Just wanted to note that Julie Janson, CEO of Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky, was replaced yesterday. She's becoming corporate counsel at Duke's HQ in Charlotte. So she's going from managing an organization of a couple thousand people to managing probably fewer than 100, which doesn't seem like a promotion.

 

The Enquirer moved the story in today's print edition but never put it online. I'm guessing Duke requested that it not be posted, fearing all kinds of negative Comments. Her tenure here has been awful. And not just because of the streetcar.

 

Good riddance. A nice Christmas present for Cincinnati.

Just wanted to note that Julie Janson, CEO of Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky, was replaced yesterday. She's becoming corporate counsel at Duke's HQ in Charlotte. So she's going from managing an organization of a couple thousand people to managing probably fewer than 100, which doesn't seem like a promotion.

 

The Enquirer moved the story in today's print edition but never put it online. I'm guessing Duke requested that it not be posted, fearing all kinds of negative Comments. Her tenure here has been awful. And not just because of the streetcar.

 

Good riddance. A nice Christmas present for Cincinnati.

 

This is good news.  It may just provide the perfect story for Duke to publicly declare her a scapegoat for how they have handled the streetcar negotiations, and  allow them to come back to the table a more civil and reformed partner in Cincinnatis future.

The orange paint things been fixed for at least 10 years....

 

I just arrived in Phoenix for visiting family over Christmas, and the first thing I did when I got here was get a bus pass for the time I'm here. The shelters I've seen so far don't even indicate what bus stops there.... so already I'm discouraged the system is going to be confusing.

 

What shelters are you talking about?  Every stop has a bright green sign at it listing the number.

 

Really? I'm a little outside of downtown in Laveen. The stops I've seen around the neighborhood just say "bus stop"

 

Oh, you're talking about Phoenix.  Sorry, I was confused.  I thought you were saying that Cincinnati's Streetcar would be confusing because the bus stops aren't marked.  So...you are agreeing that Cincinnati is far from the worst city for transit?

Just wanted to note that Julie Janson, CEO of Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky, was replaced yesterday. She's becoming corporate counsel at Duke's HQ in Charlotte. So she's going from managing an organization of a couple thousand people to managing probably fewer than 100, which doesn't seem like a promotion.

 

The Enquirer moved the story in today's print edition but never put it online. I'm guessing Duke requested that it not be posted, fearing all kinds of negative Comments. Her tenure here has been awful. And not just because of the streetcar.

 

Good riddance. A nice Christmas present for Cincinnati.

 

Who's taking her place?  If it's Johnna Reeder, I wouldn't call it progress. 

The orange paint things been fixed for at least 10 years....

 

I just arrived in Phoenix for visiting family over Christmas, and the first thing I did when I got here was get a bus pass for the time I'm here. The shelters I've seen so far don't even indicate what bus stops there.... so already I'm discouraged the system is going to be confusing.

 

What shelters are you talking about?  Every stop has a bright green sign at it listing the number.

 

Really? I'm a little outside of downtown in Laveen. The stops I've seen around the neighborhood just say "bus stop"

 

Oh, you're talking about Phoenix.  Sorry, I was confused.  I thought you were saying that Cincinnati's Streetcar would be confusing because the bus stops aren't marked.  So...you are agreeing that Cincinnati is far from the worst city for transit?

 

Oh, yes. Most definitely. Are there things that could be improved? Of course. But there are also MANY things Metro is doing right or working on implementing.

Not Johnna. New CEO is a guy I'd never heard of. Previously was VP of government affairs and, while a Cincy (region) native, had supposedly been spending a lot of his time working in Frankfurt & Columbus. It's also very interesting as Jansen is the chairwoman of the Cincinnati USA regional chamber, and had been hailed as a pretty big deal in that role. The business community loved her, the huge Brent Spence Bridge campaign, and commercials, were her brainchild

This is good news. And to add to it, I had a chance encounter with somebody this past weekend who is very much an insider on the streetcar project, and he seemed confident that the Duke Energy issue will be resolved soon. Stay tuned.

 

As for SORTA's bus system, I generally agree with ProkNo5. With the new farecard system and better online tools, SORTA's buses are as easy to use as anything in NYC or Chicago, and I've generally found them to be clean and on-schedule. (The horror stories I could tell you about Chicago's system...) While far from perfect, I believe SORTA generally does the best they can with the limited resources they have available, and they've made some great improvements over the past couple years. Now if only TANK would follow suit...

...Our bus system is one of the most embarrassingly bad systems I've ever used for many, many reasons.  And the worst part of it all is that they haven't changed a thing about how they operate for as long as they've been in business...

Like several other posters, I cannot agree with this observation, which sounds extreme, considering that Cincinnati's public transportation-system relies upon buses alone.  Perhaps a fairer comparison would be with similar metros which haven't implemented combined bus/streetcar/LRT/HRT networks.  No, I'm not suggesting that our city's system ranks near the top, but to claim it to be an embarrassment seems unjust.  It would be helpful if jacksparrow82 would elaborate upon what was already said by providing a more detailed comment. 

A day after the city issued its response, Brian Thomas on 550AM still spreading The Enquirer's misinformation on the Metro/City streetcar funding.  Plays the "trolley" piano music from Mr. Rogers whenever he brings up the streetcar.  Gave Chris Smitherman a full hour yesterday as a guest.

The only bus dominated system I've been really impressed by is Seattle - lots of express routes everywhere - more efficient than the non train parts of Chicago's system.  Metro is making strides to improve itself, but still have a ways to go

I'm pretty sure Jacksparrow made a similar comment several pages ago and everything pretty much unfolded the same way as it is now. I would really like to know what Jacksparrow thinks is so terrible. And do you acknowledge that the system is getting better?

The orange paint things been fixed for at least 10 years....

 

 

The stop I used in Oakley was still just an orange stripe on a light pole through early 2009. Interestingly, once the smartphone-addicted generations (or people with some crazy implant) are the vast majority of the population, orange stripes might suffice once again.

I'm pretty sure Jacksparrow made a similar comment several pages ago and everything pretty much unfolded the same way as it is now. I would really like to know what Jacksparrow thinks is so terrible. And do you acknowledge that the system is getting better?

 

Fair enough.  I recognize that I've complained about this several times.  I guess its just a pet peeve of mine.  I feel the whole system is very user un-friendly compared to other systems I've used.  It works if you already know your route and where the stops are, but imagine someone from out of town coming here hoping to get around using only our bus system.  Its tough to figure out.  I'll be honest that I haven't used their website lately, but a couple of years ago when I was using the system to get to and from work I tried using their website to figure out other routes, stops, and times and I found it to be very cumbersome.

 

I guess its not fair to compare our bus system with New York City, San Francisco, or Seattle, but all three of those system are great examples of what we're missing out on.  The first time I went to Seattle we stayed in a hotel outside the city (Belleview I think).  We rented a car from the airport, but used the buses to get around the rest of the week.  Within 5 minutes of stepping outside our hotel I was able to walk to a bus stop, look at a clearly displayed, easy to figure out transit map and we were on a bus headed right to where we needed to go downtown, no problem.  We were also able to figure out how to get back late at night with no trouble.  It was completely easy and stress free.  That is impossible to do here in Cincinnati in my opinion, for the vast majority of the routes.  Our bus stops rarely consist of more than a small sign with the route numbers on them.  Are there even maps of our routes at any of the stops?  I suppose gov't square might have them, but I've never seen them any where else.  (although I'll admit I only use the downtown to uptown routes)  Maybe its better now with iphone maps, but I haven't tried it lately.

Another thing I hate is how many stops there are along each route.  They literally have a bus stop at every corner downtown. That's very inefficient and makes it difficult to maintain nicely equipped stops with all the proper signage and maps.  They need to simplify things and have far fewer stops that are all equipped with a shelter and map of the routes its serving.  People should have to walk a little to get to a bus stop, but it should be a well equipped stop that has everything needed for someone who's never ridden before to be able to figure out where its going.  San Francisco and New York are the same, though I think San Francisco's system is more user friendly than NYC.

I've also had several metro bus drivers nearly run me over while I was riding my bike (in a bike lane once actually!) so I'm sure that's playing a role in my frustration.

I apologize for the rants, I'm just venting I guess.

I'm pretty sure Jacksparrow made a similar comment several pages ago and everything pretty much unfolded the same way as it is now. I would really like to know what Jacksparrow thinks is so terrible. And do you acknowledge that the system is getting better?

 

Fair enough.  I recognize that I've complained about this several times.  I guess its just a pet peeve of mine.  I feel the whole system is very user un-friendly compared to other systems I've used.  It works if you already know your route and where the stops are, but imagine someone from out of town coming here hoping to get around using only our bus system.  Its tough to figure out.  I'll be honest that I haven't used their website lately, but a couple of years ago when I was using the system to get to and from work I tried using their website to figure out other routes, stops, and times and I found it to be very cumbersome.

 

I guess its not fair to compare our bus system with New York City, San Francisco, or Seattle, but all three of those system are great examples of what we're missing out on.  The first time I went to Seattle we stayed in a hotel outside the city (Belleview I think).  We rented a car from the airport, but used the buses to get around the rest of the week.  Within 5 minutes of stepping outside our hotel I was able to walk to a bus stop, look at a clearly displayed, easy to figure out transit map and we were on a bus headed right to where we needed to go downtown, no problem.  We were also able to figure out how to get back late at night with no trouble.  It was completely easy and stress free.  That is impossible to do here in Cincinnati in my opinion, for the vast majority of the routes.  Our bus stops rarely consist of more than a small sign with the route numbers on them.  Are there even maps of our routes at any of the stops?  I suppose gov't square might have them, but I've never seen them any where else.  (although I'll admit I only use the downtown to uptown routes)  Maybe its better now with iphone maps, but I haven't tried it lately.

Another thing I hate is how many stops there are along each route.  They literally have a bus stop at every corner downtown. That's very inefficient and makes it difficult to maintain nicely equipped stops with all the proper signage and maps.  They need to simplify things and have far fewer stops that are all equipped with a shelter and map of the routes its serving.  People should have to walk a little to get to a bus stop, but it should be a well equipped stop that has everything needed for someone who's never ridden before to be able to figure out where its going.  San Francisco and New York are the same, though I think San Francisco's system is more user friendly than NYC.

I've also had several metro bus drivers nearly run me over while I was riding my bike (in a bike lane once actually!) so I'm sure that's playing a role in my frustration.

I apologize for the rants, I'm just venting I guess.

 

Those are all valid points, but again you seem to be looking at the system of the past.  Take a look at Metro's Transit Plan below.  Several of your concerns are being addressed and are already funded.  For example, MetroPlus service on Montgomery will follow the same path as Rt 4 from Evanston to Kenwood but will have far fewer stops and increased frequency.  There is also a listing of transit centers and select stops where they plan to add informational signage and well lit shelter.  The transit centers will include realtime information like they've already implemented on Government Square.  A few of those transit centers will be built this coming year in Uptown.  Check out the second link to se a PDF of the plan.

 

The point is that Metro has REALLY stepped up their game in recent years and I no longer have any reason to believe they won't be able to handle the Streetcar.

 

Metro Transit Plan: http://www.go-metro.com/about-metro/way-to-go

 

Uptown Transit District: http://www.uptowncincinnati.com/sites/default/files/120223%20METRO%20uptown.pdf

With the new farecard system and better online tools, SORTA's buses are as easy to use as anything in NYC or Chicago, and I've generally found them to be clean and on-schedule.

 

Have they finally implemented the pre-paid farecards? I remember they were supposed to do so before the end of 2012.

With the new farecard system and better online tools, SORTA's buses are as easy to use as anything in NYC or Chicago, and I've generally found them to be clean and on-schedule.

 

Have they finally implemented the pre-paid farecards? I remember they were supposed to do so before the end of 2012.

 

They're still working on the stored value cards, but they've finally got 10-ride passes which are really convenient unless you're going to Zone 2.  I think the holdup is the new fare machine they're planning on installing at the transit centers.  This is just hearsay however.

Another thing I hate is how many stops there are along each route.  They literally have a bus stop at every corner downtown. That's very inefficient and makes it difficult to maintain nicely equipped stops with all the proper signage and maps.  They need to simplify things and have far fewer stops that are all equipped with a shelter and map of the routes its serving.  People should have to walk a little to get to a bus stop, but it should be a well equipped stop that has everything needed for someone who's never ridden before to be able to figure out where its going.  San Francisco and New York are the same, though I think San Francisco's system is more user friendly than NYC.

 

Oddly enough Chicago's system makes too many stops too - so many places where the bus stops every fricken block just for one person per stop, when it would make way more sense for it to stop once every 3 or 4 blocks.  Also even odder is that San Fran has a few orange posts still left in Chinatown where they really don't have room for better bus infrastructure.

 

As far as Cincinnati's system goes, now that its on Google and there is the wonderful frequent transit map, you start to realize that many key urban neighborhoods like Oakley, Hyde Park, Columbia Tusculum and Mt. Lookout have terrible service with buses often only coming to those places once every half hour or so.  The only line where buses run at levels of a larger transit system is 4 which goes up reading road and in close second are some routes through Price Hill and obviously the 17 and the 19 from downtown through Northside.  When I lived in the city the thing I noticed was that the system was good for getting uptown to downtown and vice-versa and not much else.

 

Generally the rule of thumb in Chicago is that it takes 2x as long to get somewhere by bus than it does by car, in Cincinnati just playing with Google maps a bit, I've noticed that it can take 3/4x time and these are areas still in the city limits!

 

Also as I'm visiting family and staying downtownish, I grabbed myself a 10 ride pass - it really comes in handy and is a fantastic step in the right direction - plus I know enough people who live along the 17/19 that its useful to use.  I'm really happy that Metro has taken baby steps like these into the 21st century.

For the 10th+ time in the history of this thread, don't complain about the frequency of Metro's routes.  Their sources of tax and fare revenue is too low to do much of anything more than they are doing now.  We would have had much more frequent bus service throughout the county if any of the 3 county transit taxes had passed, most recently Metromoves in 2002.  LA doesn't even print bus schedules because every bus route is 10~ minute headways day and night.  But they also have a 1.5% sales tax supporting public transportation (and also HOV lane construction) throughout LA county. 

Ya, metro is actually pretty good when you look at the incredibly measly budget they have. $80 million? That's nothing.

I just changed that previous post of mine.  I meant to write 10-minute headways or even more frequent, I don't know why I originally wrote 20 minutes.   

 

10 minute headways is the point where no schedule is needed, and incredibly that is the case for every bus route throughout LA county except express commuter buses and other special services.  I'm not sure that 10-minute headways are needed on some of Metro's routes, but promising 10-minute headways from 6am to say 9pm on the half dozen major routes in Hamilton County could be something to structure a tax campaign around. 

 

Generally the rule of thumb in Chicago is that it takes 2x as long to get somewhere by bus than it does by car, in Cincinnati just playing with Google maps a bit, I've noticed that it can take 3/4x time and these are areas still in the city limits!

 

 

I think the biggest issue is that the hub of the system (Government Square) is located downtown and not in Uptown near UC.  Uptown is far more central and routing everything through a hub in Clifton would, I think, drastically improve transit times system-wide while preserving frequent service between Uptown and Downtown.  For instance, if I want to go Oakley to Northside it makes no sense to route through Downtown, which I believe is necessary under the current system.  Makes much more sense to pass through Clifton.

 

 

I think the biggest issue is that the hub of the system (Government Square) is located downtown and not in Uptown near UC.  Uptown is far more central and routing everything through a hub in Clifton would, I think, drastically improve transit times system-wide while preserving frequent service between Uptown and Downtown.  For instance, if I want to go Oakley to Northside it makes no sense to route through Downtown, which I believe is necessary under the current system.  Makes much more sense to pass through Clifton.

 

Agreed and they are somewhat addressing this with the route changes, you should check it out here (this guy really deciphers what's going on clearly: http://cincymap.org/blog/the-new-transit-plan/ )

 

Also the estimates I was telling you about were from Downtown!  I couldn't imagine if it was something where I really did have to go crosstown :P.

^^^Which is exactly why they're building the Uptown Transit District this year.

For instance, if I want to go Oakley to Northside it makes no sense to route through Downtown, which I believe is necessary under the current system.  Makes much more sense to pass through Clifton.

Take the 17 from Northside to Clifton & then there's a bus that goes up Ludlow, snakes through Walnut Hills, Norwood, Hyde Park & Oakley. Forget the number, tho. It passes HP square, HP Plaza, Surrey Square & Rookwood. It'd be a shoppers dream but it runs infrequently. Metro could market themselves a lot better if they teamed up with businesses on their routes & told people where they can go on the buses.

Isn't there a Metro thread on this board?

Take the 17 from Northside to Clifton & then there's a bus that goes up Ludlow, snakes through Walnut Hills, Norwood, Hyde Park & Oakley. Forget the number, tho. It passes HP square, HP Plaza, Surrey Square & Rookwood. It'd be a shoppers dream but it runs infrequently. Metro could market themselves a lot better if they teamed up with businesses on their routes & told people where they can go on the buses.

Isn't there a Metro thread on this board?

 

Yeah this probably should be on the SORTA/TANK thread.  This would also be an excellent way to attract "choice" riders who are pro urban and pro transit but don't ride it because it doesnt' work for them.  I still think there needs to at least be a poll to see if people are more supportive of Metro Moves 10 years later -> Gas prices are way higher, the middle class is more receptive to bus riding with new curbside operators like Megabus (this is the first time I've taken it to Cincinnati and about 1/2 the bus was cincy people and 1/2 indianapolis people anecdotally) and the county is now more liberal as a whole voting for Obama in 2 elections.

I guarantee that these dreamed-of cross-town routes would get much less ridership than people think.    There's a reason why cross-town subway lines barely exist anywhere in the world.  There was a cross-town light rail line planned as part of Metromoves, but it was only going to require about 3 miles of new track so it potentially had a decent ROI. 

 

 

Take the 17 from Northside to Clifton & then there's a bus that goes up Ludlow, snakes through Walnut Hills, Norwood, Hyde Park & Oakley. Forget the number, tho. It passes HP square, HP Plaza, Surrey Square & Rookwood. It'd be a shoppers dream but it runs infrequently. Metro could market themselves a lot better if they teamed up with businesses on their routes & told people where they can go on the buses.

Isn't there a Metro thread on this board?

 

Yeah this probably should be on the SORTA/TANK thread.  This would also be an excellent way to attract "choice" riders who are pro urban and pro transit but don't ride it because it doesnt' work for them.  I still think there needs to at least be a poll to see if people are more supportive of Metro Moves 10 years later -> Gas prices are way higher, the middle class is more receptive to bus riding with new curbside operators like Megabus (this is the first time I've taken it to Cincinnati and about 1/2 the bus was cincy people and 1/2 indianapolis people anecdotally) and the county is now more liberal as a whole voting for Obama in 2 elections.

 

Exactly, that's Rt 51, which is actually being combined with Rt 39 this year to create a crosstown route through Western Hills, Northside, Clifton, UC, Avondale, Norwood, Oakley and Hyde Park. 

I guarantee that these dreamed-of cross-town routes would get much less ridership than people think.    There's a reason why cross-town subway lines barely exist anywhere in the world.  There was a cross-town light rail line planned as part of Metromoves, but it was only going to require about 3 miles of new track so it potentially had a decent ROI. 

 

Agreed. Even the NYC subway's sole crosstown route, the G train, is looked upon as the redheaded stepchild of the system, with longer headways and shorter trains than most other routes. Essentially, it's a glorified shuttle service.

Also the G doesn't interchange with some of the lines it crosses, and the lines it does interchange with might also have slow service since they're a branch of a main line, so it's not by a stretch a perfect cross-town service.  That's part of the problem too -- if a cross-town service is in any way discouraging to use people will avoid it, which further raises the capital/operating cost and lowers ROI.   

 

There is now some gentrification around G stations but that's only because what has happened in Brooklyn over the past 15 years is insane, to the point where any and all of the absolutely worst neighborhoods have been yuppified.  Even stuff directly across the street from notorious public housing blocks.

 

If the #31 and #51 started running twice as many buses, would they attract twice the ridership?  No.  But a streetcar or subway line following the same route might get triple. 

 

 

I'm not sure I agree, I think if a route connecting to a major shopping/job center like what's going on in Rookwood to another job center the university which will be a hub where you can transfer to relatively frequent service downtown and it's advertised, then you've got something...

 

I'm pretty sure Jacksparrow made a similar comment several pages ago and everything pretty much unfolded the same way as it is now. I would really like to know what Jacksparrow thinks is so terrible. And do you acknowledge that the system is getting better?

 

 

Those are all valid points, but again you seem to be looking at the system of the past.  Take a look at Metro's Transit Plan below.  Several of your concerns are being addressed and are already funded.  For example, MetroPlus service on Montgomery will follow the same path as Rt 4 from Evanston to Kenwood but will have far fewer stops and increased frequency.  There is also a listing of transit centers and select stops where they plan to add informational signage and well lit shelter.  The transit centers will include realtime information like they've already implemented on Government Square.  A few of those transit centers will be built this coming year in Uptown.  Check out the second link to se a PDF of the plan.

 

The point is that Metro has REALLY stepped up their game in recent years and I no longer have any reason to believe they won't be able to handle the Streetcar.

 

Metro Transit Plan: http://www.go-metro.com/about-metro/way-to-go

 

Uptown Transit District: http://www.uptowncincinnati.com/sites/default/files/120223%20METRO%20uptown.pdf

 

All good points, thanks for the info!

I've mentioned this before, but this seems to be a good place to mention it again.

 

The typical intra-city transit system can be characterized by trip purpose something like this:

 

60% commute from home to work (or school) and back

30% commute from home to shopping and back

10% everything else put together.

 

So, obviously, the best route for a line is from a residential area to an employment or school area. If there is also shopping on the line, then it's all the better.

 

 

Astonishing.  Randall O'Toole attributes Portland, OR's revitalization to microbreweries (see page 6), not public transportation, etc.:

 

http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/PA699.pdf

It is perhaps not a random act of the universe that his name has "tool" in it.

O'Tool specializes in coming up with any kind of B.S. possible to prop up sprawl and pointless driving.

What's especially evil about this article is he plays the trick where he mentions up front that all original streetcar systems were either scrapped or converted to light rail (Boston, SF).  So to the naive reader, he's still perhaps pro-rail.  I mean, the dude is downright thoughtful. 

 

Except he spent the entire 90s and 2000s throwing mud at light rail projects, and in fact cuts and pastes his bit about the first Max line in Portland for this new streetcar article.  One of O'Toole's articles on the supposed failure of Portland's MAX system was in fact the very first thing I read on the internet regarding light rail probably in 1997 or 1998.  Without any arguments to the contrary, I bought O'Toole's numbers and logic.  Sight unseen, I was convinced that Portland's systems was a -- get ready for it -- boondoggle. 

 

This is exactly why this guy is so dangerous.  He makes sure the first thing the media in whatever town hears about light rail, and now streetcars, is his lies.  To someone with zero familiarity with the facts, he is incredibly convincing.  And the effect is that it puts facts on the defensive. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

O'Tool specializes in coming up with any kind of B.S. possible to prop up sprawl and pointless driving.

 

And that's why he's funded by foundations that made their money on petrochemicals.

Koch buddy

Koch buddy

Koch buddy and meeee!

3 hours of Chris smitherman lies, mistruths, and hyperbole about the streetcar tonight on The Overcompensating One.

3 hours of Chris smitherman lies, mistruths, and hyperbole about the streetcar tonight on The Overcompensating One.

 

Anyone who listens to this on New Years Eve really needs to examine how/why/when their life started to spiral out of control. The only reason this fool is getting this worthless airtime is because all the regular talking heads and their usual replacements are off or don't want to come in.

I've heard there is progress with Duke and we might have some good news soon!

>The only reason this fool is getting this worthless airtime

 

Plus I doubt he's being paid anything.  I think this New Year's Eve gig really illustrates just how diabolic Smitherman is.  If people studying history want to know what a 3rd world dictator did before they seized power, look no further than Chris Smitherman.  The problem is he isn't going anywhere and sometime in the next 30-40 years a crack will appear and he'll rise to some level of prominence.  Like if we have a riot-type event, he'll be all over CNN, Fox News, etc. 

I've heard there is progress with Duke and we might have some good news soon!

 

Things appear to be moving forward. I'd expect several pieces of good news in January.

I've heard there is progress with Duke and we might have some good news soon!

 

I hope you're right. We've heard there is progress sporadically  for the last year and nothing has happened

Should also be noted, there has never been a stop in Streetcar related construction.  The Water main replacement that began in February is almost complete.  Elm is done, Race is finishing and 12th still has a couple more weeks of work.  Also, I've been told we should see construction starting in mid-late January by Cincinnati Bell and Level 3, followed by, if everything goes according to plan, duke/rail/car barn/everything else beginning in April. 

 

I was just getting on here tonight to see if anyone has heard anything about all this.  Glad to hear things are still moving forward.  I've been driving by the 12th street water main work daily and a couple of weeks ago I actually saw them pulling up old streetcar rails from the streets.  Kind of crazy to see those ancient tracks out in the light of day again.  Its still hard to imagine seeing new line being laid, but maybe we'll actually get a glimpse of it this year?

Smitherman and Chabot were on 55KRC today.

 

Naturally Smitherman and Thomas in their 'solutions' to the problem blamed the pension plan shortages on the streetcar

 

 

Good news. The streetcar fleet has officially been ordered from CAF and the full $39 million in grants has been committed by FTA. Also according to Biz Courier we are paying 2.3% interest on the bonds 

 

Next big pieces are bids are due back 2/8 and Duke.

Woot!

Great news!

 

How many streetcars did we order? I can't remember if it was supposed to be 5 or 6.

 

Also, any word on the color scheme?