Wouldn't a drain just look like a drain?

 

This is what the track drains look like:

 

 

 

Elm Street looks awesome with the granite pavers re-installed:

 

They did an outstanding job with the cobble stones.  It looks much better than the mid-1980s cobble stones in Portland:

^^That looks great, and seems to just fit in like it was always there in Cincinnati

They look amazing in person. I really, REALLY hope we'll actually see them used.

 

Out of curiosity, do they plan on redoing all of the other pavers? Because the rest of Elm street is kind of a wreck. The new pavers are nice and flat and even and the other part of the road is lumpy, has random patches of tarmac, etc.

Yeah, they're planning to redo the rest of the street. Originally we were told that the Elm St. tracks were going to be placed in tinted concrete, but there's no way that could have looked as good as this. 

 

>and seems to just fit in like it was always there in Cincinnati

 

As well as many of the well-done reconstructions of stone retaining walls (especially the W. Clifton wall) and the increased use of stone in medians like Central Parkway at 12th and Columbia Parkway near Delta Ave.

 

 

Enquirer looking for more page clicks...

 

Streetcar alternative: Cranley likes the idea of a trolley bus

Hop On Cincinnati would save millions in startup costs; rail supporters aren't on board with the proposal

 

 

If not the streetcar, then how about this: a rubber-tired “trolley” bus system that goes where the streetcar is planning to go – and well beyond for a fraction of the cost?

 

Mayor-elect John Cranley favors an idea called Hop On Cincinnati as an alternative to the controversial streetcar project he has promised to stop after taking over at City Hall next month.

 

Cranley plans to form a committee during his first 100 days in office to study the costs and benefits of Hop On Cincinnati – an idea hatched three years ago by friends and Downtown real estate professionals Gregg Fusaro and Tom Powers out of concern for the streetcar’s price tag.

 

Cont

Oh, and another worthless poll: Make your best argument: Trolley or Streetcar

I would really appreciate it if a group would do a DoS attack on the Enquirer and shut them down for a week. They are a worthless organization. I really want them to go out of business...

A hop-on trolley is what a city does when it has a fear of commitment to transit. It's like having a friend with benefits. A streetcar is marriage.

Why do people think that streetcar supporters are attracted to the look of a vintage trolley? Modern streetcars look nothing like that.

^The real question is why does the anti-streetcar crowd want a bus circulator that they themselves costs as much to operate as the streetcar?  If your main argument against the streetcar is that no one will ride it, why do you honestly believe anyone will ride this?  If your response is that this goes to more places, how do you respond to the fact that the streetcar's route would have gone to more places had Kasich not pulled discretionary Ohio funds from it, violating the standards by which those funds were to be allocated?

 

Oh course, the answer to all this is that these folks aren't interested in anything except killing rail transit.  You search in vain for honesty in their professed reasons.

I realize I'm probably being really naive, but does the scoop on the front have any purpose? Is it part of a bike rack or anything?

Cow catcher

Outsiders from world class cities would think the city is in a time warp.

PG's 9 Streetcar Determining Questions (supposedly asked to and answered by JDeatrick this morning):

 

Are the federal funds fungible/transferrable?

1) To date, what are the separate buckets of already spent money?

2) What would be the concrete steps - legal, logistical, legislative, etc -  for scrapping the project? And what are the most up-to-date projections for close-out costs if the project were canceled?

3) What's the best guess of what law suits would ensue if the  project were scrapped, and how they would play out over what time line?

4) What are the separate buckets of remaining expenses, and what are the specified sources for funding those expenses?

5) What is the most up-to-date projection for annual operating expenses  (based on what assumption of ridership, ticket prices, etc.)

6) Are there any numbers for how much money a Special Improvement District (self-taxing zone around streetcar) could raise for the project?

7) What efforts, led by whom and when, have there been to engage the private sector, and with what results?

8) What are the costs per month to delay the project, and please break down exactly how/where that number comes from? (Regarding Question 8, it seems Feds might see any delay as grounds for asking for their $ back).

9) Aside from economic develop projections for private investment, are there numbers for how much increased revenue from the increased development would end up in city coffers (add'l property taxes; earnings taxes from new jobs created, etc)?

 

Some lady on the Enquirer's FB comments said this is a great idea because Hilton Head has these and they work great.

 

Seriously. Hilton Head.  :roll:

I think all of PG's questions are great and fair. And, in fact, I feel that the responses will be in the supporters' favors.

 

Can't wait to hear/read the answers and PG's analysis.

I'm glad PG is seriously looking into this. If he changes his mind to support continuation, I think he has the ability to influence Flynn and Mann. The biggest thing I think we can do is to pressure those three into agreeing to continue the project and have them take the lead on crafting a sustainable operating source/plan to prevent it from affecting the general operating funds. They might see this as a chance to score political points with pro and anti streetcar crowds at the same time.

 

8. What are the costs per month to delay the project, and please break down exactly how/where that number comes from? (Regarding Question 8, it seems Feds might see any delay as grounds for asking for their $ back).

 

 

That is a question that I would hope every single council member would ask before voting to pause construction and reconsider. Even Winburn, Slitherman, and Murray should want to know that. I would imagine the "standby" costs are over $10,000 a day, if not $15,000.  Council would be wasting almost as much as the average Cincinnatians annual income every day they halt construction to “reconsider.”  I don't know how anyone could think the streetcar is a waste of money but that isn't.

I've never voted for PG, but I at least give him credit for at least giving this decision serious consideration rather than just automatically be against it (a la Winburn, Smitherman, etc.).

 

I do agree that PG is the key piece in holding this project together.  Each council member is welcome to form their own decision, but hopefully each member will consider the response to each of these questions before voting yes/no.

 

 

 

8. What are the costs per month to delay the project, and please break down exactly how/where that number comes from? (Regarding Question 8, it seems Feds might see any delay as grounds for asking for their $ back).

 

 

That is a question that I would hope every single council member would ask before voting to pause construction and reconsider. Even Winburn, Slitherman, and Murray should want to know that. I would imagine the "standby" costs are over $10,000 a day, if not $15,000.  Council would be wasting almost as much as the average Cincinnatians annual income every day they halt construction to “reconsider.”  I don't know how anyone could think the streetcar is a waste of money but that isn't.

 

This is a very good question.  And the thing is, it's not like the companies (M-P-D and their subs) are just going to have their employees that are currently working on this project sit on the sidelines until this thing plays out.  Each company is going to have to move these employees to other jobs, and depending on how long a delay drags out, it's going to become a burden to remove that employee from their relocated job to come back onto the streetcar project.  If I'm one of M-P-D's subs, you can darn well bet I'm going to be asking for additional fees to compensate me for the inefficiencies of having to re-assign employees to other projects and then back.  And for any of you familiar with the construction business, in change order situations like this, all power is in the hands of the contractor, and the city should brace themselves for getting the raw end of this deal.

 

And the same goes for the steel makers and other vendors.  If you're the steel fabricator and you've planned on "X" hours per week for the next 18 months of steel fabrication for this project, it if goes on hold, the steel fabricator is going to have to find other work to fill the void.  If this project is delayed by 4-6 weeks and then re-started, good luck trying to get the steel fabricator back on sale (or else be prepared to pay $$$ to cover their overtime). 

 

 

^

It's a pseudo cowcatcher for a pseudo trolley.

It's a pseudo cowcatcher for a pseudo trolley.

 

Since there are no cows in the road, I assume it's for pedestrians and cyclists.

^ Give Cranley a couple of years and there may be cows on the road. Maybe tear down that parky-farky crime-park-for-nobody boondoggle Washington Park and replace it with a pasture?

6) Are there any numbers for how much money a Special Improvement District (self-taxing zone around streetcar) could raise for the project?

 

This question is the most interesting, simply because if it is possible for a Special Improvement District to be implemented around the streetcar route it should be done regardless.  I thought that a TIF worked in the way that you are able to get present value out of present input based on expected future value, so perhaps this would be the same thing.  But, if it is possible, there should be a locally assessed property tax along the route which is gradiated by proximity $x for properties adjacent to the line; $y for properties one block away; $z for properties 2 blocks away, for example.

 

The streetcar project should go forward because the funding is already in place and the ROI is good (the same reasons it has always been a good project).  But it would be an even better project if the operating costs were met by those who were most likely to benefit from it, and a specific levy on land that will benefit from it would be the most efficient and fairest means to do it.  If they could get it to meet the projected cost of operations, that would be perfect.  It wouldn't settle the concerns of the antis who hate the project for secret reasons, but it would be the best way to cover the operating expenses.

I've never voted for PG, but I at least give him credit for at least giving this decision serious consideration rather than just automatically be against it (a la Winburn, Smitherman, etc.).

 

I do agree that PG is the key piece in holding this project together.  Each council member is welcome to form their own decision, but hopefully each member will consider the response to each of these questions before voting yes/no.

 

 

 

I'm in agreement with this^

 

I think If PG can show the leadership here to get Flynn and Mann on board with continuing the project. this will allow Cranley to save face, and honestly will make me a huge PG supporter going forward with what ever he plans to do Politically. 

I did not send my e -mail to Cranley. I realize my comments don't carry much "weight,"  because I live 50 miles away in Dayton, but my arguments in favor of the streetcar still are valid. I never should have put my address in the e-mail.

BTW, I was using "conservative" in the old way of Cincinnati  being afraid to explore new ideas, and  with some lack of imagination, and with some risk. That is  no longer true of Cincinnati. 

 

Feel free to send your own e-mail to Council members!

 

I do admire your ambition. I don't live in the city anymore either though, so my thoughts do not carry as much weight

Also I don't believe Cincinnati has a recall procedure for mayor or council. They can only be ousted for ethics, through the next election, or voluntarily I believe.

 

Not Cincinnati, the State of Ohio:

 

codes.ohio.gov/orc/705.92

 

"705.92 Procedure for removal of elective officer by recall.

 

Any elective officer of a municipal corporation may be removed from office by the qualified voters of such municipal corporation. The procedure to effect such removal shall be:

 

(A) A petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to at least fifteen per cent of the total votes cast at the most recent regular municipal election, and demanding the election of a successor to the person sought to be removed, shall be filed with the board of elections. Such petition shall contain a general statement in not more than two hundred words of the grounds upon which the removal of such person is sought. The form, sufficiency, and regularity of any such petition shall be determined as provided in the general election laws."

 

 

Given the dismal turnout on 11/05, signatures totaling 15% of the votes cast should be attainable.

 

Since we are a Charter government this section does not apply.

 

Source: http://www.leagle.com/decision/197633745OhioSt2d292_1280

If it's not in the charter then the statutory procedure alone is insufficient.

 

So, I took the time to read the entire City Charter last night...:

 

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/council/references-resources/

 

Section 3 of Article III (pages 15 and 16) has several paragraphs that begin with "In the event of the death, removal or resignation of the mayor", so clearly removal is a possibility, although no specific mechanism is defined for doing so.

 

I'm no lawyer, but this implies to me that the procedure specified by the State of Ohio is what is being referred to.  Can anyone with a legal background weigh in on this?  If this is true, we may be be to start procedures for a recall based on damage done to the city by the new mayor.  If this is not true, we can start with a petition to update the charter to include a recall mechanism.  Either of these approaches should catch the mayor-elect's attention.

 

So, I took the time to read the entire City Charter last night...:

 

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/council/references-resources/

 

Section 3 of Article III (pages 15 and 16) has several paragraphs that begin with "In the event of the death, removal or resignation of the mayor", so clearly removal is a possibility, although no specific mechanism is defined for doing so.

 

I'm no lawyer, but this implies to me that the procedure specified by the State of Ohio is what is being referred to.  Can anyone with a legal background weigh in on this?  If this is true, we may be be to start procedures for a recall based on damage done to the city by the new mayor.  If this is not true, we can start with a petition to update the charter to include a recall mechanism.  Either of these approaches should catch the mayor-elect's attention.

 

That seems to leave a window, although I'm not a lawyer either. If that doesn't work, it should be pretty easy to pass a petition to allow the state recall rules to apply to Cincinnati's elected officials, in light of the Rob Ford/Toronto situation.

 

^Regardless of what the law is, making an effort to dislodge Cranley is not likely to get him on the side of the streetcar supporters.

 

 

^ Breaking the law by shirking the city's contractual obligations, simply because he doesn't like them, is not going to keep him in office for long. There needs to be a minimal level of continuity from administration to administration to make a solid foundation for residential and business investment. Cranley doesn't seem to get that, and is willing to destroy the city's all-important reputation as a trustworthy business partner. It's not fiscally responsible, it's not pro-business, it's not forward-thinking, it's not progressive, and it's not legal.

 

Knowing the consequences should make a rational person act accordingly. "Making an effort to dislodge Cranley" should very much influence him to legally execute his office's duties, much as the threat of legal consequences keeps regular citizens behaving within a legal framework.

^Exactly.  Right now he thinks he can do whatever he chooses without repercussions of any kind, regardless of any negative impact on the city.  He needs to be shown that this isn't the case.

 

Cancelling the parking lease is probably foolish because of the revenue stream it severs, but cancelling the streetcar is madness because of the actual losses such a move would stick the city with.  Even so, it's possible that the streetcar cannot be saved due to all of the misinformation and ideology that have been running rampant.  If that happens, I don't want to see what Cranley can do with 4 or 8 years.

 

There needs to be a minimal level of continuity from administration to administration to make a solid foundation for residential and business investment. Cranley doesn't seem to get that, and is willing to destroy the city's all-important reputation as a trustworthy business partner.

 

 

Sadly, we are seeing more of this as newly elected officials come to office. It used to be that a newly elected official, even if he/she disagreed with the policies or actions of his predecessors did not seek to undo them. They may have sought to "improve" or "refine" those actions, but they didn't tear down the house after moving into it. A lack of continuity is a mild way of saying "political instability" which is what we're really talking about here. This country was a good investment for businesses because of its stability.

There needs to be a minimal level of continuity from administration to administration to make a solid foundation for residential and business investment. Cranley doesn't seem to get that, and is willing to destroy the city's all-important reputation as a trustworthy business partner.

 

Sadly, we are seeing more of this as newly elected officials come to office. It used to be that a newly elected official, even if he/she disagreed with the policies or actions of his predecessors did not seek to undo them. They may have sought to "improve" or "refine" those actions, but they didn't tear down the house after moving into it. A lack of continuity is a mild way of saying "political instability" which is what we're really talking about here. This country was a good investment for businesses because of its stability.

A recent small business survey found a major reason smalls aren't investing, expanding or hiring is due to uncertainty about the government. That's national - these local clowns will just magnify the problem here and it's a lot easier to aboid Cincinnati than the USA.

 

 

Those "streetcar" rails going down on Elm Street -- those are light rail tracks

 

A couple of years ago, an engineer designing our streetcar mentioned Cincinnati wouldn't be installing the type of streetcar rail used in Seattle and Portland because that Austrian-made product doesn't comply with "Buy America" requirements. He said not to worry, that the type of rail Cincinnati would be using would open up more possibilities for the future. I never thought much more about it ...

 

... until a couple of weeks ago when I studied the end-profile of the rail they're installing on Elm Street right now. I could see it wasn't the streetcar rail I'm used to seeing in the Pacific Northwest. It was common "T" rail used on all kinds of rail systems across the country. So I called my engineer friend and others associated with the project, and sure enough, Cincinnati is building tracks through Over-the-Rhine today that can someday host light rail trains.

 

There is a similar story in Tacoma, which wants light rail to Seattle someday. Tacoma built its "streetcar tracks" to light rail specs and is now running streetcars similar to ours until the time is ripe for light rail. You can look it up: Google "Tacoma Link Light Rail." You'll see pictures of streetcars, not full-on light rail trains.

 

What Cincinnati is building on Elm Street today could easily become the light rail spine through the heart of the region, slicing diagonally across the downtown basin with seven Fortune 500 corporations, two-thirds of our region's cultural institutions and thousands of potential new homes within a few blocks of the line.

 

Prowling around the web site of our streetcar-manufacturer, CAF, I found this: http://www.caf.es/en/productos-servicios/proyectos/proyecto-detalle.php?p=257 This is the Cincinnati Streetcar, which CAF calls a light rail vehicle (LRV). Cincinnati is buying five of these three-section Urbos vehicles shown here, but CAF makes five- and seven-section Urbos too. Even nine-section ones if you need to move enough passengers to fill a 747.

 

I asked around some more, and it turns out the engineers have also designed the radii of the curved track to accommodate longer trains. In order to run light rail on our streetcar line someday, we'd have to boost electrical power, change the signal wiring, and lengthen the platforms where the trains would stop. But those are small potatoes in the big picture.

 

You've heard it before, many times: "The streetcar doesn't go anywhere," or "I'm not crazy about the streetcar, what I really want is light rail."

 

It doesn't have to be this way forever. Using the Cincinnati Streetcar tracks now under construction, we could have light rail in the I-75 Corridor sooner rather than later. Cincinnatians who believe that rail is "just about downtown" need to look at this from 30,000 feet.

 

Here's why. Our streetcars will travel north along Elm until they pass Findlay Market where they will turn east to head up the hill to UC. Longer, faster light rail trains can follow the same path on Elm, but turn west north of Findlay, head over to Central Parkway and then to I-75 where a rail corridor extending throughout Hamilton County is being preserved as part of the highway work now underway. That was a requirement of the I-75 Corridor Study, which found that a newly widened I-75 would attract many more cars and trucks by induced demand and that only the construction of light rail in the corridor would keep future freeway congestion in check. The I-75 light rail might not always run alongside the highway; it probably can't in some places. And anyway, the rail line probably wants to leave the highway here and there in order to penetrate neighborhoods and business districts where people live and work.

 

So our new Mayor and City Council can choose to cancel the Cincinnati Streetcar at great financial and reputational costs to our city. Or they can move forward and complete the project, allow Cincinnatians to become accustomed to using rail transit, and -- when we're ready to resume the community conversation on regional light rail -- have the keystone building block in place. This is an important frame for the decision our city is about to make.

 

It's a big decision, a defining moment for Greater Cincinnati. If we turn away from the expanded transportation choices in front of us now, we probably won't have this chance again for a long time.

 

John Schneider

 

 

Then there's this:

 

"Light rail (including streetcars) is by far the fastest-growing mode of transit, carrying 2.5 times as many passengers as they did in 1990."

 

http://goo.gl/swvSfk

 

 

 

Thanks! Good write-up. I hope it gets some play.

Streetcar Cancellation Cost Presentation from J. Deatrick Thursday at Noon in Council Chambers.

 

Look for the Mayor-Elect to once again not believe numbers. His likely excuse will be, "Of course it sounds bad, John Deatrick's job is on the line." Foreshadowed in this tweet from Pete Witte: "On Friday Bob Bedinghaus is going to tell us the cost for the county to get out of the Stadium deal. #ConsiderSource"

FYI.....

 

INFRASTRUCTURE & ENVIRONMENT

Cities Set Their Eyes on Light Rail

BY STATELINE | NOVEMBER 13, 2013

Daniel C. Vock

 

Posted at.....

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,25329.msg684184.html#msg684184

Dan Johnson ‏@DanLobbies57m

Siemens exec: the political schizophrenia of new govs/mayors canceling rail projects after they are approved is horrific for investment

 

From a transportation/infrastructure conference in DC. Sound familiar?

There needs to be a minimal level of continuity from administration to administration to make a solid foundation for residential and business investment. Cranley doesn't seem to get that, and is willing to destroy the city's all-important reputation as a trustworthy business partner.

 

 

Sadly, we are seeing more of this as newly elected officials come to office. It used to be that a newly elected official, even if he/she disagreed with the policies or actions of his predecessors did not seek to undo them. They may have sought to "improve" or "refine" those actions, but they didn't tear down the house after moving into it. A lack of continuity is a mild way of saying "political instability" which is what we're really talking about here. This country was a good investment for businesses because of its stability.

 

I think you really nailed it with this analysis.  You're completely right.  This uncertainty over what's going to happen when the new guy takes over isn't just making investors/small businesses uneasy, its making private citizens uneasy as well.  Who wants to put down money on a house in a neighborhood that seems to be going somewhere only to find out 3-4 years later that some clown took office and screwed it all up and has now made the neigbhorhood less desirable than it was when you moved in.  Makes me want to sell my house now and just rent from now on and let someone else take all the risk.

 

In response to the PG comments above, he would instantly earn my respect if he actually carefully considered all of the facts and made an educated decision.  What scares me most about people like Cranley and Smitherman (yes I see them as very similar political entities) is that they seem to ignore facts and just make decisions based on who knows what.  I think any educated person would look at the current streetcar project and say that it makes no sense at all to cancel it now (instantly losing 65+ million or more and have nothing in return but a scarred reputation).  Cranley even has a chance to earn my respect if he swallows his pride and looks carefully at the numbers.  Its not just that I think he's wrong about the streetcar, but that I worry he doesn't have the city's best interest at heart. 

 

Regardless, I truly believe that history will tell the truth about this project one way or another.  If its built, it will be hugely successful and will go down in history as a turning point for the city.  If its cancelled it will cause the city to become quite stagnant or go back into a state of decline and will cause us to be remembered as a city that makes foolish decisions and missed oppurtunities.

Change of administration risk has always been on the minds of companies that do business with the government and their investors. Many of the companies, such as engineering consultants, are private. The publicly-traded L-3 Communications (military and surveillance communications equipment) tanked when Obama took office due to fears of Obama pulling out of all military actions but has more than recovered since the Obama administration cranked up the surveillance. But the fear by companies and investors has certainly cranked up big time with these bombastic changeovers that remind me of when Pink took office in "The Wall". What it means is companies demanding more and more penalties for stopping projects.

There needs to be a minimal level of continuity from administration to administration to make a solid foundation for residential and business investment. Cranley doesn't seem to get that, and is willing to destroy the city's all-important reputation as a trustworthy business partner.

 

 

Sadly, we are seeing more of this as newly elected officials come to office. It used to be that a newly elected official, even if he/she disagreed with the policies or actions of his predecessors did not seek to undo them. They may have sought to "improve" or "refine" those actions, but they didn't tear down the house after moving into it. A lack of continuity is a mild way of saying "political instability" which is what we're really talking about here. This country was a good investment for businesses because of its stability.

 

Yes, and "political instability" is a mild way of saying "economic instability." There's no reliable bedrock on which to make investment decisions. Any amenity, service, subsidy, construction project, etc. the local government has any control over is liable to go up in smoke after any given election.

 

The business community has to speak up, because the media won't without being prodded by those with money and power. And if the media won't serve as a voice of objectivity and cool-headed rationality, schizophrenic and, at times, extremist populism will rule the day. And that's bad for business and quality of life. The media has decided that stirring up pitchfork populism is the best way to stay alive, in these tumultuous times for establishment journalism. And, as part of the vicious cycle, politicians have discovered that exploiting this media meta-narrative is a great way to get voters to turn out.

 

This is why we need business leaders to stand up and say "enough is enough," regarding relentless streetcar opposition. Only they can get the message out of the true weight of this issue, because only they can break through the "he said, she said" false-equivalence narrative perpetuated by the mainstream media and the nihilistic anti-urban cynicism of talk radio.

Change of administration risk has always been on the minds of companies that do business with the government and their investors. Many of the companies, such as engineering consultants, are private. The publicly-traded L-3 Communications (military and surveillance communications equipment) tanked when Obama took office due to fears of Obama pulling out of all military actions but has more than recovered since the Obama administration cranked up the surveillance. But the fear by companies and investors has certainly cranked up big time with these bombastic changeovers that remind me of when Pink took office in "The Wall". What it means is companies demanding more and more penalties for stopping projects.

sequester creamed a lot of R&D

 

 

Those "streetcar" rails going down on Elm Street -- those are light rail tracks

 

A couple of years ago, an engineer designing our streetcar mentioned Cincinnati wouldn't be installing the type of streetcar rail used in Seattle and Portland because that Austrian-made product doesn't comply with "Buy America" requirements. He said not to worry, that the type of rail Cincinnati would be using would open up more possibilities for the future. I never thought much more about it ...

 

... until a couple of weeks ago when I studied the end-profile of the rail they're installing on Elm Street right now. I could see it wasn't the streetcar rail I'm used to seeing in the Pacific Northwest. It was common "T" rail used on all kinds of rail systems across the country. So I called my engineer friend and others associated with the project, and sure enough, Cincinnati is building tracks through Over-the-Rhine today that can someday host light rail trains.

 

There is a similar story in Tacoma, which wants light rail to Seattle someday. Tacoma built its "streetcar tracks" to light rail specs and is now running streetcars similar to ours until the time is ripe for light rail. You can look it up: Google "Tacoma Link Light Rail." You'll see pictures of streetcars, not full-on light rail trains.

 

What Cincinnati is building on Elm Street today could easily become the light rail spine through the heart of the region, slicing diagonally across the downtown basin with seven Fortune 500 corporations, two-thirds of our region's cultural institutions and thousands of potential new homes within a few blocks of the line.

 

Prowling around the web site of our streetcar-manufacturer, CAF, I found this: http://www.caf.es/en/productos-servicios/proyectos/proyecto-detalle.php?p=257 This is the Cincinnati Streetcar, which CAF calls a light rail vehicle (LRV). Cincinnati is buying five of these three-section Urbos vehicles shown here, but CAF makes five- and seven-section Urbos too. Even nine-section ones if you need to move enough passengers to fill a 747.

 

I asked around some more, and it turns out the engineers have also designed the radii of the curved track to accommodate longer trains. In order to run light rail on our streetcar line someday, we'd have to boost electrical power, change the signal wiring, and lengthen the platforms where the trains would stop. But those are small potatoes in the big picture.

 

You've heard it before, many times: "The streetcar doesn't go anywhere," or "I'm not crazy about the streetcar, what I really want is light rail."

 

It doesn't have to be this way forever. Using the Cincinnati Streetcar tracks now under construction, we could have light rail in the I-75 Corridor sooner rather than later. Cincinnatians who believe that rail is "just about downtown" need to look at this from 30,000 feet.

 

Here's why. Our streetcars will travel north along Elm until they pass Findlay Market where they will turn east to head up the hill to UC. Longer, faster light rail trains can follow the same path on Elm, but turn west north of Findlay, head over to Central Parkway and then to I-75 where a rail corridor extending throughout Hamilton County is being preserved as part of the highway work now underway. That was a requirement of the I-75 Corridor Study, which found that a newly widened I-75 would attract many more cars and trucks by induced demand and that only the construction of light rail in the corridor would keep future freeway congestion in check. The I-75 light rail might not always run alongside the highway; it probably can't in some places. And anyway, the rail line probably wants to leave the highway here and there in order to penetrate neighborhoods and business districts where people live and work.

 

So our new Mayor and City Council can choose to cancel the Cincinnati Streetcar at great financial and reputational costs to our city. Or they can move forward and complete the project, allow Cincinnatians to become accustomed to using rail transit, and -- when we're ready to resume the community conversation on regional light rail -- have the keystone building block in place. This is an important frame for the decision our city is about to make.

 

It's a big decision, a defining moment for Greater Cincinnati. If we turn away from the expanded transportation choices in front of us now, we probably won't have this chance again for a long time.

 

John Schneider

 

 

Then there's this:

 

"Light rail (including streetcars) is by far the fastest-growing mode of transit, carrying 2.5 times as many passengers as they did in 1990."

 

http://goo.gl/swvSfk

 

Let's hope Deatrick makes this info about light rail tracks in Cincinnati known.....

A barrage of anti-streetcar LTE's were published on Cincinnati.com today. All were in response to Jason Williams trolley story.

you can watch the council meeting discussing cancellation costs at noon here: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2013/11/21/watch-live-at-noon-streetcar-head-details-project-cancellation-costs/

Biz Courier discusses merits of property owners' lawsuits

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/morning_call/2013/11/if-property-owners-and-businesses-sue.html?page=all

 

It will be difficult for those property owners to make their case, but there’s legal concepts they can use to try to make their claim.

Those property owners' case rests within the confines of two common law concepts: "Reliance-based claims" and "third party beneficiary claims."

Love how the media is so focused on business owner lawsuits but not lawsuits from CAF, messer, etc

 

Can't complain about Business Courier's coverage too much though.  Theyv'e been good

What company would come busting down the door to relocate here? Horribly expensive airport. Bad business environment.  Just bad transportation options all around. The only thing really going for it is cheap labor and cheap housing. If I see this i'm sure the major players see this.

Anyone at the meeting today?  I'm stuck at the office.