I think we should all breathe a sigh of relief and forget about the naysayers. They lost, they are irrelevant. If you want to do point-counterpoint with the idiots, pick another issue. Engaging them only legitimizes their refusal to let the issue die.

 

w00t w00t for the streetcar!

 

100% agree.  I don't care what these knuckle-draggers say or think, so I don't listen to 700 and I don't read enquirer comments. 

 

They have given up on the urban core, but they lost this battle.  Time for us to just tune them out.

True to form, the Enquirer has two anti-streetcar Letters to the Editor up on Cincinnati.com. Neither from city residents.

 

From Bellvue, KY:  Better bus service, not streetcars, needed

From Blue Ash, OH: Streetcar speeds road to ruin

 

 

From the first letter... "So, Cincinnati is getting the streetcar, even though its citizens voted it down.". It kills me that the Editor knows the letter is inaccurate yet still publishes it anyways. Guess that explains why there are a lot of shody articles on their website.

IMHO we have beaten the Enquirer bias conversation to death. They can not be expected to provide unbiased journalism, this we have quantified and established.

 

Just feel lucky that there are so many more sources of information on city developments, including many people on this site.

To the enquirer and all those CAVE people out there: WE WON!!! Way to GO Cincinnati progressives!!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

The Enquirer comments are going totally berserk.  

Notice that the positive comments have way more "recommends" than the negative ones.

And it only took 353 pages of discussion

The Enquirer comments are going totally berserk.  

 

I’m still fully convinced that a lot of those duplicate accounts are pro-streetcar people trying to make anti-streetcar people look insane.  That or someone who wants the Enquirer to get rid of comment sections altogether. Nobody is that insane, it has to be a double agent of some sort.

The Enquirer comments are going totally berserk.

 

I’m still fully convinced that a lot of those duplicate accounts are pro-streetcar people trying to make anti-streetcar people look insane. That or someone who wants the Enquirer to get rid of comment sections altogether. Nobody is that insane, it has to be a double agent of some sort.

 

I share the same opinions on that subject. 

 

Anyways, the streetcar will be built.  It's a great day.  The enquirer will release a flurry of anti streetcar letters and editorials while 700 does their thing.  It doesn't matter anymore. They said the exact same things about fountain square. 

 

They know its coming.  I would imagine, deep down, that they will put away their pride and work together with everyone to ensure that this streetcar succeeds for the good of the city.  If not than we will know where they really stand

My experience with big projects like this in Cincinnati -- the Aronoff, Fort Washington Way, Great American Ball Park, Fountain Square, come to mind --- is that we argue like hell about them forever, and the best ones survive the run of the gauntlet and eventually get built

 

Then most people soon forget the bitching and moaning and get with the program.

 

This will happen with the streetcar too.

Ghiz will be on Cunningham in 6 minutes to presumably talk about the streetcar.  Naturally, I tuned in just in time to hear Bill Cunningham proclaim that Obama hates white people

Just got back from Akash India downtown and they seemed pretty excited about the streetcar (I'm wearing my green streetcar t).  I was with co-workers so I couldn't stay long to chat, but I let them know Cincinnati had enough money to start the project, and it would be done in two years.  It's nice to see even existing business owners are excited about this project.

Cunningham sez it will cost $200 million...tourists will be raped and robbed...sez Mark Mallory makes no sense...there's no way it's going to work...OTR is the most dangerous community in America...keeps saying it's on Vine Street...

 

Ghiz says streetcar fares will cost $6...predicts the streetcar will drain city finances similar to the stadiums...

Cunningham now saying Cincinnati will raise its earnings tax from 2.2% to 2.5% to subsidize the streetcar...nobody's going to drive to the slave museum then ride the streetcar to Findlay Market...what happens when the first person gets shot?...talking about how there used be bars like Neons what happened to that?...vine street is the most violent zip code in the country...ambulances will need to be stationed every few blocks to take people to UC hospital...

 

 

Caller insists that we voted against the streetcar and that we voted three times against stadiums...

 

He'll "check the tapes" to see whether or not he supported the stadiums. I remember quite well listening to WLW that election night waiting for the results. Cunningham and Seg were on and it was a on-air party when it was announced they won.

...talking about how there used be bars like Neons what happened to that?.

 

What is the point of that statement supposed to be?

Wow, I knew that radio personalities were ruthless and deceiving, but those are just flat out lies...easily verifiable lies.

He obviously doesn't know that Neon's reopened some time ago.  You should probably send him an email and attach some photos as proof, but I doubt he will acknowledge it. 

I’m still fully convinced that a lot of those duplicate accounts are pro-streetcar people trying to make anti-streetcar people look insane. That or someone who wants the Enquirer to get rid of comment sections altogether. Nobody is that insane, it has to be a double agent of some sort.

 

^That's sort of ridiculous though, isn't it?  Believing that an active conspiracy is more likely to occur than just plain lunacy?

 

Clearly some people love the streetcar, and some people hate it.  So you're assuming, based on no evidence whatsoever, that those who love it are willing to go above and beyond hard core advocacy and actually pretend to be the hardest-core haters in order to undermine the position of the true hard core haters, who are content with simple being agressive in their opinions.

 

Sounds like you're trying to make the facts fit your theory.  Occam's razor dude.

Introducing the Schick Quattroccam- for the discerning shaver.

 

For fun: http://tinyurl.com/ye9369h

You should probably send him an email and attach some photos as proof, but I doubt he will acknowledge it. 

We were on his show twice!

Bill Cunningham 4/7/10 Hour 3

Wednesday, April 07, 2010 3:21 PM

 

Willie talks to Dan MacDonald about the re-opening of Neon's.

http://media.ccomrcdn.com/media/station_content/1209/100407_3_willie_1270668189_32273.mp3

I’m still fully convinced that a lot of those duplicate accounts are pro-streetcar people trying to make anti-streetcar people look insane. That or someone who wants the Enquirer to get rid of comment sections altogether. Nobody is that insane, it has to be a double agent of some sort.

 

^That's sort of ridiculous though, isn't it? Believing that an active conspiracy is more likely to occur than just plain lunacy?

 

Clearly some people love the streetcar, and some people hate it. So you're assuming, based on no evidence whatsoever, that those who love it are willing to go above and beyond hard core advocacy and actually pretend to be the hardest-core haters in order to undermine the position of the true hard core haters, who are content with simple being agressive in their opinions.

 

Sounds like you're trying to make the facts fit your theory. Occam's razor dude.

 

I think you dove a bit too deep into it.  There's a bunch of trolls running rampant in the Enquirer’s comment sections.  If whoever they are actually hated the streetcar, I don’t think they’d be purposely making themselves look like a bunch of loonies.  You’re right though, it could simply be that there are a few crazies out there... I just find the simpler explanation to be harder to believe in this case.

 

Either way, I don’t really care, and I’d like to think most people only read newspaper comment sections for occasional laughs like I do.  In that case, a troll here or there is marginally amusing.

 

YES, CINCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  ATTA BOY!!!!!!!!!  Proud of my Hometown. 21st Century (finally)!

 

Smitherman: suck on this alll summer long.

Luken: time for you to croak.

Larry Flynt? For real??? Nah...

Wow, I knew that radio personalities were ruthless and deceiving, but those are just flat out lies...easily verifiable lies.

 

I tuned in the other day when they were interviewing a guy who was saying that healthcare costs would drop on their own, using the example of plasma TVs...

 

I switched back over to NPR.

A look at the streetcar, spring 2013

BY BARRY M. HORSTMAN • [email protected] • JULY 10, 2010

Sometime in the spring of 2013, Cincinnatians should be able to board a sleek new streetcar on the Downtown riverfront, sit back as the center city and Over-the-Rhine roll by, and after a smooth climb uphill to Clifton, hop off about 20 minutes later on the fringes of the University of Cincinnati.

 

 

 

The trip will probably cost a dollar or two, there will no driving headaches en route and riders will presumably arrive at their destinations relaxed and calm, not still seething over that idiot who cut them off at Liberty and Vine.

 

That, at least, is the rosy scenario of supporters of the proposed $128 million streetcar system that this week got a definitive green light when a $25 million U.S. Transportation Department grant filled most of the gap in the project's first-phase construction budget.....

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100710/NEWS0108/7110321/A-look-at-the-streetcar-spring-2013

 

 

  "After a smooth climb uphill to Clifton..."

 

    Another misuse of the "Clifton" place name.  :-(

so does anyone have a timetable that will explain the Spring 2013 timeframe?

Streetcars don't use timetables, only railroads do. :D 

it just seems long.  maybe the downtown/otr loop will be open before that?

The Portland timetable reflected a similar pace of construction, maybe even longer.

Love how the latest Horstman article is saturated with details right down to the percentage of designed stations. Somehow the Enquirer magically got their hands on all the detailed information that they lamented was missing in all of their editorials written before the grant award.

Love how the latest Horstman article is saturated with details right down to the percentage of designed stations. Somehow the Enquirer magically got their hands on all the detailed information that they lamented was missing in all of their editorials written before the grant award.

 

I'm guessing they "forgot" to ask for them until now

Looks like its WW37 in the comment section again.

 

One person is calling the Enquirer a "leftist communist newspaper" because they think it is supporting the streetcar. 

 

Absolute chaos

  "It just seems long."

 

  On the contrary, two years is aggressive for such a project. It will probably take at least a year just for design.

This is great news.  OTR will never be the same again.

Elm and Green is only one block from the market.

So have any official updates to the routing been made yet?  Who would even be the right people to ask about that?  The northbound routing through University Plaza obviously needs to be reworked, as does the connection between the Uptown and OTR loops, which has been highly criticized here.  We keep talking about these things here, yet we don't seem to know at what point the real engineers are at. 

  "It just seems long."

 

   On the contrary, two years is aggressive for such a project. It will probably take at least a year just for design.

 

its a little under 3 years.  spring 2013.  2 years sounds nice though.  :)

^

I suspect that delivery of the vehicles may be the determining factor here.

From the Hamilton County Republican Party blog:

 

Looks like the streetcar received $25 million from the federal government. I've blogged about that plenty. I do have one question: Can it go up the steep hills to Clifton? Seriously. How does anything on tracks go up a steep hill? I'm not the expert, but I'm curious about how that works. Our County Engineer has the same questions.

 

http://hcrp.blogspot.com/2010/07/nra-etc.html

 

Unfortunately there is no way to leave a comment on the blog.

I guess he hasn't been to Pittsburgh , those trains go up steppe hills.

Its interesting how Sloan on 700 was completely for the streetcar from December - June, and now when he gets the show in his morning spot  he is dead set against it in every which way. 

^ No sense trying to figure out why, either.

Fellow Cincinnatian for Progress,

 

            Last week, the Cincinnati Streetcar received the maximum award from the Department of Transportation's Urban Circulators program.  With the addition of these federal funds, the Streetcar now has 90% of the necessary funding in place to complete the first phase running from our riverfront to the University of Cincinnati-connecting the regions two largest job centers.

 

            In the weeks ahead, Cincinnatians for Progress will be unveiling our new website and an expanded focus.  In addition to working to make our streetcar a transformative investment for our City, Cincinnatians for Progress will be outlining a pro-transportation, pro-growth platform that will help create jobs and improve mobility in our region.

 

Thank you for all of your support in getting to where we are today.  We would not be in this position without countless hours from hundreds of concerned Cincinnatians who wanted to make their City a better place to live.  Thank you for your time, effort and support and stay tuned for updates from Cincinnatians for Progress as we move ahead.

 

Sincerely,

 

Candace Klein

Rob Richardson

Amber Burke Sprengard

I guess he hasn't been to Pittsburgh , those trains go up steppe hills.

 

Just like the Mongol hordes.

^ Pretty much what I equate people from Pittsburgh to ;)

 

.. at least the ones that are Steelers fans.

So have any official updates to the routing been made yet?  Who would even be the right people to ask about that?

 

I believe the plan is still have the northern OTR loop go on Henry St., not McMicken which all other maps show. Read my posts from last summer on reasons for that change. I believe Elder and Green are the streets that will be used to tie into the Uptown Spur. There is a good collection of engineers/project managers that have been working on this since Spring '09. Most of the work I was apart of will start this fall with utility relocations. Michael Moore, City Engineering, would be a good person to contact or Fred Craig at Parsons Brinckerhoff.

McMicken has been off the table for a while, but as we've discussed here a number of times in the past, the Henry loop and Elder/Green tie-in is still an abysmal situation. 

take dallas for a lesser example. they have fairly recently revived an old street car line (the mckinney streetcar). now you could say that development along it and in dallas in general would be expanding regardless of its existence and you would be right, but it sure makes what is happening along it a heck of a lot more attractive. its still not even really fully used for commuting, its more of an amenity for residents and for visitors to the neighborhoods it covers. nice one tho and it will be even more important as growth along it continues and btw its run inexpensively by railfans.

 

this kind of thing is the very least the streetcar would do for cinci, where i am certain it would immediately get more commuter types and regular transit users.

So have any official updates to the routing been made yet? Who would even be the right people to ask about that?

 

I believe the plan is still have the northern OTR loop go on Henry St., not McMicken which all other maps show. Read my posts from last summer on reasons for that change. I believe Elder and Green are the streets that will be used to tie into the Uptown Spur. There is a good collection of engineers/project managers that have been working on this since Spring '09. Most of the work I was apart of will start this fall with utility relocations. Michael Moore, City Engineering, would be a good person to contact or Fred Craig at Parsons Brinckerhoff.

I think they're looking at reworking and using Findlay as the crossover in order to reduce the distance riders have to reverse direction. i.e. not going as far south as Elder or Green. It's a tough puzzle.