Cinci Streetcar A Go

[The Interpreter]

http://m.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/12/19/last-minute-deal-making-greenlights.html?ana=e_cinci_bn&r=full

[IndyGuy4KI]

Cool looking streetcar!

[The Interpreter]

I highly doubt that's it. Clip art, probably.

[Gordon Bombay]

^Nope that's it. It's a rendering provided by the manufacturer, CAF, to the city. That's the correct model and color scheme.

[CP&LERR Fan]

Wow interesting design. Cleveland has the "rapid" I guess you can say it's a streetcar.

[The Interpreter]

^Nope that's it. It's a rendering provided by the manufacturer, CAF, to the city. That's the correct model and color scheme.

Wow. I'm wowed.

Honestly.

[Thrill_Biscuit]

It needs some black stripes!

Who dey!?

[westcoaster]

to the future of a great Downtown with street car, but truthfully can downtown be more than the red, bengals big festivals. will macy stay? Will kroger build a super kroger/ general merchandise store like they did in Salt Lake city? will the bank be as popular in 10 years.

We have to hope the street car expands beyond downtown to nky/ newport/ covington, and out to lunken and beyond: maybe the airport:?

[Thrill_Biscuit]

Yeah! Now we're just like Brockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook!

Oh, w-wa-wait... monorail.

Let's build a Monorail!

[KI-ORIG-EMP]

I remember when there used to be streetcars that ran on rails with overhead electric lines. It was closed and tracks torn up in favor of regular buses, for economical reasons. I feel this streetcar will not have enough riders for it to turn a profit when you figure in the construction and operating and maintenance costs. It is cheaper and far economical to have a regular bus built and designed to look like a streetcar but have an engine and regular wheels. When you need to expand its routes, all you have to do is add more "streetcars" to drive on the existing roads and not have to pay to construct and install new rails.

[The Interpreter]

No urban mass transit operates at a profit in the USA.

[BeastForever]

Sigh.

This is not a good day to be a Cincinnatian.

[CedarPointer]

Yeah! Now we're just like Brockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook!

Oh, w-wa-wait... monorail.

Let's build a Monorail!

¡Por favor, manténgase alejado de las puertas!

[GamesAndRides]

Cool looking streetcar!

Just me or do the colors on the front like like Monorail Orange from WDW

[Fire-Beast-OF FEAR]

As a hopeful future UC student I hope they build the expansion route soon so I can ride the streetcar from school to downtown without turning a key or walking around dangerous neighborhoods.

[TombRaiderFTW]

I love this! There was some hullaballoo (the details of which I know next to nothing) about possibly stopping it, but I'm glad it's back on track.

[flightoffear1996]

I will not be riding it. Never not a once.

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

As an "out of towner" I'm a fan and am excited to be able to park farther away from the stadiums (for free) and ride over.

[Tanna]

As a hopeful future UC student I hope they build the expansion route soon so I can ride the streetcar from school to downtown without turning a key or walking around dangerous neighborhoods.

I can understand you riding it. Going downtown to get books was always a hassle with the parking.

[upstop]

I thinks it's more like this....

[Ride On_17]

This is a really cool idea. Just another reason why Cincinnati is such an awesome city.

[flightoffear1996]

^ Im guessing you dont live in the city and your not going to be one of the ones paying for it.

[upstop]

...Or working in the city and paying more taxes for it.

[Buckeye Brad]

No urban mass transit operates at a profit in the USA.

Unfortunately, true.

Hopefully the "investment" will pay off in more profitable businesses, more jobs, more tax money, and less crime in those areas, to balance out the operating loss. It takes a lot of smarts, planning, and luck to pull that off though, and an awful lot can go wrong.

I do enjoy the revitalized part of Over the Rhine, and hopefully the streetcar will help that continue out to Findlay Market and beyond.

[Fire-Beast-OF FEAR]

I don't know why all you Cincinnati people dislike paying for some public improvement. You've been paying for the stadiums since 1996 and those have been awesome and profitable improvements to the riverfront so why is the streetcar any different?

[flightoffear1996]

The street car route takes 8 minutes to walk why would I pay to ride it? Plus not only the the route is in the heart of the hood. If the street car actually went someone AKA (the banks to newport) Id be all for it.

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

Isn't the Banks to Newport like an 8 minute walk? Either way, I've read that a route to Newport and Covington are proposals for future expansion. Baby steps.

[RingMaster]

I don't know why all you Cincinnati people dislike paying for some public improvement. You've been paying for the stadiums since 1996 and those have been awesome and profitable improvements to the riverfront so why is the streetcar any different?

I wouldn't classify a stadium for a football team that hasn't seen the second round of the playoffs since the fall of the Berlin Wall to be an awesome or profitable improvement.

[Diamondback96]

I think it should go to Mason.

[Gordon Bombay]

to the future of a great Downtown with street car, but truthfully can downtown be more than the red, bengals big festivals. will macy stay? Will kroger build a super kroger/ general merchandise store like they did in Salt Lake city? will the bank be as popular in 10 years.

We have to hope the street car expands beyond downtown to nky/ newport/ covington, and out to lunken and beyond: maybe the airport:?

I would argue that downtown already is a lot more than Reds and Bengals games and festivals. As someone who spends a lot of time down there, downtown is a lot more active and entertaining than it was even back in 2007 when I first moved back to the area. There's a lull on weeknights in the winter for sure, but overall downtown is doing great.

The streetcar itself serves as an urban circulator which connects multiple attractions and businesses on a loop. The point of it is to provide rapid transportation between these waypoints and spur economic development. Essentially if you take the bus or your car downtown, the streetcar helps you navigate around multiple attractions very quickly. In the future you may see improved bus service, BRT or even light rail reaching the further outlying areas and connecting them with downtown. However, keep in mind that rail lines extending into other cities and counties becomes a far more complicated process.

I remember when there used to be streetcars that ran on rails with overhead electric lines. It was closed and tracks torn up in favor of regular buses, for economical reasons. I feel this streetcar will not have enough riders for it to turn a profit when you figure in the construction and operating and maintenance costs. It is cheaper and far economical to have a regular bus built and designed to look like a streetcar but have an engine and regular wheels. When you need to expand its routes, all you have to do is add more "streetcars" to drive on the existing roads and not have to pay to construct and install new rails.

If this were true, you'd see economic activity springing up all around the "Southbank Shuttle" line. You don't. Meanwhile in Portland, Charlotte, Atlanta and cities where modern streetcars and light rail are being built - you see businesses popping up all along the fixed rail routes, mainly because those routes are permanent and not going to change.

As a hopeful future UC student I hope they build the expansion route soon so I can ride the streetcar from school to downtown without turning a key or walking around dangerous neighborhoods.

Unfortunately, had the Governor of Ohio not recommended state funding being pulled from the streetcar - you'd see the Clifton line under construction right now. Keep an eye out for it in the future though.

As an "out of towner" I'm a fan and am excited to be able to park farther away from the stadiums (for free) and ride over.

Not to mention all the bars, restaurants and good stuff in between and along the route.

^ Im guessing you dont live in the city and your not going to be one of the ones paying for it.

I'm guessing you're not aware of the actions taken today. A private donor stepped up to guarantee operational funding until 2025, meaning the city's operating budget won't be going towards the streetcar. Not to mention, even if the city bore the operational costs, they're minuscule compared to the rest of the operating budget.

...Or working in the city and paying more taxes for it.

You won't be paying more taxes for it, nor have your taxes been raised.

I don't know why all you Cincinnati people dislike paying for some public improvement. You've been paying for the stadiums since 1996 and those have been awesome and profitable improvements to the riverfront so why is the streetcar any different?

To be fair, not just Cincinnati, but the entirety of Hamilton County is paying for/voted to raise taxes for the construction of the two stadiums.

The street car route takes 8 minutes to walk why would I pay to ride it? Plus not only the the route is in the heart of the hood. If the street car actually went someone AKA (the banks to newport) Id be all for it.

It takes far longer than eight minutes to walk the entire route, I know because I've walked the entire route before: http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/cincinnati-streetcar-virtual-tour.html

Also as far as "the hood" goes, I've been in neighborhoods and cities far worse than where the streetcar runs. OTR still has its issues, but increasing pedestrian traffic and development in the neighborhood is one way to combat crime.