Actually, Jack Marchbanks is a great guy. I've known him for years, going back to when I was Dispatch transportation writer and he was head of ODOT District 6. This was in the Taft administration. He is a city dweller and a transit supporter -- which is why I was surprised to see that he was tapped by Kasich. Perhaps Kasich is seeking to appoint more minorities to various things and doesn't know Jack likes transit.

 

He wasn't there on Wednesday. I've also heard good things about him. TRAC was having a conference call yesterday or today about recommendations.

Emailed a TRAC member and got a response. 

 

I sent a very nice email thanking him for his service on TRAC and praising the independent nature of the board.  I also asked for his support on the Streetcar and mentioned my opinion that the streetcar is being attacked for political reasons and, as the ranking system showed, not that it is a bad project.

 

His response said that "If the current recommendations are advanced - we are 62% over

programmed in Tier I" and that that issue has nothing to do with political influence. 

 

The pessimist in me says he'll be voting against he Streetcar...  Hopefully I'm wrong and that he's simply stating a fact!

 

Didn't they know they were 62% over programmed when it came to rank the projects??? If anything cut everyone of the projects in half. Not eliminate the highest ranking project all together.

Didn't they know they were 62% over programmed when it came to rank the projects??? If anything cut everyone of the projects in half. Not eliminate the highest ranking project all together.

 

Exactly, if cuts need to be made why in the H#$% would they cut 100% of the highest ranking project.  That makes absolutely no sense!!

 

I suppose it doesn't really matter what TRAC says at this point though since the amendment to the Transportation Budget banning all funding to Cincinnati's Streetcar is passed.

Second email:

 

"FYI - on that point

I understand the concern with cutting the highest ranking project....

but lower ranked projects are not getting that funding...

 

we are 62% over funded - we are poised to elimiate funding for at

least 6 projects on the draft list and i dont think we will be adding

any new projects"

 

How are lower ranked projects not getting that funding? if I have a budget of $100 and rank 3 spending options by value as 1 2 and 3.. then give the 100 to project rank#2... that's giving the money to a lower ranked project. 

 

According to a post earlier in this forum, ODOT recommended dropping from 26 projects to 15.  If the TRAC member I spoke with is correct, 5 projects ODOT recommended removing may not be removed...

Keep calling him out Octo.  Good work. 

Short answer to the problem: "cut from the bottom, not from the top."

^ But that's not necessarily the way it works. When given a list of projects and limited funds, a politician will tend to rank projects by popularity.

Check out responses to Courier's Cincinnati streetcar survey

Business Courier - by Dan Monk - Date: Friday, March 25, 2011, 12:33pm EDT - Last Modified: Friday, March 25, 2011, 2:40pm EDT

 

If Cincinnati doesn't build a streetcar, we should use some of the money we save to buy diapers for police horses or build Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown a new home – in another city.

 

Those were some of the tongue-in-cheek responses (we think) in a survey of business leaders and Business Courier readers, who were asked to weigh in on whether the city should plunge ahead with its $128 million public transit project.

 

Seventy-three percent of the 1,500 readers who responded said the city should build the streetcar, while 70 percent of business leaders said it's time to halt the project.

 

"An endless money pit which will require continued funding each year because it will never pay for itself," wrote Paul Verst, CEO of Verst Group Logistics Inc. FYI, he's the one who suggested the new home for Mike Brown, too.

 

Cont

^ But that's not necessarily the way it works. When given a list of projects and limited funds, a politician will tend to rank projects by popularity.

Except that TRAC was created specifically so politicians would not make those choices. Projects were to be judged on their merits by a carefully selected panel with a set of criteria. Kasich is throwing that out and making the process purely political again.

I have emailed every member of TRAC and city council. I hope you all do the same.

Gee, the Business Courier gets a negative quote from Verst Group Logistics.  Anyone know what Verst does?

 

I do:  they're a over-the-road shipping/brokering company.  They own semis for shipping and arrange shipping (via semis) for others.  Oh, and I may be wrong about this, but I think that they're in Kentucky. 

 

Hard to believe that he's not in favor of the Streetcar. 

The comicality is that some CEO's did not sound anymore sophisticated than the average Joe.....or Jed as it were.  There is a lot of transparency in many of the quotes though.

The Enquirer apparently has another anti-streetcar editorial. Funny how they manufacture fake outrage against the project for 2+ years with their lazy and dishonest reporting, and then cite "lack of public support" as a reason to scrap the project. They have zero credibility, and if I didn't have friends who work there, I'd do a happy dance the day that worthless joke of a newspaper finally goes out of business.

I have to say I am disappointed by the deafening silence coming from the city on this.  I understand that they are thinking things over and evaluating options, but I think you have to go on the offensive here.  If you are considering litigation, say it.  If you are reaching out to the feds and they are ticked, tell people about it.  It seems emblematic of one of the things that has frustrated me about the Democrats for years--they are not good at modern politics.  You know why every Republican you talk to hates Rahm Emmanuel?  Because he is an attack dog, and he goes after the GOP like they go after things.  These are not the Republicans of the 70s and 80s (or even the 90s).  The Tea Party movement should show you that.  These people are zealots, crusaders, bullies--and you have to respond to them like bullies. 

 

Just frustrated with the whole process.  I want someone fighting for this project with Sean Connery's approach from The Untouchables. 

 

Exactly: the Dumbocrats *say* they're progressive and then drag their feet on the city end of things and then comes a (rather predictable) change at the state level that all but stops them in their tracks. While people here say Cincinnati should have broken ground on the streetcar by now, so should Columbus. The difference is that when there were a few murmurs of criticism, mayor Coleman turtled up and slowly backed away: another so-called "leader" who isn't calling the shots. Neither Coleman or Mallory seem to be out front pushing for streetcars as hard the repubs are pushing against it, despite the no-brainer that they are as a catalyst to bring back the very urban neighborhoods they built in the first place: who would guess that streetcar neighborhoods thrive when a streetcar anchors them?

I have to say I am disappointed by the deafening silence coming from the city on this.  I understand that they are thinking things over and evaluating options, but I think you have to go on the offensive here.  If you are considering litigation, say it.  If you are reaching out to the feds and they are ticked, tell people about it.  It seems emblematic of one of the things that has frustrated me about the Democrats for years--they are not good at modern politics.  You know why every Republican you talk to hates Rahm Emmanuel?  Because he is an attack dog, and he goes after the GOP like they go after things.  These are not the Republicans of the 70s and 80s (or even the 90s).  The Tea Party movement should show you that.  These people are zealots, crusaders, bullies--and you have to respond to them like bullies. 

 

Just frustrated with the whole process.  I want someone fighting for this project with Sean Connery's approach from The Untouchables. 

 

Exactly: the Dumbocrats *say* they're progressive and then drag their feet on the city end of things and then comes a (rather predictable) change at the state level that all but stops them in their tracks. While people here say Cincinnati should have broken ground on the streetcar by now, so should Columbus. The difference is that when there were a few murmurs of criticism, mayor Coleman turtled up and slowly backed away: another so-called "leader" who isn't calling the shots. Neither Coleman or Mallory seem to be out front pushing for streetcars as hard the repubs are pushing against it, despite the no-brainer that they are as a catalyst to bring back the very urban neighborhoods they built in the first place: who would guess that streetcar neighborhoods thrive when a streetcar anchors them?

 

Well put. You'd think that since Democrats get much of their support from urban areas, they'd be much more outspoken about standing up for those whom they purport to represent. The anti-urban Republican agenda, of which the possible defeat of the streetcar is a part, is an attempt to weaken weaken that support, along with union-busting activities.

 

Democrats need to wake up or we'll wake up one day in a country of, by and for the oligarchs. We should demand better from  Democrats.

The Enquirer apparently has another anti-streetcar editorial. Funny how they manufacture fake outrage against the project for 2+ years with their lazy and dishonest reporting, and then cite "lack of public support" as a reason to scrap the project. They have zero credibility, and if I didn't have friends who work there, I'd do a happy dance the day that worthless joke of a newspaper finally goes out of business.

 

Either put a "boycott the Enquirer" Facebook page up or a "dumbass Enquirer" blog up, or both. Fight back.

Is there anything non-Ohioans can do to show support?  I'd write a letter or something, but as a KY resident, I don't think anyone in the various OH offices cares much about what I think.  Sad to watch this go down.

You could always frame it as an 'I *was* considering moving to Cincinnati, but now that the streetcar might not get built...' letter.

The Enquirer apparently has another anti-streetcar editorial. Funny how they manufacture fake outrage against the project for 2+ years with their lazy and dishonest reporting, and then cite "lack of public support" as a reason to scrap the project. They have zero credibility, and if I didn't have friends who work there, I'd do a happy dance the day that worthless joke of a newspaper finally goes out of business.

 

Either put a "boycott the Enquirer" Facebook page up or a "dumbass Enquirer" blog up, or both. Fight back.

 

My life goal isn't to take down the Enquirer (the Enquirer itself is doing a good job of that already), but I want to see the streetcar built. Toward that end, I've:

 

1) Written letters to the TRAC board.

2) Written letters to the editor that never get published.

3) Spoken in front of City Council in favor of the project.

4) Completed an undergraduate thesis which involves the future of mass transit in Cincinnati, in which the streetcar plays a pivotal role.

5) Maintained a pro-transit blog that supports the streetcar and has been highly critical of the Enquirer at times.

6) Strongly advocated for the streetcar in countless one-on-one conversations.

7) Advocate for, donate to, and vote for pro-transit candidates at election time.

8) Donated money to Cincinnatians for Progress.

9) Maintain a Facebook page, a satirical Facebook group, and a Twitter account for sharing pro-transit news and information.

 

I'm not really sure what else you'd have me do, as I feel I've exhausted every means I have at my disposal to see the streetcar built. Streetcar supporters have done all the right things and played by the rules to get this built, but we're facing an onslaught from powerful interests who have no qualms about using dishonest tactics and illegal shenanigans to further a radical anti-urban, anti-government agenda. It would be one thing if they were merely indifferent toward the streetcar, but they've made a conscious decision to launch a crusade against it and use any means -- legal, ethical, or otherwise -- to actively undermine Cincinnati's progress.

 

I love Cincinnati and I'm committed to staying here until I get my masters degree in 2013, but where I go from there will depend largely upon what sort of opportunities are available to me at that time. If I feel that my efforts to improve the city are being wasted here, then I'll look to make those efforts elsewhere.

The Enquirer apparently has another anti-streetcar editorial. Funny how they manufacture fake outrage against the project for 2+ years with their lazy and dishonest reporting, and then cite "lack of public support" as a reason to scrap the project. They have zero credibility, and if I didn't have friends who work there, I'd do a happy dance the day that worthless joke of a newspaper finally goes out of business.

 

Either put a "boycott the Enquirer" Facebook page up or a "dumbass Enquirer" blog up, or both. Fight back.

 

My life goal isn't to take down the Enquirer (the Enquirer itself is doing a good job of that already), but I want to see the streetcar built. Toward that end, I've:

 

1) Written letters to the TRAC board.

2) Written letters to the editor that never get published.

3) Spoken in front of City Council in favor of the project.

4) Completed an undergraduate thesis which involves the future of mass transit in Cincinnati, in which the streetcar plays a pivotal role.

5) Maintained a pro-transit blog that supports the streetcar and has been highly critical of the Enquirer at times.

6) Strongly advocated for the streetcar in countless one-on-one conversations.

7) Advocate for, donate to, and vote for pro-transit candidates at election time.

8) Donated money to Cincinnatians for Progress.

 

I'm not really sure what else you'd have me do, as I feel I've exhausted every means I have at my disposal to see the streetcar built. Streetcar supporters have done all the right things and played by the rules to get this built, but we're facing an onslaught from powerful interests who have no qualms about using dishonest tactics and illegal shenanigans to further a radical anti-urban, anti-government agenda. It would be one thing if they were merely indifferent toward the streetcar, but they've made a conscious decision to launch a crusade against it and use any means -- legal, ethical, or otherwise -- to actively undermine Cincinnati's progress.

 

I love Cincinnati and I'm committed to staying here until I get my masters degree in 2013, but where I go from there will depend largely upon what sort of opportunities are available to me at that time. If I feel that my efforts to improve the city are being wasted here, then I'll look to make those efforts elsewhere.

 

My previous message wasn't aimed specifically at you. It was meant to motivate anyone out there who might have an issue with the Enquirer. Apologies to you if it came across otherwise. Oh, and you've done plenty! Nice work.

^ Thanks for the clarification. Apology accepted.

^ Thanks for the clarification. Apology accepted.

 

BTW, love your "Living In Gin" name and avatar!

We are closer than ever. The opponents know this. That's why they have turned up the volume in the last couple of weeks. Ignore them.

I'm having a hard time determining how bad this is because of the wording of that addition and the multiple sources of funds that may or may not be affected.  Worst case scenario, how much funding does the project stand to lose?

 

Also, these recent developments may explain why Smitherman and company decided not to push for a May ballot.  Why risk embarrassing yourself again when the governor is willing to do the dirty work for you?

^Well the real danger I see is if all of this funding is yanked, council support collapses, then having this ballot thing happen.  It would be pretty tough to raise money and rally people to campaign against it, meaning the 10-year ban could pass.  In short we'd be way worse off than if the streetcar had never been studied in 2007. 

^Agreed.  If it's not going to happen now, they should just take it off the table and get rid of the ballot initiative.  Unless the Feds come through with a bunch of money, not sure how we can make a go of it. 

Even if the TRAC reverses course and denies the funding under political pressure from Kasich, the project has enough funding to move forward.

 

Great cities don't exist without great transit. And buses are not great transit.

Buses are great, but they need to be included as part of an overall, comprehensive transportation plan.

Yes they do and yes they should. But when a minimal transit system (bus-only) is provided only as a social safety net, the city as a whole is not as dynamic as it could be.

Hey, can anyone point me in the direction to find the independent studies that have been performed on the streetcar?  I have read at least one but can't remember if any others have been performed?  This will greatly help a debate I'm having with some people that base their info on what they hear on WLW.  Thanks!

^ The UC study was an independent analysis of the streetcar project: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/noncms/projects/streetcar/docs/UC_study.pdf

Thanks.  I believe that was the one I read.  Was that the only one, or were there other non-independent studies performed?

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/city/downloads/city_pdf17763.pdf

>they should just take it off the table and get rid of the ballot initiative.

 

"They" is COAST and the NAACP, not city council.  City council can't block them from doing this merely by stopping the project.  Anyone could have come along an tried to pass an anti-streetcar charter amendment at any time before a streetcar was proposed. 

^I completely understand that.  What I am saying is if it's not going to happen, make it clear it's not going to happen.  In theory, at least, you would have the COAST/NAACP crowd campaigning against something that doesn't exist, making it that much more likely to be defeated.  If you keep it on the table even without funding, the anti-Streetcar folks can still point to that (and possibly with more ammunition, by saying that council still plans to do it even after losing $50mil, making it a bigger risk to the city, blah blah blah).

 

I'd like it to be built.  But if it's going to happen, do it already.  If not, don't walk us into a charter amendment that screws us for ten years because the well has been so poisoned and it is still on the table with no realistic chance of occurring. 

^ It doesn't matter.  This could go the same way as the red light camera idea went a few years back.  COAST got the charter amendment passed months after the whole idea died a complete death from Council and the Mayor.

^ Methinks this group worries too much.

^I completely understand that.  What I am saying is if it's not going to happen, make it clear it's not going to happen.  In theory, at least, you would have the COAST/NAACP crowd campaigning against something that doesn't exist, making it that much more likely to be defeated.  If you keep it on the table even without funding, the anti-Streetcar folks can still point to that (and possibly with more ammunition, by saying that council still plans to do it even after losing $50mil, making it a bigger risk to the city, blah blah blah).

 

I'd like it to be built.  But if it's going to happen, do it already.  If not, don't walk us into a charter amendment that screws us for ten years because the well has been so poisoned and it is still on the table with no realistic chance of occurring. 

 

Judging from the timetable the Streetcar plan has followed so far, I couldn't see another rail proposal realistically happening within the next 10 years anyway.  Kasich is here for 4, so don't expect any state funds (or possibly federal funds) for at least 4 years.  Then planning, studying, etc, and waiting for someone with the political will to push a new plan; streetcar, lightrail, or other.  If the streetcar plan fails now, I don't think it matters much if the city charter amendment goes through.  We'd be looking at a multi-year wait anyway.  It's hard to believe that Metro Moves was almost 10 years ago.  Even with the current setbacks, our best shot is now.  If we can get some useful portion of Phase 1 built, and assuming it works, then the rest will take care of itself when the public sees what fixed rail really does.  I sure hope that the city has a plan and that we're not totally at the mercy of the current state government.

^ Methinks this group worries too much.

 

What!? Us worrying? :-o

 

:-P

 

 

^ considering after Metro Moves failed it took another 9 years to get to where we are today... If this doesn't make it through, don't expect more progress on rail in this city for another decade.  :(

^ Longer than that. When the great depression killed the subway, It took 50 years and still counting. Now this great recession killed this project. This town i cursed or something.

No, you're not totally at the mercy of state government. And John is correct. While this is not a perfect political environment for urban-friendly infrastructure investments in Ohio, it isn't a reason to be fatalistic either.

Not apples to apples but when I was at Railvolution I learned that when Portland got approval to begin on it's first light rail project by convincing a state republican majority. Anything is possible...

Pacific coast republicans are very different from mid-west tea party-heavy republicans.  very different views.  If you read the quotes coming from republican senators and representatives all around Ohio against this project- it seems clear if this doesn't get off the round, it will NOT get state support until these people are out of office.

^ Longer than that. When the great depression killed the subway, It took 50 years and still counting. Now this great recession killed this project. This town i cursed or something.

 

The Great Depression didn't kill the subway. Cost overruns/corruption did.

 

And get away from that ledge! The streetcar ain't dead. Sheesh!

 

Everybody, chill.....

 

Pacific coast republicans are very different from mid-west tea party-heavy republicans.  very different views.  If you read the quotes coming from republican senators and representatives all around Ohio against this project- it seems clear if this doesn't get off the round, it will NOT get state support until these people are out of office.

Who other than Shannon Jones?

Senator Tom Patton as well-

 

And Shannon Jones is the Majority Whip- the #2 Republican in the state senate and the author of Senate Bill 5- She's not just one senator- she's the second most powerful republican senator in the state.

After the response I got from a TRAC member where he defended removing Streetcar funds for lower ranked projects openly in an email with me, it's clear that this project is getting 0 state dollars.  And unless the Fed plans to reroute the Urban Circulator grant (it currently is given to ODOT for them to give to Cincy), that money is gone as well. 

 

Several of you keep saying don't worry, everything is going to be ok- There has to be something you know that we don't- as all the public information says the streetcar is down to $64 million in bonds... since the OKI money can also potentially be withheld by the anti-Cincinnati amendment in the transportation budget. 

 

The only fix I see is a lawsuit by the city. I'm REALLY hoping there's more to this that I'm not aware of.

^Agreed.