The pattern seems to be that zebra crossing are only used at stand-alone crosswalks (like on Elm at Findlay Market), not at standard intersections,

 

I've always thought that was the distinction as well.  I may be wrong, but I don't recall ever seeing any of the zebra-striped variety in Cincinnati until about 10 years ago.

2m views!!!

So they screwed up the parking lines apparently. They've started covering the lines they painted and marked for new ones about another foot or so in from the originals. It looks pretty bad. Construction is extremely complex, but this is a lack of checking a measurement. It goes against one of the first things taught when working on a construction site. Measure twice, cut once.

 

I also noticed where they painted new yellow lines on 12th and they aren't straight and there are three lines at one point.

 

It's not an attractive way to showcase a fully redone road with streetcar rails in place.

 

Walking the route at lunch it appears this crew (of 4) is lacking a supervisor or a PM. They were working on the Race at Elder intersection and there seemed to be a lot of confusion around what went where. They did manage to paint a double white stripe before the Findlay Market stop where the west most lane is for transit vehicles only.

 

I also noticed in some areas the solid/double white lines ended at an alley or driveway intersection and in other areas it didn't. Could result in cars parking illegally. With the removal of the parking meters in favor of pay stations, I'd like to see individual marked spaces. Something this city doesn't seem to do anywhere.

2m views!!!

 

I feel like 500,000 of them are mine. But I bet everyone feels like that lol.

2m views!!!

 

I feel like 500,000 of them are mine. But I bet everyone feels like that lol.

 

Keep in mind that upwards of 100 pages have been lost over the years due to two separate crashes.  To anyone doing research they amount to breaks in the fossil record. 

 

This leg of the Cincinnati streetcar route is complete: PHOTOS

May 26, 2015, 12:16pm EDT

Erin Caproni

Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

The Cincinnati streetcar has reached another major milestone as crews have completed track installation on Walnut Street.

 

Work on that leg of track began in September at Central Parkway. Now, the track stretches south to Second Street.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2015/05/this-leg-of-the-cincinnati-streetcar-route-is.html

Part of city's old streetcar system returning

Jason Williams, [email protected] 11:51 p.m. EDT May 26, 2015

 

 

Grassroots leaders are bringing a part of Cincinnati's original streetcar system back.

 

A new nonprofit organization being formed to promote the city's latest streetcar system will be called the Cincinnati Street Railway, Haile U.S. Bank Foundation Vice President Eric Avner announced Tuesday at a Believe in Cincinnati streetcar meeting.

 

The Cincinnati Street Railway was the name of the transit agency that ran the city's original streetcar, which stopped operating in the early 1950s.

 

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/05/26/believe-cincinnati-streetcar-meeting/27993821/

 

I believe one Noel Prows owns a shirt with that logo.

Cranley trying to have it both ways on streetcar

Millard Rosselot 4:50 p.m. EDT May 28, 2015

Millard Rosselot is an Over-the-Rhine resident.

Mayor John Cranley's recent comment that Over-the-Rhine residents should pay more for streetcar operations because the streetcar has increased their property values struck me as complete political buffoonery.

 

It is interesting to me how an early argument against building the streetcar that suggested no one will pay to ride it through an empty, undesirable neighborhood began to fade as the area along its path has become less empty and more desirable by the day. Next came the argument that the increased residential and commercial development which has occurred is largely a coincidence and not related to the streetcar.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/05/28/opinion-cranley-trying-ways-streetcar/28088159/

At the same time, and of course on the front of Cincinnati.com, Dusty: Streetcar foes won't be silenced

<b>Streetcar supporters:</b> DO NOT COMMENT ON THE DUSTY ARTICLE.  The pro-streetcar LTE has 7 comments, the anti-streetcar LTE has 30.  2/3 of the comments on Dusty's article are from pro-streetcar people.

 

So I'm at Gannett, what do I put on the front page.  The Dusty article? YES because it gets a ton of clicks... mostly from streetcar supporters who want to argue in the comments.  Don't argue in the comments.  Buy the streetcar t-shirt (gives money to system).  Write a letter of support (stay positive). Volunteer when Cincinnati Street Railway gets up and running. Do your basic shopping at businesses along the route (For example, ACME Hardware on Main Street near Court).

 

But for the love of god... Do Not Argue In the Comments of an anti-streetcar article. It helps no one.

<b>Streetcar supporters:</b> DO NOT COMMENT ON THE DUSTY ARTICLE.  The pro-streetcar LTE has 7 comments, the anti-streetcar LTE has 30.  2/3 of the comments on Dusty's article are from pro-streetcar people.

 

So I'm at Gannett, what do I put on the front page.  The Dusty article? YES because it gets a ton of clicks... mostly from streetcar supporters who want to argue in the comments.  Don't argue in the comments.  Buy the streetcar t-shirt (gives money to system).  Write a letter of support (stay positive). Volunteer when Cincinnati Street Railway gets up and running. Do your basic shopping at businesses along the route (For example, ACME Hardware on Main Street near Court).

 

But for the love of god... Do Not Argue In the Comments of an anti-streetcar article. It helps no one.

 

<b>Streetcar supporters:</b> DO NOT COMMENT ON THE DUSTY ARTICLE.  The pro-streetcar LTE has 7 comments, the anti-streetcar LTE has 30.  2/3 of the comments on Dusty's article are from pro-streetcar people.

 

So I'm at Gannett, what do I put on the front page.  The Dusty article? YES because it gets a ton of clicks... mostly from streetcar supporters who want to argue in the comments.  Don't argue in the comments.  Buy the streetcar t-shirt (gives money to system).  Write a letter of support (stay positive). Volunteer when Cincinnati Street Railway gets up and running. Do your basic shopping at businesses along the route (For example, ACME Hardware on Main Street near Court).

 

But for the love of god... Do Not Argue In the Comments of an anti-streetcar article. It helps no one.

 

 

Cranley appeared on Cunningham today to talk about Dusty's article.  This just 20 minutes after John Barrett appeared to take a victory lap. 

 

The good news is that hardly anyone under age 45 listens to 700 WLW or reads The Enquirer.  They won't have this stranglehold over local affairs much longer. 

 

 

 

I can't wait until this is finished!  When will it be finished?  I can't believe there are still attempts to bring this project down.  It's crazy.  I can't wait until the success is undeniable and the system is expanded!

Streetcars will start arriving in September. Track work is currently complete on every street except Main, and will be totally finished by October.

The attacks will never stop. People in Portland are still actively trying to shut their streetcar down. Cranley will not stop until he is out of office.

The attacks will never stop. People in Portland are still actively trying to shut their streetcar down. Cranley will not stop until he is out of office.

 

^ Yes, "some" people are. But Portland Streetcar is getting more embedded all the time. For the first time ever, TRI-MET will begin paying for half the cost of its operation.

 

 

From the MUTCD:

 

When diagonal or longitudinal lines are used to mark a crosswalk, the transverse crosswalk lines may be omitted. This type of marking may be used at locations where substantial numbers of pedestrians cross without any other traffic control device, at locations where physical conditions are such that added visibility of the crosswalk is desired, or at places where a pedestrian crosswalk might not be expected.

 

The additional striping is used a lot at school crossings and where there aren't traffic signals or in general where they want to make the crosswalk more visible.

 

They need to add these types of signs to the middle of all crosswalks were there is no other signal for cars:

^ I see those type of signs all the time in other places, from small towns to big cities, yet I feel like it would turn into the latest big controversy if those were installed here in Cincinnati.

^ I see those type of signs all the time in other places, from small towns to big cities, yet I feel like it would turn into the latest big controversy if those were installed here in Cincinnati.

 

They already managed to sneak them by in Bellevue...

Streetcars will start arriving in September. Track work is currently complete on every street except Main, and will be totally finished by October.

 

When they arrive, will they just sit in the barn? Or will they take them out onto the streets? Or can they not do that until the whole line is energized?

The OTR loop alone can be used for testing and commissioning. The first thing they'll do (outside the MOF) is an unpowered tow around the line to check for clearances.

The OTR loop alone can be used for testing and commissioning. The first thing they'll do (outside the MOF) is an unpowered tow around the line to check for clearances.

 

I can already envision the headlines from the bird cage liner, complete with photo of the streetcar being towed as its tested.  They'll go on about how the streetcar broke down and needed a rubber-wheeled vehicle to tow it back to the MOF. 

The OTR loop alone can be used for testing and commissioning. The first thing they'll do (outside the MOF) is an unpowered tow around the line to check for clearances.

 

Dead pull expected in October. First powered trips possible in late October, more likely Early November.

I see a new office worker contest. Heck with the fish toss and turkey bowl, let there be streetcar pulls...

I see a new office worker contest. Heck with the fish toss and turkey bowl, let there be streetcar pulls...

 

This could be our way to find the next Cincinnati Strongman.

Streetcar pact signed by SORTA, transit union

Jun 3, 2015, 12:50pm EDT 

Chris Wetterich 

Cincinnati Business Courier

 

The union that represents Cincinnati transit workers has signed a deal with the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, clearing the way for its members to operate Cincinnati’s streetcar – if the City Council chooses to go that route.

 

Under the deal, if council chooses a streetcar management framework where a private company manages the project, SORTA employees represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union would operate the streetcar, and facility maintenance and janitorial staff also will be SORTA employees and ATU members.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/06/03/streetcar-pact-signed-by-sorta-transit-union.html

Streetcar pact signed by SORTA, transit union

Jun 3, 2015, 12:50pm EDT 

Chris Wetterich 

Cincinnati Business Courier

 

The union that represents Cincinnati transit workers has signed a deal with the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, clearing the way for its members to operate Cincinnati’s streetcar – if the City Council chooses to go that route.

 

Under the deal, if council chooses a streetcar management framework where a private company manages the project, SORTA employees represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union would operate the streetcar, and facility maintenance and janitorial staff also will be SORTA employees and ATU members.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/06/03/streetcar-pact-signed-by-sorta-transit-union.html

 

Great news. Puts more options on the table. Hope this gets wrapped up soon and we get past another hurdle!

Detroit's light rail is going to have battery operation in downtown Detroit.  This will be the second application of battery-powered streetcars in the country following Dallas.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015/06/01/detroit-streetcar-use-batteries/28277789/

 

So it looks like Cincinnati's streetcar came along at what will be looked back upon as a very narrow window of time -- late enough to get the newest generation all low-floor CAF cars versus the Portland Skoda cars that are now in Tuscon, Washington, Seattle, etc., but just before the rise of off-wire battery technology. 

 

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.  There now exists the possibility that there will be no expansion of the system for 7 more years, and by that time off-wire battery-powered streetcars might be the norm.  That could mean that the five CAF streetcars that will be arriving this year in Cincinnati will be limited to serving the Downtown/OTR section of the system, but a new order of batter-powered streetcars would be free to roam new sections of the system. 

I don't think battery technology is usually worth the added cost. The wires really are not that bad. However, they do make CAF Urbos 3 cars with battery technology, so there is nothing preventing us from ordering them and adding them to the system in the future. Notice how at the 2:00 mark, the streetcar (tram) lowers its pantograph and uses batteries while in the central city area:

 

Using batteries up the hill to Clifton will you still need to move utilities?

I think it's the track that requires the utility relocation, not the overhead wires. So it wouldn't matter if they were battery powered or overhead. Right?

I remember some of the discussions at the time the vehicles were selected. My recollection is that climbing the hill to Uptown with a full load would be very difficult to achieve with any battery-powered car then in existence or under development.

Did the original feasibility studies not account for the full scope of utility relocation? I wonder if some of the alternate uptown alignments may be more feasible given the large utility cost the Vine Street route would entail. Clifon to Ludlow, and then on to Northside (eventually) seemed to be much more of a commuter route to me than Vine Street, anyways, though a lot of the development along that route is already occurring.

I remember some of the discussions at the time the vehicles were selected. My recollection is that climbing the hill to Uptown with a full load would be very difficult to achieve with any battery-powered car then in existence or under development.

 

On Seattle's latest streetcar phrase, they only have an overhead wire going up the hill. On the way down, it uses battery power.

 

However, I think the main reason they invested in wireless technology is so that when they build the downtown portion of their route, they don't have to put up wires. (Remember that Seattle's first two phases extend from opposite edges of downtown out into neighborhoods. Their third phase will actually go through downtown and connect the first two phases to eachother.)

 

However, I think the main reason they invested in wireless technology is so that when they build the downtown portion of their route, they don't have to put up wires. (Remember that Seattle's first two phases extend from opposite edges of downtown out into neighborhoods. Their third phase will actually go through downtown and connect the first two phases to eachother.)

 

That would have been a nice way to start up Cincinnati's. Use it to actually bring people into the downtown area.

^Yeah, but downtown is constrained by hills to the north and east, I-75 and railyard on the west, and the Ohio River to the south.  Making it over or through those is a tall order.  I do agree that extending to neighborhoods (Clifton, Newport, Covington) should happen next, but I think that a circulator in the CBD and OTR was the correct first step.

LMAO. Could you imagine the arguments we would've had to deal with seven years ago if we'd started with a plan that went from Corryville Kroger and dumped people off at Findlay Market? That would've been a political nightmare.

LMAO. Could you imagine the arguments we would've had to deal with seven years ago if we'd started with a plan that went from Corryville Kroger and dumped people off at Findlay Market? That would've been a political nightmare.

 

Whoever recommended that?  I'm sorry I didn't make it clearer for you.  That would never make sense.  I just wish we had the first leg set up to bring people from the west and east into a central location downtown. Certainly not Findlay Market.

Seattle already has a tunnel under their downtown for light rail that runs from the airport/south side to downtown, and will soon be expanded north to the university district. The main point of the Seattle streetcar is to connect areas that will likely not be served by light rail. (Similar to how the subway and streetcars compliment eachother in Toronto.) Seattle's Phase 1 was also built primarily as an economic development for the South Lake Union neighborhood.

 

In Cincinnati, where we do not have an existing light rail network, we made the right choice by starting with a downtown circulator. How would it make any sense to have high-capacity streetcars bringing people from UC or the West End to the edge of downtown, then dumping them off and making them rely on low-capacity buses to get around in the urban core?

I remember some of the discussions at the time the vehicles were selected. My recollection is that climbing the hill to Uptown with a full load would be very difficult to achieve with any battery-powered car then in existence or under development.

 

On Seattle's latest streetcar phrase, they only have an overhead wire going up the hill. On the way down, it uses battery power.

 

However, I think the main reason they invested in wireless technology is so that when they build the downtown portion of their route, they don't have to put up wires. (Remember that Seattle's first two phases extend from opposite edges of downtown out into neighborhoods. Their third phase will actually go through downtown and connect the first two phases to eachother.)

 

I think if we expand the streetcar system within the basin, wireless extensions could be studied.  For example, if Race/Elm were extended south to The Banks or Main/Walnut were extended north to Liberty, then up McMicken toward Brighton, new streetcars could charge on the parts of the line that currently have wires, then run wirelessly on new sections.  I also think wireless operation should be considered in areas with complicated trackwork, such as the junction at Race & 12th. 

 

 

 

^ I think that's probably the future of these systems.  Wires on simple straightaways, at layover points, and uphills, but wireless at junctions or complicated turns, visually sensitive areas, and downhills.  Has there been any further development on the wireless magnetic induction system that was developed by Bombardier?

The CAF Urbos cars in Zaragoza (video above) have superchargers at each of the stations. So every time the streetcar stops to let passengers board/exit, it gets an extra boost of power from below to top off its batteries. Again, these are the same model of streetcar we are buying for Cincinnati, so it is possible that we could add this feature to a future order.

Here are some google screenshots of the new streetcar line in Seattle...obviously this is built on a street that crosses streets with electric trolleybuses.  It's easy to see why wireless operation is so advantageous in cities that still have the old trolleybus wires.

 

 

 

 

Yeah, I forgot to mention Seattle's trolleybuses. It must've been an engineering nightmare to design the wiring where the two-wire trolleybus route and one-wire streetcar route cross. I can definitely understand wanting to use battery powered streetcars in that situation to reduce the complexity. Unfortunately it looks like Seattle did very little utility burial along the route, and even has cobrahead lighting, adding to the messy appearance. Fortunately in Cincinnati, utilities were already buried along most of the route except for the northernmost blocks.

Prepare for a firestorm. The enquirer will go with the highest figure and run with it.

^ Here is the Business Courier's objective article: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/06/05/here-s-how-much-it-will-cost-to-operate.html.

 

$4 million vs. $4.8 million

Will some of the Democrats on Council back away from their preferred (more expensive) option? Will Cranley still push for it, so that he can use the high price tag to cut streetcar service?

Will some of the Democrats on Council back away from their preferred (more expensive) option?

 

No.

 

Will Cranley still push for it, so that he can use the high price tag to cut streetcar service?

 

Yes.