it hadn't been voted down.

Anyone know what the gas prices was like back in 2002?

I'm tired of hearing about gas prices.  I wish it would go up o $200 a barrel already.  It's legal robbery.  It will hopefully help the suburbanites agree to get a mass transit plan together.

$1.36 I think on nov 5 2002

Small world KJP, thats pretty wild, what were their names?

I guess depending on what they reported on, maybe they never had cause to ruffle any feathers or step on toes?

I can't imagine mass transit would even be on the radar in Youngstown. Poland, Canfield and Austintown make the Westside here look relativity liberal.

 

You're still killing me though, "getting more than one source", sort of like the one-sided reporting here?

Lets meet one Fountain square and hug it out.  :-D

 

 

    I would be cautious about placing so much weight on gas prices in a transit discussion.

 

    At first glance, one might say, "With gas prices so high, how am I going to get to work? We need to build more transit."

 

  However, the situation is more complicated than that, and gas prices change everything. For example, how many jobs will be lost due to high gas prices?

 

    There are two schools of thought. One says that more people will stop driving and use transit. Indeed, transit ridership is up. The other school of thought is that the economy as a whole will turn down. That seems to be happening as well, in combination.

There are two schools of thought. One says that more people will stop driving and use transit. Indeed, transit ridership is up. The other school of thought is that the economy as a whole will turn down. That seems to be happening as well, in combination.

 

I agree that the situation is more complex, but the economic downturn can only last so long.  Eventually the market will be forced to correct itself to the point that "high" gas prices aren't an issue any longer.  This could come in the form of denser/more walkable communities, higher transit use, the tapping of domestic oil reserves (which is a bad idea), or even the fast pursuit of something like hydrogen fuel cells.

 

While I love to hope that we become this compact society that enjoys public transit...I tend to think that the escalating gas prices will only further the development of hydrogen fuel cells that still allow for the rampant use of the automobile.  Maybe I'm a cynic, but I just don't know that the US will ever reach the stage that many of us would like it to.

There is a pretty good article about the increase in mass transit in the New York Times today.  Here is a link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/business/10transit.html

^---"I agree that the situation is more complex, but the economic downturn can only last so long."

 

    Not necessarily. See the Peak Oil thread.

 

  "...escalating gas prices will only further the development of hydrogen fuel cells."

 

    Gimme a break. Hydrogen also comes from petroleum and costs more than gasoline. There is no alternative to petroleum powered internal combustion engines in terms of range, cost, and ease of use. 

 

    High gas prices do not encourage the use of so-called alternatives. If the alternatives are unaffordable now, they will be even more unaffordable when accompanied by high gas prices.

 

    Getting back to the topic of streetcars, my point is that high gasoline prices will not necessarily translate into higher transit ridership in the long term.

^---"I agree that the situation is more complex, but the economic downturn can only last so long."

 

    Not necessarily. See the Peak Oil thread.

 

I tend to think that as a nation the U.S. will eventually find a way out of this economic downturn.

 

Gimme a break. Hydrogen also comes from petroleum and costs more than gasoline. There is no alternative to petroleum powered internal combustion engines in terms of range, cost, and ease of use.

 

High gas prices do not encourage the use of so-called alternatives. If the alternatives are unaffordable now, they will be even more unaffordable when accompanied by high gas prices.

 

It could be hyrdogen fuel cells or whatever...my point is that instead of giving up our addiction to automobiles we will instead use innovation to find a way that will allow us to continue the same auto-centric lifestyles.

 

Getting back to the topic of streetcars, my point is that high gasoline prices will not necessarily translate into higher transit ridership in the long term.

 

We agree on this...I don't know where I could have been more clear.

Small world KJP, thats pretty wild, what were their names?

 

Tom and Cynthia Petzinger.

 

I guess depending on what they reported on, maybe they never had cause to ruffle any feathers or step on toes?

 

Would organized crime exposes' qualify?

 

I can't imagine mass transit would even be on the radar in Youngstown. Poland, Canfield and Austintown make the Westside here look relativity liberal.

 

We got a lot of support from the cities of Youngstown, Lordstown and the Mahoning Valley COG, all of which funded my campaign. Since the rail line didn't pass through the southern and western suburbs, I didn't ask for their support. But the Youngstown Chamber of Commerce was stingy with its support, despite tag-teaming by myself and then-Rep. Bob Hagan.

 

You're still killing me though, "getting more than one source", sort of like the one-sided reporting here?

Lets meet one Fountain square and hug it out. :-D

 

Nah, I think this thread covers the streetcar proposal pretty well. It's helped me cover this issue for my other job with All Aboard Ohio. And Fountain Square is a long and expensive trip for me in the absence of alternatives, like 3-C Corridor train service.

 

...hydrogen will save us.... blah blah blah..... everything will be fine even after peak oil....blah blah blah....

 

We have a discussion thread for this. Please make use of it. Perhaps you will take into consideration that the world as you know it is about to change, including in ways none of us can predict. In fact the change is already starting.

...hydrogen will save us.... blah blah blah..... everything will be fine even after peak oil....blah blah blah....

 

We have a discussion thread for this. Please make use of it. Perhaps you will take into consideration that the world as you know it is about to change, including in ways none of us can predict. In fact the change is already starting.

 

First of all, I said nothing of what you put in the quotes...unless of course you extrapolate my simple mentioning of hydrogen fuel cells (in a neither positive or negative manner) as a sign that I am clueless on the topic then I guess I get it.

 

Perhaps before you start acting like a complete jerk and ridicule me you should learn who I am and what I'm about...and yes I know about the other discussion and I apologize for responding to something others brought up in this conversation.

I just got a call from a waitress in South Carolina to provide information about the Cincinnati Streetcar to one of her customers who is from Cincinnati and was discussing the proposal with the other vacationers at the table.

 

John- I am beginning to understand what you meant when you said 'take over your life'

a

And to suggest that a bias or slant is controlled by editors is incredibly naive. No editor I've worked for has had the time or inclination to rework a reporter's story so as to conform to some bias or managerial instruction. This sounds like some sort of conspiracy theory,

 

Indeed, it does. Just as the idea that incentivized lobbyists penetrating mass media via journalism sounds like one.

Here are the early action items from the Uptown Transportation Study a couple of years ago. Anyone see anything in here calling for an Uptown-Downtown Streetcar?

 

TRANSIT

• Uptown Shuttle Service

    • Add shuttle connection at Peebles Corner

    • Add Uptown Circulator

• Metro Service

    • Add bus shelters with route and schedule information at major stops

    • Install new bus stop signs

    • Select bus trips on Clifton, Vine and Reading will skip stops to improve bus travel times

    • Create an Uptown transit map

 

KJP my observation of journalists was that like the general population there were very few who really understood transit and the types of issues that are discussed in the kind of detail that they are on this site.  It's kind of like how the Dysart Woods coal mining story in Vinton County keeps getting dragged on year after year and nobody at the papers I worked at really knew a lot about it or was passionate about it and it turned into an eye-rolling nuisance of an ongoing story.  I think that's how a lot of these journalists like Peter Bronson think about the streetcar and light rail proposals in Cincinnati.  It's a little twerp of a story which can be easily dismissed as the child of environmental wackos and the light rail mafia.  They think of transit as a toy and a subsidy and that's that. 

 

Also just like any workplace the attitudes of the dominant personalities shape what is covered.  No, maybe editors don't dabble too often with the wording of individual stories, but they definitely decide what is covered and what is dropped.

Jake, I agree that journalists are pretty representative of the population, except that we're probably more skeptical because we're used to being lied to. We also distrust all true believers and recognize that nothing ever gets built as planned. Journalists' bosses also aren't much different than bosses in any other work place -- they let their biases and experiences into their judgments which is unavoidable unless they were born yesterday. But they do try to conform to journalistic rules of news presentation, such as AP Wire Style, story forms and presenting source-driven information (we can't even write "Mr. Smith believed the streetcar would succeed" -- we have to say "Mr. Smith said he believed the streecar would succeed" since no one knows what another person believes, wants or dislikes). If you've got a good editor, meeting journalistic rules is ultimately their first priority. If you're a decent reporter, they'll concern themselves less with the news content of your articles.

 

With my 25 years experience in passenger rail advocacy and 15 years working at a newspaper, allow me to give these free tips to streetcar advocates wishing to work with the media....

 

Get to know the reporter. Read what they've written or covered in the past. Many of the articles or pieces they've done were probably assigned, but every so often we get to cover things we want. Find out what interests them and congratulate them on articles/pieces they've done that you remember. Ego stroking goes a long way!

 

Sit down and have a cup of coffee or whatever with the reporter (meet them in a neighborhood that's transit friendly and vibrant!). Don't offer to buy their drink -- you'll make them suspicious. Talk to them like a real person who you don't want anything from. Build a rapport based on mutual respect. And keep your enthusiasm for your issue on low simmer. Don't start gushing about streetcars -- you'll come across as a goofy geek.

 

Ask the reporter about their editor and if they like where they work. All of this is so you can tailor your message to the audience. Also ask them about places they've traveled to. If they've been to cities with good transit and healthy urban centers, ask them what they liked about that city. They may still be skeptical if Cincinnati can be like transit-friendly cities -- give a cautious response. Tell them the city should start small since change doesn't happen overnight. Many other auto-centric cities (Denver, Portland, San Diego) didn't build huge rail systems overnight either.

 

If they don't like cities or have no experience with transit-friendly cities, find out what their politics are. If they're more liberal, you can tout the streetcar's ability to plant a seed of a lifestyle in which people of all incomes and backgrounds can thrive without a car. If they're more conservative, you can tout the economic development abilities of the streetcar. If they're still not sold, ask them straight out what would they want to see from the streetcar that would interest them.

 

But by all means start to get to know the person. Don't be phony, demanding, condescending or otherwise treating the reporter as some blank sheet of paper that you can color. They aren't going to repeat on paper or on air what you believe. You can't control what they say. But you can add to their experiences, and we are all shaped by our experiences.

 

We will say bad things about streetcars/transit if we've had bad experiences with them or if we have no experiences with transit but rely on the experiences of others whom we respect for their good judgment. In time, you can be one of those whom they will rely on for your good judgment.

^ That is great advice - and its the way to approach the issue with all sorts of people, not just journalists.

KJP I agree with your advice...obviously there are many pro athletes who have managed to tick off local & national sportswriters and when the tide shifts it's over for that person, most recently Chad Johnson.  I personally avoid writing and speaking at these events because I get too fired up and know I'm possibly undermining the cause, aside from the fact I always am running into people from high school, relatives, and friends of relatives.

 

 

> And keep your enthusiasm for your issue on low simmer. Don't start gushing about streetcars -- you'll come across as a goofy geek.

 

You're reinforcing my argument about reporters and opinion writers like Peter Bronson.  I've seen him in public a few times and he never appears to be truly engaged and passionate about whatever is happening.  He's got his mind made up but makes a token appearance at an event to show his cohorts that he's made an effort to hear the opposition. 

 

My deep, dark, ultra-secret inside sources tell me that the office environment at The Enquirer is very stale and coorporate, and to quote somebody who left, "nobody cares".  I was very lucky in my journalistic dabblings (mostly as a photographer) to be around people who cared and I certainly cared about what we were doing.  But these local media figures here don't take Cincinnati seriously because they don't see it as a respectable place to end a career and laugh at anyone who is passionate about the city.  Like when Scott Sloan called Jim Tarbell a dreamer and then hung up on him. 

 

 

^Did someone say something about a streetcar?

Also, no one seems to ever bring up the point about the timeline for this thing.

 

The streetcar plans to run in 2011 (1Q? 2Q?)  What's OTR going to look like 3 years from now?  I think everyone anticipates more investment, more redevelopment, more residents between now and then.  By the time the first car runs from Findlay Market to the Banks (of which phase I will be wrapping up), OTR is going to look much better than today.  So this thing about the thieves and crackheads getting a cheap ride from Liberty St. to Fountain Square isn't entirely accurate either.

Gas is now $3.95/gallon.  My parents (Green Twp), who voted against the light-rail ballot measure a couple years ago (much against my advice), are now regretting their decision and wish that Cincinnati had the alternative transportation options that many other cities have.

 

My mother actually heard a local news report about how many cities are now having their rail lines nearing completion due to their approval years ago (same situation that Cincy was in)...and how many people in those cities are happy with not only the amount of money they're saving, but also the amount of time.

^

 

oh wait a minute...  CRAP!

 

 

 

Press Release

 

Streetcars and Cities in the 21st Century

A national workshop about streetcars THURSDAY, MAY 22, in Los Angeles.

 

May 11, 2008

 

WHY STREETCARS? WHY NOW? The tremendous success of the Portland Streetcar has stimulated interest in streetcars across the U.S. because it proved a powerful magnet for economic development, stimulating $3.5 billion investment in two new walkable downtown neighborhoods. The brand new Seattle streetcar is having similar success in South Lake Union. San Francisco’s F-Line streetcar has played an important role in the rebirth of the Embarcadero as a walkable, transit-oriented neighborhood since the freeway was taken down. And streetcars have promoted economic development and investment in walkable, higher-density, mixed-use neighborhoods in communities as diverse as Kenosha, Wisconsin, Tampa, and Little Rock.

 

Streetcar projects help transform urban centers by:

 

• Linking disparate places into SOMEplace, and proving a boon for pedestrians and streetlife, galleries, clubs, restaurants and shops;

• Helping to market walkable, higher density residential and mixed-use neighborhoods and a “green lifestyle”;

• Connecting destinations to regional rail and bus, and creating neighborhoods that make it possible to live without a car;

• Leveraging private investment to achieve public goals like affordability, sustainability, and high-quality public space.

 

Streetcars are cheaper than other rail transit (affordable even for small cities), fit easily into built environments, they’re energy efficient, and they are strong and proven economic development engines for revitalizing neighborhoods. Streetcar neighborhoods can serve as models of sustainability where walkability, mixed-use and proximity to transit help reduce driving, transportation expenditures, greenhouse gas emissions and dependency on foreign oil.

 

TALK TO THE NATIONAL EXPERTS AT THIS STREETCAR WORKSHOP IN LOS ANGELES -- THE LAST IN A SERIES OF FOUR NATIONAL WORKSHOPS BASED ON THE AWARD-WINNING BOOK STREET SMART: STREETCARS AND CITIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY. HOSTED BY RECONNECTING AMERICA AND THE SEASIDE INSTITUTE. TO REGISTER AND FOR INFO GO TO WWW.THESEASIDEINSTITUTE.ORG. AICP CREDITS AVAILABLE.

 

 

 

Related Link: The Seaside Institute

 

For more information contact:

 

Natasha Daggs

Reconnecting America

436 14th St. #1005

Oakland

California 94612

USA

 

 

Phone:  323-304-2304

Email:  [email protected]

Web:  http://www.reconnectingamerica.org

 

Streetcars are cheaper than other rail transit (affordable even for small cities)

 

^That quote from the above article strikes me as being extremely important.  I don't know what the relationship between the Cincy streetcar and the state of Ohio is or will be during the construction process, but it seems to me that if it isn't set up in a way in which the rolling stock, maintainance, purchasing etc., could eventually be available and workable for other municipalities in the State, we'll be missing out on a great opportunity.