They should want to attract carfree people to OTR and downtown as they have a more captive set of residents and consumers. The streetcar makes this possible and is the reason some have moved there already. Taking it away puts more importance on having a car to do any errands and thus all the parking and price negatives of having a car in the city. They should pursue alternative plans to pay for it (if that is what they think the citizens even want)  WAY before cutting any service. If they do cut service we should press them on EXACTLY how much money this even saves and is all of that savings going to the Streetcar debt/daily operations or is it going to be sucked away for other programs & sports teams never to be seen agai?

 

I just noticed that the Hamilton County Courthouse station is no longer sponsored by Jack Casino. Not sure when that happened.

Jack Marchbanks was just appointed to the head of ODOT by Dewine.  Yes, the same Jack Marchbanks who voted to defund the Cincinnati Streetcar uptown extension back in 2011.  That's him sitting to the right of Jerry Wray...the seat he will now occupy as the chair of TRAC. 

 

Edited January 15, 20196 yr by jmecklenborg

He speaks in the third minute:

 

On 1/14/2019 at 10:53 PM, jmecklenborg said:

He speaks in the third minute:

 

God, I forgot Dewine won.  I would like to be surprised but can guess he well not help in improving Ohio transit at all.

53 minutes ago, climberguy714 said:

God, I forgot Dewine won.  I would like to be surprised but can guess he well not help in improving Ohio transit at all.

 

It boggles the mind to imagine a world where Strickland held his seat and Clinton beat Trump (well, she did, but...).   The streetcar would be in Clifton and well on its way to being expanded in numerous directions, and we'd have 3c's rail. 

 

Instead we have two freight rail grade separations -- one in suburban Toledo, the other in Wellington, OH, which is a wide spot in the road.  Plus the completely pointless Portsmouth Bypass. 

The Better Bus Coalition will soon circulate a petition to place a .2% earnings tax increase on the ballot for SORTA.  The ballot language emphasizes that the tax increase cannot direct any funds to the Cincinnati Streetcar:

 https://twitter.com/camhardy513/status/1085575573685133313/photo/1

 

The streetcar is owned and operated by the City, so everyone should already know that. 

 

I know BBC put that line in there primarily so that groups like COAST can't say, "clowncil's gonna spend that money on the trolley!" Except that I promise COAST will still say that because they are post-fact.

Then Jason Williams will write some article with the headline "Citizen Watchdog Group warns Bus Tax Could go to Streetcar"

I didn't see anyone post this- https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/01/11/data-with-cutbacks-on-the-table-what-time-of-day.html

 

 

 

It's just so hard to find a place to park downtown!

28 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

 

 

Ew. 

CITY ALERT!!!! At most, 20 parking spaces are occupied by the power block put in back in 2013 for the STREETCAR!!! Also you may see an ELABORATE streetcar stop ON THE FREAKIN SIDEWALK (and not taking up spaces for cars) in a couple of places!!!!  If this is enough to scare you away from the city TURN BACK NOW!!!! And remember to get BREAD & MILK on the way home it FLURRYING out there!!! What a Rube.

1 minute ago, SleepyLeroy said:

CITY ALERT!!!! At most, 20 parking spaces are occupied by the power block put in back in 2013 for the STREETCAR!!! Also you may see an ELABORATE streetcar stop ON THE FREAKIN SIDEWALK (and not taking up spaces for cars) in a couple of places!!!!  If this is enough to scare you away from the city TURN BACK NOW!!!! And remember to get BREAD & MILK on the way home it FLURRYING out there!!! What a Rube.

 

Dusty Rhodes sucks. 

Again, that new building includes a massive parking garage that more than replaces the 20 spots removed in 2013.

Also, who drives downtown to pay their taxes? I will file and pay my taxes completely online. I'm sure some people still fill out paperwork and mail a check. But who goes to the Hamilton County Administration Building to pay in person? Are they paying with a sack of rolled coins?

Dusty accepts payment in the form of your first born child or used Beatles 45s, but only if you visit him in person. 

2 hours ago, taestell said:

Also, who drives downtown to pay their taxes? I will file and pay my taxes completely online. I'm sure some people still fill out paperwork and mail a check. But who goes to the Hamilton County Administration Building to pay in person? Are they paying with a sack of rolled coins?

 

A fair number of people still pay their property taxes and mortgages in person.  There are a lot of people out there who don't have bank accounts and then there are people who have bank accounts but refuse to do direct deposit or pay any of their bills electronically. 

2 hours ago, BigDipper 80 said:

Dusty accepts payment in the form of your first born child or used Beatles 45s, but only if you visit him in person. 

 

Mono mixes preferred

If ol' Dusty is so concerned about telling constituents how to show up to pay taxes in person, maybe he could have mentioned that people could park up near Rhinegeist for free, and then take the streetcar to get to the County office building. The man is a dinosaur turd.

I wonder what the VTICA fund is at right now and projected for in 2-3 years.

 

I was just looking at two projects, the 4th and Walnut Centre (this pays 2.35 million over life of the abatement. The article didn't say if this was a 15 year abatement or 30 year, I am guessing 15 year = $156k/year)  and the Pendelton Sycamore project ($119k/year over 30 years) = $275k/year

We collect ~$325k in fare revenue every year. Individual projects along the line are going to be contributing more to the fund than all of the riders combined.

If you're paying your taxes in person you're probably someone like Dusty:  Old, anti urban anything and completely out of touch with reality.  

19 minutes ago, ryanlammi said:

We collect ~$325k in fare revenue every year. Individual projects along the line are going to be contributing more to the fund than all of the riders combined.

 

Yeah once the VTICA fully funds the system PLUS more there won't be an issue going fareless

There have been some major missed opportunities with VTICA, like the City exempting the new Kroger apartment tower from having to pay in. However there also seem to be some good choices being made, like stretching out the Sycamore project's abatement/VTICA payments for 30 years rather than 15. I think that will add some long term stability, especially if we do experience some sort of downtown in the coming years with new construction slowing down.

^After the abatements ends won't they need to just pay the 15% straight into the system anyways?

VTICA payments only occur while the abatement is in effect. That's the incentive... we'll give you a 30 year abatement for your project, as long as you agree to make payments into the VTICA fund while you are receiving the abatement. Once the abatement disappears, they begin making their full tax payments and the VTICA payments go away.

Of course, if the developer wants to do a renovation in 30 years they can always apply for another abatement when the put more money into the building.

Ah OK so it isn't a permanent fund.

 

That said policy makers could easily say: Well what they used to put in at 15% is now straight into the coffers?

 

But that said, if it is property taxes it just gets rolled up right and reduced? We've had that discussion before

VTICA payments will vary widely over the years. Hopefully someday they will be more than the streetcar needs and they will have to choose between saving for a rainy day or improving service.  But there’s a big obstacle to overcome before that- the Haile grant of $900,000 a year will expire after 10 years from the first year of operations so VTICA will have to be making up that difference before then. 

All in all I think VTICA is a good way to capture the value created by the streetcar and makes way more sense to me than a special taxing district for Over the Rhine only (when half of the route is downtown/at the Banks and a major function is supporting tourism.) The city needs to make it worth those developer’s contributions though and make the thing run reliably on time which they have been completely negligent in doing.

Edited January 29, 20196 yr by thebillshark

1 hour ago, IAGuy39 said:

Ah OK so it isn't a permanent fund.

 

That said policy makers could easily say: Well what they used to put in at 15% is now straight into the coffers?

 

But that said, if it is property taxes it just gets rolled up right and reduced? We've had that discussion before

 

VTICA is basically an elaborate workaround that only exists so that Cranley can say he kept his promise that "no city tax money is used for the streetcar". Instead, the city gives a tax abatement to new developments and the developers agree pay a portion of that amount into VTICA, which funds the streetcar. You are correct that once the abatement expires, the developers then begin paying the full tax amount into city coffers, but due to that aforementioned pledge that "no city tax money is used for the streetcar", that development is no longer helping to fund the streetcar. As long as new developments keep happening in the urban core, VTICA is a fine solution, but we will run into problems if new investment dries up for a significant period of time, or if we encounter a major recession where developers go bankrupt or stop making the VTICA payments that they have pledged.

A major recession would put all sources of revenue for the streetcar in jeopardy. It doesn't matter if it's coming from sales tax, income tax, fees, VTICA, etc. All sources of revenue decrease during a recession.

 

And again, as long as large projects go through major rehab every 30ish years, we should have some funding continuously coming through to the streetcar via VTICA. Hopefully it's staggered over time so we don't have a ton of money at point, spend it all, then have a dry spell.

Just to change the subject, is anyone else surprised at how few people use the streetcar for commuting.  I use it for such relatively regularly and I can count the regular  commuters around 8am and 5pm at easily less than ten.  I would have a assumed at least a few dozen people who would live in OTR and regularly commute downtown, but that's just not the case.  Anecdotally, it seems like a lot of people living in OTR seem to work outside the basin or work close enough that the streetcar isn't useful for commuting.  Am I crazy here?

16 minutes ago, bfwissel said:

Just to change the subject, is anyone else surprised at how few people use the streetcar for commuting.  I use it for such relatively regularly for such and I can count the regular  commuters around 8am and 5pm at easily less than ten.  I would have a assumed at least a few dozen people who would live in OTR and regularly commute downtown, but that's just not the case.  Anecdotally, it seems like a lot of people living in OTR seem to work outside the basin or work close enough that the streetcar isn't useful for commuting.  Am I crazy here?

 

You're not crazy, but I don't think it is surprising. I live in the basin and walk to work. Findlay Market to Fountain Square is a 25 minute walk. It doesn't seem worth it to pay for a streetcar pass when you can just walk, which is really enjoyable most months out of the year. If we had gotten the streetcar up the hill it would've been way more useful for commuting. 

1 hour ago, bfwissel said:

Just to change the subject, is anyone else surprised at how few people use the streetcar for commuting.  I use it for such relatively regularly for such and I can count the regular  commuters around 8am and 5pm at easily less than ten.  I would have a assumed at least a few dozen people who would live in OTR and regularly commute downtown, but that's just not the case.  Anecdotally, it seems like a lot of people living in OTR seem to work outside the basin or work close enough that the streetcar isn't useful for commuting.  Am I crazy here?

 

Aside from people who live and work in the basin and use the streetcar for their daily commute, the streetcar also has the potential to be a part of many other people's daily commute. However, SORTA has done virtually nothing to (1.) educate the public that Metro monthly passes, stored value cards, and transfers are valid on the streetcar, (2.) promote transfers by announcing "connect to the streetcar at this stop" on bus routes, or (3.) modify any routes to take advantage of the streetcar. In the future I could envision BRT-style commuter bus routes dropping people off in the Riverfront Transit Center, and people going upstairs and connecting to the streetcar to get closer to their final destination.

I think a free (or free combined with parking) streetcar could help encourage people to park at the Central Riverfront Garage and streetcar to their office. People take the Metro Route 85 Parking Meeter to park near longworth hall

More cheap shots from The Enquirer.  On today’s front page:

 

Shut down the Enquirer and Greater Cincinnati will be better informed.

On 1/30/2019 at 8:26 AM, thomasbw said:

I think a free (or free combined with parking) streetcar could help encourage people to park at the Central Riverfront Garage and streetcar to their office. People take the Metro Route 85 Parking Meeter to park near longworth hall

 

While I agree on free fares—because the machines are abysmal/not at all customer friendly, nor reliable—I maintain that the bigger issue is frequency. 

 

12-15 minutes between trains is such an arbitrary and goofy time. Not to mention, between blockages and inconsistent operations these times are (from a perception standpoint) rarely adhered to. 

 

The real-time arrival signs work these days, but the news they present isn't always "good" news. Nor would they be needed if the trains simply had (and operated with) a ten minute frequency. I don't think people would mind paying if they could walk up to a station and know (with confidence) that it'd be no more than ten minutes until the next vehicle approaches. 

And if that kind of frequency can't happen—there needs to be a real way to track the vehicles so you can time it properly. I'm talking about a real, modern app that truly tracks the trains and shows you their position along the line. Metro's BusTracker website is not mobile friendly and the Transit app's real-time tracking is not intuitive, nor always reliable. For the common/casual user—these are not options. 

Simply put: the fare payment (or just a simple tracking app) needed to exist over two years ago. 

Frankly, if the streetcar isn't going to have good operations or be frequent, then "free" fares will be of limited help. If anything, they'll attract more negative attention and be an easy, easy attack point for critics and opposing politicians on "both sides." 

 

Just as an example: Was at the Freedom Center yesterday and needed to get to 6th/Main. Real-Time arrival sign said "17 minutes." Walked it in no time. 

 

Yeah, it's true—you can't walk faster than the streetcar when it's right beside you, but when it gives you a massive head start like that, walking is going to come out on top. 

Edited February 3, 20196 yr by Gordon Bombay

Former 700WLW host Doc Thompson -- WHO HATED THE STREETCAR -- struck and killed by an Amtrak train while jogging in suburban Ft. Worth, TX:

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/haltom-city/2019/02/05/amtrak-train-kills-pedestrian-trinity-railway-express-tracks-haltom-city

Here is the spot where he was struck:

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.7853356,-97.2567349,3a,75y,39.37h,82.53t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVhQfWUeaCerPH8FWns3c6Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

Makes no sense that he would be jogging in an area like that. 

Sent the below to Metro.  The streetcar has become a really dodgy place the last couple of weeks.  I'm hoping they nip this in the bud before this escalates.  I'll post their response when/if I get one.

 

Metro Customer Service,

I just wanted to make you aware of increasing issues of safety on the Cincinnati Bell Connector.  Over the last two weeks I've had three instances where groups of individuals were acting incredibly inappropriately on the streetcar.  Homeless individuals have been shout profanity, making disgusting sexual comments, panhandling riders, and in the case today threatening to kill me because I wouldn't give him any money or any of the take-out Skyline I was bringing home to my family.  I have regularly rode the streetcar ever since it has opened and never had issues even closely matching what I've experienced over the last two weeks.

 

Could you please let me know what steps as an individual I can take when I see this behavior?  Should I call District One dispatch or 911?  Should I alert the driver (or supervisor like I did today)?  What steps is Metro taking to ensure passenger safety?

 

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Cincinnati streetcar gets new leader

 

A new leader has been named for the Cincinnati Bell Connector streetcar.

 

Travis Jeric, a senior assistant city solicitor, will take the role of interim deputy director of the streetcar system on March 10, according to an announcement from the city’s administration at Tuesday’s meeting of the City Council Major Projects and Smart Government Committee and multiple media reports.

 

Jeric has been a member of the real estate division of the city's law department since 2016.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/03/05/cincinnati-streetcar-gets-new-leader.html

 

Meanwhile in KC.....

 

And their route is much simpler and more intuitive. The turns and one-way nature of Cincinnati's system makes it confusing, and adds lots of time to pole to pole trip. 

Being in its 3rd year of service, one has to wonder, politics aside and all that, why this thing hasn't caught-on.  I haven't been to Cincy since this streetcar opened but at this point, it's a lack of demand issue.  With daily ridership projections of 3,000 and seeing, for example, about 850/per day in February, it's simply a lack of demand.

 

If it's turns and the one-way nature of the system, what were the planners thinking? It does sound like a confusing hassle then for visitors to the city, but where are the locals?

 

Edited March 6, 20196 yr by Oxford19

Just now, Oxford19 said:

Being in its 3rd year of service, one has to wonder, politics aside and all that, why this thing hasn't caught-on.  I haven't been to Cincy since this streetcar opened but at this point, it's a lack of demand issue.  With daily ridership projections of 3,000 and seeing, for example, about 850/per day in February, it's simply a lack of demand.

 

If it's turns and the one-way nature of the system, what were the planners thinking? It does sound like a confusing hassle then for visitors to the city, but where are the locals?

 

KC's and DC's streetcars are doing much better.

 

The streetcars are held up over and over again at intersections where there are no cars.  Day and night.  It's amazingly frustrating.  I think everyone can agree that the streetcars should be able to flip a light green, every time, at minor cross-streets.  Cranley has intentionally dragged his feet and refused to allow any change at all to accommodate the streetcar. 

 

As for the route, I agree that both tracks should have been placed on 12th.  The split between Central Parkway and 12th is very confusing. 

 

 

Does anyone know:

 

How accurate are the real-time arrival signs? The Transit app?

What are the real frequencies being hit?

What is the on-time performance?

 

Those have been problems in the past, and reliability is a prerequisite for a useful system, and usefulness is a prerequisite for healthy ridership. I believe these are bigger issues than the shape of the route.

It seems that all of the issues with real-time arrival signs have been fixed. They seem accurate every time I've ridden in the past few months and I don't hear anybody complaining about them anymore.

 

Reliability issues seem to be fixed as well. There was a period of time when we only had three operating streetcars and two were out of commission due to compressor failures, being hit by cars, etc. I think all five are in good shape now. Although I'm not sure how many are put into operation on a typical day. Even though the original agreement only required Transdev to operate two streetcars on the weekend, it seems like they have at least three operating during weekend peak hours.

 

The biggest hinderance to ridership is the frequency. The streetcar still crawls through the CBD because it gets stuck at every red light. Remember when we got the initial results of traffic study in mid-December and the consultants recommended we give longer green lights on Main and Walnut, signal priority for the streetcar at key intersections, and certain other changes to the downtown street grid to help transit riders and pedestrians? Well, three months have passed and our anti-streetcar city administration has done nothing with those recommendations.