^Or, Urban Ohio forumers could build an HO scale model of the proposed streetcar, complete with existing buildings and future development along the route. Incidently, a line from The Banks to the Zoo will be 120 feet long at HO scale, and the experience will show just how absurd the zig-zag route is.

Here's a really absurd ziz-zag route, so absurd that it only carries 12,000-13,000 passengers a day.

 

http://portlandstreetcar.org/node/4

 

^Get something running! Put a diesel streetcar on the track by the boathouse, or alternatively, an electric streetcar towing a generator. The tourist traffic alone will keep the ridership going for a week at least.

 

Considering the Enquirer's and FOP's reactions to the display by Fountain Square, what do you think they would say about a working display?

 

^-The difference is that the Portland route doesn't have a better alternative.

 

^-The difference is that the Portland route doesn't have a better alternative.

Oh, right.

It's one to two blocks which is not a big deal. And there are even funkier bus routes (See "the one for fun").  The goal is to connect as many destinations as possible without becoming overly complex.  Running the streetcar to Findlay Market is logical because it drops you off at Findlay Markets front door.  The current route drops you off in front of the Aronoff, Music Hall, the ballpark, etc.  The focus isn't getting to UC as fast as possible and it shouldn't be.

Ya-- I'm really shocked with this "absurd route" statement... The route makes pretty good sense... If you walk around those areas a lot you realize it's a totally great route. 

 

The statement that Portland didn't have any other option is a bit strange... That route was chosen because they considered it the best option out of many... just like ours was!  Please correct me if anyone knows that there were no other considerations in portland, I could be mistaken.

 

Our route follows the people, the places & the development potential.  Everything is within a couple block walk of it.  I feel like Duke Energy Center is the only major event center that is not within 2.5-3 block radius of the streetcar and even then, it's a .3 mile walk (5-7 minutes).

City Council passed a zoning code amendment on Wednesday that reduced the parking requirements around the streetcar by 50% for residential uses. 

Here's a really absurd ziz-zag route, so absurd that it only carries 12,000-13,000 passengers a day.

 

http://portlandstreetcar.org/node/4

 

Now that you mention it, as a rider, my favorite parts of Portland's streetcar loop are the turns.  I particularly enjoy the cut through Portland State's campus and the zig zag between Harrison, 4th, Montgomery, and 5th.

 

 

City Council passed a zoning code amendment on Wednesday that reduced the parking requirements around the streetcar by 50% for residential uses.

 

As mundane as this sounds on the surface, it's actually great news.

 

City Council passed a zoning code amendment on Wednesday that reduced the parking requirements around the streetcar by 50% for residential uses.

 

As mundane as this sounds on the surface, it's actually great news.

 

Yep, that's huge! It should also allow those housing developments to offer location-efficient mortgages.

 

City Council passed a zoning code amendment on Wednesday that reduced the parking requirements around the streetcar by 50% for residential uses.

 

As mundane as this sounds on the surface, it's actually great news.

 

Yep, that's huge! It should also allow those housing developments to offer location-efficient mortgages.

 

Awesome news!  Also, I would guess we will hear more about the start of construction once the budget is passed.  Not a great PR move to discuss or start construction prior to budget being signed.  Even though they are not related

Anyone know what the vote was?! (5-4, etc.)

 

Is COAST gonna protest this?

Anyone know what the vote was?! (5-4, etc.)

 

Is COAST gonna protest this?

 

Monzel, Winburn No, Ghiz Absent, Bortz Recused.

 

All others yes

^ Thanks!  I can't believe Bortz has to recuse from all of this.  It's so frustrating.

Ghiz Absent

 

She's too busy being on Willie's show...

Hybrid streetcar to show off in Charlotte    

Tuesday, November 30, 2010 

 

Kinkisharyo International, LLC said Tuesday that its prototype LFX-300, a 100% low-floor, dual-powered, “hybrid” streetcar specifically designed for North America, will arrive in the U.S. in mid-December for testing, with a public unveiling in Charlotte, N.C., in January.

 

 

The LFX-300  subsequently will also appear in Dallas, and Kinkisharyo is in discussion with officials from other cities also interested in hosting the LFX-300 for display or demonstration. The company says it welcomes inquiries from transit authorities across the country also interested in displaying the LFX-300 in their local markets.

 

Full story at: http://www.railwayage.com/breaking-news/kinkisharyo-hybrid-streetcar-to-show-off-in-charlotte.html

That's a great type for overcoming the obstacles and complaints many in DC are launching regarding overhead wires. I don't know that it would be needed here, but could be an option in certain areas of the route that we may want to have wireless.

That's some tricky writing -- all of these vehicles have regenerative braking.  The only way the battery "saves" energy (there's that tricky writing) is if the battery loses less stores energy than the overhead wire wastes during transmission. 

 

Yeah... by adding the line "minimizing energy use" they are emphasizing the wrong thing, IMO. I think they could market to cities that want to use cars that don't require caternary wires along portions of the route.

I like that it's 100% low-floor.  That's a huge plus for bikers and the disabled.  The skoda vehicles seem to be about half (which is still nice).

 

If the batteries are really heavy, then this vehicle conceivably could take more energy to run.

 

It is going to take a lot of energy to climb the hill to uptown. That should definitely be a consideration.

Another possible streetcar name could be The Big Red Machine

:-D

^How 'bout Boss Cox?

Haha nice. Dickens, Longfellow and Churchill all had good things to say about the city maybe quotes could be on the cars too.

 

Regardless Cincinnatis streetcars should be unique somehow.

 

How many streetcars will operate during phase 1?

^7

 

The inimitable Patrick C. Coston has this article in Soapbox:

http://www.soapboxmedia.com/features/1207soapdishbudgets.aspx

^Correct Link: http://www.soapboxmedia.com/features/1207soapdishbudgets.aspx

^Correct Link: http://www.soapboxmedia.com/features/1207soapdishbudgets.aspx

"In the 1870's, Cincinnati was a booming town.  A city looking to grow, not shrink.  During that time, amidst much fanfare, the city overwhelmingly approved issuing $10 million in bonds in order to build the Cincinnati Southern Railroad."

Would state law allow this nowadays?

I'm thinking of the waterworks & how the state won't allow the city to expand it's reach.

The earnings of Ohio cities have not been consistent for the past 210 years.  Cincinnati's property tax, like all Ohio cities, has been limited to 10 mills since the state's inception (by comparison, "villages" (municipalities under 5,000 in population) are limited to 8 mills -- this is why Indian Hill's land usage was designed to be huge but have fewer than 5,000 residents but they messed up and went over by 40 or 50 people).  In the late 1910's and early 1920, Ohio cities were for a few years permitted to levee an additional 2.5 mills in order to recover from WWI and loss of revenue during Prohibition.  This law expired in 1923, unknowingly setting the stage for the Charterite takeover in Cincinnati and the scuttling of the subway project.   

 

A change in state law permitted municipal earnings taxes.  When this was I don't know and what it's limited to I don't know.  I thought about chiming in on Miller since he probably doesn't know either.  Tom Luken probably knows but would give a false answer. 

 

>Would state law allow this nowadays?

 

I don't know.  But there was actually a gap in Ohio state law that permitted it in the first place.  It was an attorney who concocted the whole plan and it was tested in Ohio courts at least twice before construction could begin.  The city didn't really start earning big money on the railroad until the late 1980's, when we got a one-time cash payout of something like $10 million after the city sued Norfolk-Southern when it was found they'd been cooking the books.  The annual revenue jumped from something like $1.5 million to $10 million annually, and now it's around $20 million. 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Guys-  any new word on the streetcar or on utility relocation?  Duke moved a whole bunch of utility access points off of vine between mcmillan and Thrill street right before thanksgiving.  All of the access points were relocated onto the sidewalk.  Any updates regarding sewer access relocation? 

Streetcar, Bridge up for more money

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20101209/NEWS0108/312090090/Streetcar-bridge-up-for-more-money

Wasn't supposed to tell people but the Enquirer broke the story. Streetcar was recommended for $36.8 million in 2011 TRAC today.  Would bring total funds to $151.8 million.

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20101209/NEWS0108/312090090/Streetcar-bridge-up-for-more-money

Is there any chance Kasich could kill that, or would it go through before he takes office?

^ good point-  Does this need the governors approval? and when would it be finalized if so.

Per the 2010 TRAC Calendar, the approval date for today's TRAC list is March 2011.

The $36.8 million plus the $114m already secured exceeds the amount needed for the first phase, correct?

 

EDIT - based on the budgeted amount of $128m.

Are these funds a sure thing after the committee approval? March 2011 is a long ways away with the way things have gone today.

Streetcar Foes Target Berding

 

"In a new effort to block the Cincinnati streetcar and redirect some of its money to save city jobs, the Fraternal Order of Police, the local firefighters' union, the NAACP and other groups are pressuring Councilman Jeff Berding over what they describe as his flip-flop support for the streetcar issue."

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20101209/NEWS0108/12100329

 

 

They just don't give up.  They will keep trying and trying until construction starts

I hope they get their asses handed to them in court. This is all beginning to get very tiresome.

I hope they get their asses handed to them in court. This is all beginning to get very tiresome.

 

There's only one thing that will shut them up : construction

 

Unfortunately, I don't know the time table for that

Construction has never stopped people like this before.  Even successful operations probably won't convince them.  At some point you just have to let them play in their little corner of the sandbox, just be sure to keep them in that corner where they can't do much harm. 

Construction has never stopped people like this before. Even successful operations probably won't convince them. At some point you just have to let them play in their little corner of the sandbox, just be sure to keep them in that corner where they can't do much harm.

I could be wrong, I think their goal is to delay construction with stupid stuff like this until november(where they can try some other form of ballot initiative).

 

A desperate COAST/Smitherman means they will try everything and anything

God, this is so very frustrating.  Maybe these disparate groups will start infighting, and drop their unified attack on the streetcar.  I mean, seriously, when is the last time the NAACP and the FOP stood together on an issue? I'm really trying to understand why groups are so opposed to the streetcar that would cause them to have such a persistent opposition, but I can't think of anything. 

 

As far as shutting these groups up with construction, I don't think we need to look any further than the abandoned subway tunnels to know that construction does not guarantee success in Cincinnati.

*Updated*

 

Cincinnati will get $35 million in state money for the first phases of its streetcar project, the Ohio Department of Transportation said Thursday.

 

 

 

“We’re ready to go,’’ Mayor Mark Mallory said of the $128 million electric rail project, connecting Uptown with Downtown. “The $35 million means we’re done asking for money.’’

:-D

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20101209/NEWS0108/312090090/More-money-for-streetcar

win

700 just reported/'cheerleaded' that kasich is actively trying to kill the project before march....

Let's hope this thing happens.

700 just reported/'cheerleaded' that kasich is actively trying to kill the project before march....

 

What was their basis for reporting this? Anything to back it up?

Kasich is working really hard to push Ohio's median age into the stratosphere.

700 just reported/'cheerleaded' that kasich is actively trying to kill the project before march....

 

The highest scoring project on the TRAC list

700 just reported/'cheerleaded' that kasich is actively trying to kill the project before march....

 

What was their basis for reporting this? Anything to back it up?

 

No basis whatsoever.  They said (Paraphrasing what they said after they announced the 3c money was going to California and other states)

 

"And the Cincinnati streetcar just received an additional $35 million dollars for funding from Ohio's department of Transportation.  Meanwhile, John Kasich and his administration have made it clear that they do not support the project and will attempt to stop it by March"

 

Also, it should be noted that Kasich's pick for the new ODOT director recently was a vice president at an asphalt industry lobbying association. (I don't know if that will have any bearing on this recent transaction or not but I think it will be pretty safe to assume neither will support the project)