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It’s probably not a great idea for me to admit this, but I know next to nothing about this whole Downtown streetcar business. Here’s what I get: it’s going to add some extra public transit to Downtown Cincinnati, and it will likely also add some of that neo-nostalgia and temporary draw that the city has been looking for. The reason to want a streetcar, I fully understand. Not having followed the back-and-forth, I’m struggling to find an explanation or argument one way or another that doesn’t include the phrases “economic feasibility,” “millions of dollars,” or “promotes growth and development.”
Is there anything simple out there that tells me exactly how the streetcar will actually affect the Downtown commute? How it will affect people walking on the sidewalks? How many people are expected to use the streetcar on a daily basis, and not for the function of novelty? Do people outside Downtown care?
I should have prefaced this with the notation that I live in Northern Kentucky and work Downtown. I probably won’t be riding the streetcar for any purpose other than novelty once or twice, but it’s likely that I’ll see it and won’t care one way or another. Again, not having followed the debate one way or another, the whole of the matter escapes me and comes across as a somewhat reasonable way to spend a whole hell of a lot of money.
If you’re looking for an official position one way or another, you’re not going to find it here. My socially liberal side says, “Hell yeah! I wanna ride! Cincinnati needs something besides chili, conservatism, WKRP and goetta to identify itself with!” My tightwad, fiscally conservative side says, “Do you really want to spend all that money on that? Really?”
Related posts:
Cincinnati is proposing a modern, light rail streetcar, not an vintage trolley system like you have pictured. You can learn more about the proposal at:
City’s Website
http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/pages/-17762-/?CFID=1310083&CFTOKEN=29214194
or
http://www.cincystreetcar.com
http://www.pro-transit.com
http://www.cincystreetcar.wordpress.com
For me the streetcar would make downtown liveable again. You could actually live downtown and do away with your car completely.
I live in OTR and ride my bike to and from work everyday and to as many other places as I can. However, in the winter this is not very feasible to do and I end up driving my car. With the streetcar I would be able to do without my car even in the winter.
It would also make it a lot more fun on the weekends when you could easily spend the whole night out drinking, eating, dancing, whatever without ever having to worry about getting a designated driver or having to find multiple parking spots all night.
When the Banks are completed and theres a nice grocery store in that complex (as they have said there would be), I’d be able to ride the streetcar from OTR down to the banks to pick up groceries or up to findlay market to do the same. It just makes it much more practical to live downtown.
I could go on and on with the many ways a streetcar system would help Cincinnati, but it sounds like you’ve heard it all before. Believe what you hear, the streetcars would do wonders for this city.
And here’s what a modern day streetcar system looks like: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/blueprintamerica/reports/road-to-the-future/video-full-documentary/648/ (Its not for nostalgia purposes despite the fact that all the opponents like to call it a choo choo train)
@Jason: Two things. First, the statement, “It just makes it much more practical to live Downtown” is the first reasonable, not-completely-connected-to-the-dollars-and-growth bullshit argument I’ve heard about the proposal. Bravo.
Second: it’s totally feasible to ride a bicycle in the winter. I do it all year long, every single day. You ought to try it–I almost like riding in the winter more than any other time of year. I recognize the fact that I’m kind of a nut, but hey, it takes all kinds, I suppose.