July 19, 201014 yr "It sounds like you have given up, fortunately we haven't." "It's amazing what we don't do with the knowledge that we already have." -M. King Hubbert
July 19, 201014 yr The U.S. Census projects that Ohio will peak in population in 2018 and decline thereafter. This projection is based on the age-cohort method. This is a VERY powerful projection, and it goes against the general consensus. Did I miss the announcement? Are we running the streetcar all over Ohio now? Nice! Can you tell me what the US Census projects for the Cincinnati MSA? That might be relevant to this conversation.
July 19, 201014 yr "It sounds like you have given up, fortunately we haven't." "It's amazing what we don't do with the knowledge that we already have." -M. King Hubbert So what are you arguing for, exactly?
July 19, 201014 yr Also, the Cincinnati MSA has been growing by 100,000-200,000 per decade, matching the number it grew by when Cincinnati grew by its highest per-decade percentages back 1840-1860. So while percentage-wise growth has slowed, the growth in actual people is still significant. Meanwhile, job growth has risen at a much higher rate. 50 years ago maybe 25% of women had jobs whereas maybe 75% today. Women entering the workforce has had a dramatic effect on traffic congestion, and since percentage-wise there are now relatively few women left to enter the workforce that haven't, auto traffic can't possibly increase at the same rates. This should be a big part of the conversation about I-75 and the bridge, but it's a little too complicated for The Enquirer or talk radio to understand.
July 19, 201014 yr Author The Enquirer has another blog post up regarding whether or not buses could achieve the same results as the streetcar- http://cincinnati.com/blogs/opinionati/2010/07/19/clang-clang-clang-goes-the-trolley/
July 19, 201014 yr Somebody should put up a blog post regarding whether or not the Enquirer can achieve the same results as a real newspaper.
July 19, 201014 yr Somebody should put up a blog post regarding whether or not the Enquirer can achieve the same results as a real newspaper. Awesome. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 19, 201014 yr Somebody should put up a blog post regarding whether or not the Enquirer can achieve the same results as a real newspaper. lol ... AWESOME!
July 20, 201014 yr "So what are you arguing for, exactly?" I am cautiously optimistic about the streetcar. I have my doubts whether it will actually get built, so I think a lot of this discussion is irrelevent. Since the City has some funding sources lined up and especially since Queen City Metro has taken some interest in operating the system, I think now that it has a better chance than it had two years ago. I think a more successful course of action would be to improve the present bus system first. Yeah, yeah, never send a bus to do a train's job, and all that. Queen City Metro presently has a fleet of buses, a staff of drivers and mechanics, and maintenance facilties all in operation, but we aren't getting quite the benefits that we should be because the bus system is not operated most effectively. Queen City Metro is long overdue for a systematic overhaul of routes and fares. If it were possible for Queen City Metro to actually turn a profit, then we might think about expanding public transit. In addition to that, governments at all levels need to stop expanding highway infrastructure if they want to reverse the trend of outward expansion and decreasing density in the core. It's really an issue of policies versus projects. We have policies in place, ranging from everything from subdivision regulations, allocation of fuel taxes, pro-development policies on the periphery, school funding, the war on drugs, and more that are either not working or do not favor the urban core. Yet, it's politically easier to construct some new project rather than addressing the failed policies. For example, we have the stadiums, the banks, the Freedom Center, the Aronoff center, the proposed streetcar, etc., that have all been built in the last 20 years, yet the supposed benefits of these projects are not apparent. Sure, the stadiums attract a crowd on game days, but the sales tax benefits have not materialized. Clearly, these projects are not working. However, they make nice postcard views, and there is something that a politician can point at and take credit for. The reason that I keep bringing up population is that I think there is a disconnect between the perceived benefits of the streetcar and reality. I keep saying that a resident that moves from Westwood to Over-the-Rhine is not a NEW resident. I expect that if the streetcar is constructed, the population in Over-the-Rhine will rise a little, but the City budget will remain in a downhill spiral. I don't have the all the answers, but I have a bad feeling about the streetcar project, especially if the route that is finally built is the zig-zag route.
July 20, 201014 yr First, no transit system in this country turns a profit, not that I know of anyway. The CTA in Chicago is required by law to obtain 50% of its funding from fares, which is VERY HARD. 30% is a much more typical figure. Also, why do you assume these people moving to OTR have to come from within the city limits? Frankly, the suburbs have been siphoning off city population for 60+ years now, and I'm just fine with the city siphoning some of them back. They'll just keep moving farther out otherwise. Sure some might come from Westwood or Madisonville or Clifton, but they could just as easily come from Bridgetown, Kenwood, Fairfield, Mason, or northern Kentucky.
July 20, 201014 yr ^--- They don't have to come from the city limits, but in my humble opinion they are more likely to come from Westwood than from Mason because of familiarity with the city, distance from family, commuting time to jobs, etc. A have a study of metropolitan Cincinnati where the author concludes that the Cincinnati metro has morphed into 4 separate areas that are somewhat independent with respect to shopping and commuting patterns. The four areas are: Northeast: Sharonville, Tri-county, Kenwood, Loveland, Mason, etc. Eastgate: Mt. Washington, Clermont County, Batavia, etc. Airport: Florence, Erlanger, Boone County, airport area, etc. The West Side: Western Hills, Delhi, Green, and Colerain Townships, etc AND Downtown. Thus, the author thinks that downtown and the urban core is more closely identified with the west side of Cincinnati than any other part of the region. Sorry, I don't have the study handy.
July 20, 201014 yr "No transit system in this country turns a profit..." I hear that San Diego is close. Anyway, Queen City Metro covers about 20% of its cost from fares, and 80% from other sources. The political ramifications of this is that those entities that contribute 80% - the City of Cincinnati, the State of Ohio, and the Feds - can influence the operation, for better or for worse. If Queen City Metro could get it's fares to cover, say, 70% of costs, then it still wouldn't be profitable, but it would be much closer. Then, there would be more local control of the service instead of letting politicians dictate what the service should be. As part of the Metro Moves campaign, Queen City Metro conducted a market survey. There were two overwhelming suggestions: 1. People wanted to go to the suburban shopping malls. 2. People wanted a new route along the length of Galbraith Road. Urban fans may be dismayed that people wanted to go to the malls, but that is what the market wants. It is conceivable that a weeked route from various places around town to the malls would be very popular, even if the frequency was low. As for Galbraith Road, Metro experimented with a Galbraith Road route for awhile - I don't know if they are still doing it. However, I don't think it was frequent enough to be effective, and similar to streetcars, routes have to be a long-term investment to be effective. A route that only runs for a year or two will not build up a steady ridership. Of course, the City of Cincinnati city council opposed both of these measures, because as they see it, it doesn't help the city. Council members think that a bus route to the malls will hurt downtown shopping. Well, I think downtown shopping lost that battle a long time ago. Maybe if suburban kids got used to riding the bus, then in the long term they will become transit users and actually go downtown! There is a generation that has never been on a Metro bus.
July 20, 201014 yr Author "So what are you arguing for, exactly?" I am cautiously optimistic about the streetcar. I have my doubts whether it will actually get built, so I think a lot of this discussion is irrelevent. But you are participating in this discussion, I would assume you think some of it is relevant Since the City has some funding sources lined up Interesting use of the word "some." 90% of the funding for the Uptown to Downtown route. More than 100% of the funding for a minimum operable segment. and especially since Queen City Metro has taken some interest in operating the system, Again, interesting use of the word "some" SORTA had a unanimous vote of the board to operate the streetcar. I think now that it has a better chance than it had two years ago. Obviously I think a more successful course of action would be to improve the present bus system first Which you effectively can't do with the majority of the funds we are using to build the streetcar. We could use some of the non-TIF, non-Federal funds to buy more buses and build a few mini-hubs, but that doesn't address the fundamental problem--the City of Cincinnati is the only local funding source for METRO which services all of Hamilton County (some of the outlying counties fund service to their counties with federal pass through money and some local resources) Yeah, yeah, never send a bus to do a train's job, and all that. Transit systems with rail have higher ridership than bus only systems. Queen City Metro presently has a fleet of buses, a staff of drivers and mechanics, and maintenance facilties all in operation, but we aren't getting quite the benefits that we should be because the bus system is not operated most effectively. Queen City Metro is long overdue for a systematic overhaul of routes and fares. This should be studied. If it were possible for Queen City Metro to actually turn a profit, then we might think about expanding public transit. Transportation is a public good. It doesn't really make a profit anywhere with the exception of a few toll roads. Expecting SORTA to make a profit is as unrealistic as expecting I-75 to do so. In addition to that, governments at all levels need to stop expanding highway infrastructure if they want to reverse the trend of outward expansion and decreasing density in the core. It's really an issue of policies versus projects. We have policies in place, ranging from everything from subdivision regulations, allocation of fuel taxes, pro-development policies on the periphery, school funding, the war on drugs, and more that are either not working or do not favor the urban core. Yet, it's politically easier to construct some new project rather than addressing the failed policies. For example, we have the stadiums, the banks, the Freedom Center, the Aronoff center, the proposed streetcar, etc., that have all been built in the last 20 years, yet the supposed benefits of these projects are not apparent. Sure, the stadiums attract a crowd on game days, but the sales tax benefits have not materialized. All the City can do is affect City policy. We can't change federal, state or county policy. We have to do what is best for our City. Clearly, these projects are not working. However, they make nice postcard views, and there is something that a politician can point at and take credit for. The reason that I keep bringing up population is that I think there is a disconnect between the perceived benefits of the streetcar and reality. I keep saying that a resident that moves from Westwood to Over-the-Rhine is not a NEW resident. I expect that if the streetcar is constructed, the population in Over-the-Rhine will rise a little, but the City budget will remain in a downhill spiral. As a corollary, if the streetcar is not built, will that have any effect on the City operating budget? We're not using operating funds to build the streetcar. The residents who move from City neighborhoods to OTR aren't new resident, but the people who replace those who moved from the neighborhoods are. I don't have the all the answers, Agreed. but I have a bad feeling about the streetcar project, especially if the route that is finally built is the zig-zag route. The studies, reports and experiences in other cities disagree with you. http://cincystreetcar.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/studies-and-reports-on-the-cincinnati-streetcar/
July 20, 201014 yr Sorry, I should re-phrase it. The survey conducted by Metro showed a strong desire for MORE bus routes to the malls.
July 20, 201014 yr The residents who move from City neighborhoods to OTR aren't new resident, but the people who replace those who moved from the neighborhoods are. Good point. Even if all the people moving to new or formerly vacant buildings along the streetcar all came from within the city limits, their previous residences still need to be sold or rented to someone else. So even if someone moves from Westwood to OTR, that house in Westwood is more likely to be taken up by someone from Monfort Heights or Covedale than someone from Pleasant Ridge or Mt. Washington.
July 20, 201014 yr ^---- But at the end of the line a house isn't going to be sold somewhere. For the last 100 years, the trend has been to move farther and farther out. Someone from Over-the-Rhine moved to Price Hill; the Price Hill resident moved to Covedale, the Covedale resident to Bridgetown, and the Bridgetown resident to Dent. Over-the-Rhine gradually emptied out. If the trend reverses, the house in Dent will be vacant. If not in Dent, somewhere there will be a vacant house. Right now there are more houses than there are households. Remember the 90 acres of parking lots that we keep talking about in Over-the-Rhine? at 1000 square feet per unit, 3 stories tall, that area is equivalent to 11,800 units. And yes, that density would support a streetcar. But will the residential market absorb 11,800 new units, plus all the rehabbed units that are vacant now, plus the Banks, etc? Believe me, I would love to see some of the sprawl return to greenfields. The problem is that we are paying for all of that infrastructure whether it is occupied or not. The best thing would have been to not build all of that sprawl in the first place, but that's not an option anymore.
July 20, 201014 yr A have a study of metropolitan Cincinnati where the author concludes that the Cincinnati metro has morphed into 4 separate areas that are somewhat independent with respect to shopping and commuting patterns. The four areas are: Northeast: Sharonville, Tri-county, Kenwood, Loveland, Mason, etc. Eastgate: Mt. Washington, Clermont County, Batavia, etc. Airport: Florence, Erlanger, Boone County, airport area, etc. The West Side: Western Hills, Delhi, Green, and Colerain Townships, etc AND Downtown. Thus, the author thinks that downtown and the urban core is more closely identified with the west side of Cincinnati than any other part of the region. Sorry, I don't have the study handy. The massive column of vehicles crawling across the Hamilton-Clermont line at 5 PM beg to differ.
July 20, 201014 yr >The survey conducted by Metro showed a strong desire for MORE bus routes to the malls. Hamilton County has voted down county-wide bus service in 1971, 1979, 1980, and 2002. In each case a bus or bus/rail tax was defeated by a margin of 2-1 or more. Cincinnati has supported rail -- the 1973 bus earnings tax and the defeat of Issue 9 in 2009.
July 20, 201014 yr Yeah, Somebody should put up a blog post regarding whether or not the Enquirer can achieve the same results as a real newspaper. yeah! they claim to be a "family newspaper" what the hell does that even mean? Sorry not in todays world if you wanna be taken seriously you can't censor the truth. Enquirer is dying anyways. Its turning into a magazine, more photos and fluff, less hard news. The Streetcar is a RETURN of what cincy already had going for it first half of 20th century, coinciding with its peak growth. GM bought ownership of the companies and killed it. Good old fashion'd American Greed. Isnt Tom luken CEO of Sorta busses. that would explain his opisition. he realizes how much money he'll lose. How often will the streetcar will arrive at a station. every 5 minutes? hopefully no more than that. as it would effect ridership.
July 20, 201014 yr If the trend reverses, the house in Dent will be vacant. If not in Dent, somewhere there will be a vacant house. Right now there are more houses than there are households. Can we finally put this to rest? The Cincinnati Metro Area (as has been stated previously in this thread and the Cincinnati population thread) is growing. This is not a zero-sum game. The region is adding about 7% every 10 years, or ~150k. Cincinnati is simply trying to capture a larger piece of that growth by building the streetcar and making the core of the city a more attractive place to live. If we had the population challenges of Detroit, Buffalo or even Cleveland, then your talk about extra infrastructure might be relevant. We don't.
July 20, 201014 yr Sorry to interrupt the intense conversation, but SoapboxMedia interviewed the owner of the Moerlein Lager House being constructed on the Banks. In it he specifically mentions the streetcar. "Hardman also says that the Moerlein Lager House will be connected to historic Over-the-Rhine through the Cincinnati Streetcar which is scheduled to start construction in fall 2010 and begin operations approximately one year after the brewpub opens. 'The streetcar is a great vehicle that will enhance development and link us to Over-the-Rhine and Uptown," Hardman said. "When you can hook up a world-class park with the University of Cincinnati, and everything in between, it will be a great economic driver. While the streetcar was not the only factor in our decision making process, it was certainly one of the reasons we wanted to locate in both of these areas.' " http://soapboxmedia.com/devnews/0720moerleinlagerhouse.aspx
July 20, 201014 yr While I am a very enthusiastic supporter of the streetcar, for the entire duration of the campaign (that others have fought), I've regretted seeing the concept of efficient mass transit dragged down into inefficient mudslinging: young versus old; urban versus suburban; wealthy versus poor; rail versus bus. I found this recent post by the urbanophile (http://www.urbanophile.com/2010/07/18/its-time-for-america-to-get-on-the-bus/) really interesting. It borrows from others to talk about *how* bus transit can be very different from how it is now, and can complement other transit like the streetcar. I think the arguments are persuasive, and parts of the implementation seem inexpensive and based on common sense. Let's face it, from an operating subsidy perspective alone, SORTA and the buses are the 1000 pound gorilla in the room, and will be for some time. Plus they are going to operate the streetcar. Maybe it is time that some of us (I'm willing to give it a shot, to the extent my "talents" are adaptable) start spending some time discussing how to make the bus system much better, and much more consistent with the planned streetcar, so that those modes of transit become undifferentiated. Maybe it's time to use the luxury of this first streetcar win to realize that we've been goaded into a war with buses by the opposition, who don't really love buses as much as they hate the city. Let's think about ways to undermine their shaky foundation by expanding the truth telling about transit. Let's figure out ways to help SORTA do their job better, so that the bus system works with the streetcar when phase I is complete. Maybe its time to start taking trips to cities that successfully integrate a non-differentiated bus and rail network, instead of continuing trips to Portland? I know that SORTA board meetings are the third Tuesday of each month, 9:30 AM. That's today. I've asked to be put on the email list (you can too: [email protected]), but of course that didn't seem to work for todays meeting, so I had to ask again.
July 20, 201014 yr Maybe it is time that some of us (I'm willing to give it a shot, to the extent my "talents" are adaptable) start spending some time discussing how to make the bus system much better, and much more consistent with the planned streetcar, so that those modes of transit become undifferentiated. I think that's a great idea, but we'll need a new thread for it. That's a topic that will take a lot of discussion, and this thread is already monstrous. Feel free to start one. I'd also love to see conversation weighing the pros and cons of reorganizing from county services to regional services, since I think having TANK and Metro makes the bus system needlessly complicated.
July 20, 201014 yr A signage and branding campaign would go a long way to help metro. It isn’t very easy to find stops, unless you know where they are. They also need a fare card, badly. Having exact change is annoying and time consuming when there’s a line of people trying to get on the bus. These things could be standardized with the streetcar. Buses could keep their numbers, and they could be color coded routes based on which neighborhoods they serve. The streetcar, and any future rail could get service letters. Painting a chunk of the sidewalk green, orange, etc. and painting a big “17” on it at each stop would go a long way toward improving the system.
July 20, 201014 yr >The survey conducted by Metro showed a strong desire for MORE bus routes to the malls. Hamilton County has voted down county-wide bus service in 1971, 1979, 1980, and 2002. In each case a bus or bus/rail tax was defeated by a margin of 2-1 or more. Cincinnati has supported rail -- the 1973 bus earnings tax and the defeat of Issue 9 in 2009. I'm pretty sure MetroMoves in 2002 won in the City as well.
July 20, 201014 yr Author % Yes on Metro Moves LINCOLN HTS VIL -5- 47% WYOMING CTY -10- 45% MARIEMONT VIL -4- 45% WOODLAWN VIL -4- 42% CINTI CTY -376- 41% AMBERLEY VIL -4- 40% BLUE ASH CTY -16- 39% IND HILL CTY -7- 38% MONTGOMERY CTY -13- 38% TERR PK VIL -3- 37% GLENDALE VIL -4- 37% GOLF MANOR VIL -4- 37% SPRINGDALE CTY -13- 37% SILVERTON CTY -6- 36% EVENDALE VIL -5- 34% SYMMES TWP -22- 34% COLUMBIA TWP -12- 34% MADEIRA CTY -13- 32% FAIRFAX VIL -2- 31% GREENHILLS VIL -5- 31% SHARONVILLE CTY -15- 31% SYCAMORE TWP -25- 31% FOR PK CTY -24- 31% LOVELAND CTY -12- 30% ANDERSON TWP -56- 29% SPRINGFIELD TWP -49- 28% NORWOOD CTY -25- 28% READING CTY -13- 28% NEWTOWN VIL -3- 28% ST BERNARD CTY -8- 28% LOCKLAND VIL -5- 27% NCH CTY -11- 26% MT HEALTHY CTY -8- 26% CHEVIOT CTY -12- 23% ADDYSTON VIL -1- 23% CLEVES VIL -4- 21% ELMWOOD VIL -3- 21% DELHI TWP -36- 21% NORTH BEND VIL -1- 21% COLERAIN TWP -68- 20% GREEN TWP -73- 20% DEER PK CTY -8- 19% MIAMI TWP -18- 19% ARLINGTON HGTS VIL -1- 19% WHITEWATER TWP -6- 17% HARRISON CTY -9- 16% HARRISON TWP -14- 16% CROSBY TWP -3- 16%
July 21, 201014 yr I was always given the wrong impression as well, thinking that it was voted in favor in the city.
July 21, 201014 yr Those are some very interesting percentages. I wouldn't have expected places like Indian Hill, Terrace Park, and Amberly Village to beat out Deer Park, Lockland, and especially Norwood in support. Of course, a breakdown of the votes by Cincinnati city neighborhood would be very interesting too.
July 21, 201014 yr Those are some very interesting percentages. I wouldn't have expected places like Indian Hill, Terrace Park, and Amberly Village to beat out Deer Park, Lockland, and especially Norwood in support. I'm interested to know why you thought that.
July 21, 201014 yr Well, do you expect highly conservative, NIMBY-heavy, low-density suburbs to be more supportive of transit than denser, less affluent, and more centrally located neighborhoods?
July 21, 201014 yr Wow! Look at the East Side / West Side split! 14 of the bottom 17 communities are on the West Side!
July 21, 201014 yr Well, do you expect highly conservative, NIMBY-heavy, low-density suburbs to be more supportive of transit than denser, less affluent, and more centrally located neighborhoods? That's what I thought you meant but I didn't want to jump to conclusions. In a word, yes, I did believe that. What's so conservative about federal highways? Wow! Look at the East Side / West Side split! 14 of the bottom 17 communities are on the West Side! That reinforces all that I've gathered about the East/West divide in Cincinnati.
July 21, 201014 yr ^---- The routes presented in the Metro Moves plan were not very useful to west-siders. Also, everyone knew that the I-71 line would be constructed first and they would run out of money before they built the I-74 line.
July 21, 201014 yr Wow! Look at the East Side / West Side split! 14 of the bottom 17 communities are on the West Side! Maybe so, but do keep in mind that there's a disproportionately large amount of rural and semi-rural areas in the western part of the county. Miami, Whitewater, Harrison, and Crosby Townships are basically write-offs for a proposal such as this, as are North Bend, Cleves, Addyston, and Harrison.
July 21, 201014 yr I wanted to expand on Brad's posting of the vote percentages, by jurisdiction, for MetroMoves in 2002. When the dust settled, we looked at how the issue performed within the city limits. If you were to draw a conceptual bubble map of the support for rail, it would start at the Ohio River, move north through OTR and Clifton Heights, Clifton and Corryville before morphing east on a line through Evanston and Hyde Park that stops at Oakley, say. If you added up all the votes along this fat line, MetroMoves won by 51-49. Which is one reason why I think the Wasson Line is better for the Eastern Corridor than the Oasis line. Their is probably good neighborhood support for rail along Wasson. MetroMoves passed by something like 62% in downtown and OTR. Defining Uptown as the area included within the 2004 Uptown Transportation Study -- a really large part of Cincinnati that includes what we all think of as "Clifton" plus parts of Mt. Auburn, Walnut Hills, Avondale and Evanston -- MetroMoves passed 53-47%. So when we first proposed the Cincinnati Streetcar in 2006, we limited it to Over-the-Rhine and Downtown, feeling we wouldn't have a Nimby problem. Which was a good bet, as it turns out -- no one in downtown or OTR has complained about rail (without basis) the way suburban communities sometimes do -- you know, more crime, noise, blocked traffic, danger to children. Never happened. Had we picked a route that had traveled to less-friendly areas, the Nimby's in those neighborhoods nught have mobilized early to kill the streetcar before it could gain critical mass. Council members would have backed away from it. This is what happened with the I-71 line. Early-on, one couple in Deer Park (who OKI chose not to hire to do photographic work for the project) decided to oppose the project. They were very effective in mobilizing their neighbors, and soon the entire LRT project team was summoned to Deer Park High School's auditorium for questions and what amounted to a public whipping. Deer Park then mobilized Norwood and Sycamore Township to oppose, and so soon it appeared we no longer had a route to get to Blue Ash. Then they started working on other communities outside the city, mostly townships. Ths is what happens when you get motivated Nimby's, though the motives of the Deer Park couple still remain in quesion in my mind. So, in retrospect, the initial proposal to put the streetcar Downtown and in OTR where it was wanted was a good one. We avoided a lot of early controversy that could have stopped it cold.
July 21, 201014 yr Author ^ Also keep in mind the day of 2002 light rail vote: Crude: $26.06 Gas: $1.42
July 21, 201014 yr ^ Also keep in mind the day of 2002 light rail vote: Crude: $26.06 Gas: $1.42 Bingo. When gas was at or near $4.00 that one summer, the tune was completely different. How quickly people forget things when they are comfortable. I even heard Bill Cunningham clamoring about why we don't have a rail system during that summer. Apparently he forgot that in 2002 he campaigned against it saying "It will bring thugs to Indian Hill and your neighborhood."
July 21, 201014 yr ^ In November, 2008, following a summer of $4.00 gas, every one of the ten rail issues on the ballot nationwide passed, some in California by super-majorities. Billy Cunningham is a closet rail supporter, always has been.
July 21, 201014 yr ^ In November, 2008, following a summer of $4.00 gas, every one of the ten rail issues on the ballot nationwide passed, some in California by super-majorities. Billy Cunningham is a closet rail supporter, always has been. I'd believe it. Radio personalities are all characters to push the channel agenda. I bet Cunningham is much much smarter than the channel agenda.
July 21, 201014 yr >near $4.00 You guys are forgetting that when gas gets expensive more bond issues than normal fail. It's a paradox -- at least we only need a majority now, not a supermajority.
July 21, 201014 yr Author Enquirer's Editorial Blog on the Streetcar, asking new questions- http://cincinnati.com/blogs/opinionati/2010/07/21/moving-beyond-the-old-streetcar-questions/?s=d&page=1#pluckcomments
July 21, 201014 yr Enquirer's Editorial Blog on the Streetcar, asking new questions- http://cincinnati.com/blogs/opinionati/2010/07/21/moving-beyond-the-old-streetcar-questions/?s=d&page=1#pluckcomments Didn't the enquirer article a couple weeks ago literally answer some of these questions? What is going on over there?
July 21, 201014 yr I know this might sound bizzare, but I am sometimes concerned that there is something in our environment that is making us less intelligent. Like Rome and lead, version 2.0. It seems as though the tactic of posing the same redundant questions over and over, even in the face of sound answers, is sufficient in neutralizing an issue and maintaining sufficient doubt and paralysis in the general public. Health care reform comes to mind. Or climate change. Or the streetcar. And I don't mean expertly muddying an issue as to create confusion. It's almost like you could convince people these days that the grass might actually not be green, if you just persistently ask what color it is.
July 22, 201014 yr Maybe it's that pungent soapy/raspberry syrup smell coming from St. Bernard that's making people dumb.
July 23, 201014 yr All those people driving through that fog of sweet smelling ignorance and fear! “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
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