An open letter to Cincinnati officials on the streetcar

OTR resident, Derek Bauman has hit the limit with his frustration on the lack of progress on the Cincinnati Streetcar. He started contacting people Tuesday hoping to gather supporters in hopes of prodding Council into some kind of action. Derek feels the streetcar is Cincinnati's moonshot and its not unreasonable to think that it could be running by the All-Star game in 2015.


This is the email I've sent,

Dear Mayor Mallory, Council Members and City Manager Milton Dohoney,

After two hotly contested elections aimed at killing the streetcar and an election that saw an injection of younger more progressive people into city council I feel the citizens of Cincinnati have made it clear they want a streetcar built. We are losing patience with the foot dragging, excuses and lack of progress in the streetcars implementation. John Cranley calls the streetcar delays "embarrassing" and he is 100% correct. Surely the infrastructure for a streetcar could be completed in two and a half years if only someone would step up and show a little more leadership.

Major League Baseball has announced they will host their All-Star Game and surrounding festivities at Great American Ballpark in 2015. What a show Cincinnati could provide if along with all the other marvelous things happening right now Cincinnati also had a fully operating streetcar.
This is Cincinnati's moonshot, please don't waste this unique opportunity to showcase Cincinnati to the world.

Thank you.


If you too are frustrated about the lack of progress on the Cincinnati Streetcar please, email city officials and urge them to set a deadline and get it built.
I've make it easy for you, click the link, write your own email or copy and paste mine then hit send, its as easy as that.
Click here to email City officials.


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39 comments

43 comments:

  1. I know Seelbach has been blaming it on the way Duke is handling their end, and on the the loss of state funding. I believe it was to the tune of $50+ million. With the state pulling that kind of funding, is the project even realistic anymore?

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  2. Alan, yes it is, the city even picked up an extra 11 million so they could run it all the way to 2nd St. The only thing we need now is someone in the city to champion the streetcar and get the ball rolling again.

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  3. I know that people may be frustrated by the lack of visible progress, but things are happening whether we see them or not. Utility relocation is happening now. Every utility except for Duke has reached a deal with the city. The utility work on Race Street is related to the streetcar. The vehicles have been ordered. The actual tracks won't be installed until near the end of the construction process; there's a lot of other things that need to happen first.

    Even streetcar opponent Chris Finney recently said on talk radio that we've "passed the point of no return" when it comes to building the streetcar.

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  4. i don't know... it wouldn't be the first time the city invested heavily in mass transit only to see it fail (i'm looking at you, Cincinnati Subway).

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  5. Travis, the problem is that there has never been a hard deadline and any project without a deadline drags on unnecessarily. The issue that brought this to light specifically at this moment is the all-start game. At our current snails pace of an early 2016 start, 2nd St. will be orange barrels due to streetcar construction during the all star game. On the other hand if it were to be completed, all of those visitors would be riding it to OTR and Findlay Market. I am calling for the mayor to make a JFK type statement and say that the goal is to have it operational by July 2015 in time for the all star game and that the schedule is being accelerated come hell or high water. If we went to the moon in 8 years we should be able to go from The Banks to Findlay Market in 30 months.

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    1. Should the deadline be like Feb or March of 2015 if the goal is the ASG? That any unexpected delays don't threaten it and the operations can be smoothed out.

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    2. We choose to build this streetcar before the All-Star Game and do the other things.

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  6. Alan, so you're saying 1917 vs. 2013 with hyper connected city advocates is a valid comparison?

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    1. it was more of a joke than anything but something i keep thinking about every time another delay pops up. while i'm neither for nor against the streetcar (it's something i'll likely never use, but i understand the benefits and.. well.. i think it will look pretty cool running up and down the street), i would ultimately like to see it come to fruition. i fear these kind of delays will give the city a chance to kill the project when it's half completed [should we replace council or Mallory].

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    2. I'm with you there, it feels like we're a mayoral election and special interest charter amendment away from losing it.

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  7. You guys should be directing this at Duke ;) They are the ones who are delaying this project interminably. Pressure on both sides wouldn't hurt.

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  8. Alan, the $54 million that Kasich pulled was for the Findlay Market to UC/zoo segment. The Banks to Findlay Market phase 1 is fully funded.

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    1. Gotcha! Thanks for the clarification. That makes more sense.

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  9. Anon, agreed that Duke is a big part of the problem. I feel that they are somehow playing politics with this from the state level. Nevertheless I don't honestly believe I can get the CEO on the horn, but the mayor or city manager should be able to. If it takes them showing up at Duke HQ and saying we're not leaving until this deal is done, so be it. I was told by an city employee with knowledge of the matter that for a period of time, Duke wasn't even responding to them. In the last update that went out from the city, the mayor said there was progress being made. Well its time to be done with it or rail their lines over. And if this effort lights a fire under the powers that be to make it happen, then that's what I intended.

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  10. Great email. There have been problems, yes. Duke Energy, the loss of state funding......but how many more delays will the administration say we need? At some point, we have to ask: Is this really about Duke Energy, State funding or a lack of the kind of leadership to get things done in our administration?

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  11. The Subway was hit with WWI, a flu pandemic, a world wide recession that shut down construction EVERYWHERE. The form of city government is different and state and federal governments have seen major reform.
    The technologies of the world 100 years ago were radically different as was the local economiy.
    The modern streetcar development is NOTHING like the subway.

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    1. Also: The subway project was as much a victim of politics as recession. A new party won control of City Hall and pulled the plug because the project was identified with the other party. Just like GOP governors have been doing to rail projects all over the country since the Tea Party struck in 2010.

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    2. ^^^ ...and this is my concern. Quimbob, I know the world was a wildly different place when the subway project started, and a lot of different factors led to it's ultimate demise. However, these delays allow for the possibility of a new party, who is opposed to the project, to take office and scratch the streetcar. It might not be the best comparison, but it was a major mass transit project that took place right here in our city and failed.

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    3. The big push for the streetcar was based on information generated 2-3 years before the recession began and then the trigger was pulled.

      Poor timing and bad information. Not a good combination for success now several years latter.

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    4. What information has changed? Construction and borrowing costs are both cheaper than before the recession began.

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    5. I was referencing the perceived economic impact in the studies done to evaluate the streetcar.

      Borrowing costs have gone down, but were never presented as part of the total cost of the package until it came time for the issuance of the first set of bonds early this past summer.

      Construction costs have indeed gone up. Even at this late date the total cost of the utilities relocation and most importantly who is paying for them-specifcally the Duke portion-it is not known who is paying for them. When the full system was proposed it was stated that the relocation of utilities for the original system that would run up to Clifton would cost $5 million. Now with the much truncated shorter system the Duke portion appears to be around $18.5 million and heading for a resolution in a court room. I think that could qualify for a change in construction costs and definately not cheaper.

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  12. We don't NEED any more delays. We already have enough currently to be pushing the project back as it is. Chris, I'm not sure what you want the Mayor or City Manager to do. Should Dohoney be our there digging up utilities himself?

    You speak of leadership. Let's not forget there is another group of individuals outside of the Mayor and City Manager who have the ability to provide leadership on this project. If you don't like what's going on right now, then you and the rest of Council need to find a way to get it done quicker. Otherwise, you're just blowing hot wind.

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  13. Cincinnati had a highly successful network of streetcars from the 1889 until it was dismantled in 1951. There were 222 miles of track and it carried 100 million passengers a year throughout it's life. Metro has never had that kind of ridership. This is *one line*, people. It would be insane not to have this thing running by the upcoming All Star game.

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  14. What I would like to see is the mayor pounding his fist on a podium stating that due to the fact that Cincinnati has been afforded this once in a generation opportunity to host the MLB all star game, he is directing the administration to accelerate the construction schedule and take the necessary steps to ensure that Cincinnati will have an operational streetcar in time for the game. No excuses!

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  15. You guys should be emailing these things to Duke. Read the bid document, it's clear the entire delay is due to Duke. Every thing else about the entire line could be done by late 2014 but Duke has said it will take them 2 years to move utilities. Yell at Duke.

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  16. While I agree that people ought to be writing to Duke Energy in droves, what the heck is Duke gonna do? They have a monopolistic stranglehold on the entire tri-state because WE ALL NEED OUR LIGHTS ON. Does Duke need to give a damn? Nope, they don't. The only thing that is going to move Duke's ass out of the way is something legal. Which means writing to the city.

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    1. Write both parties, put pressure on Duke stating that you and many other people are also writing to the city.

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    2. Great thinking, there. In fact, Anonymous's remark up above mine brings out a good point - Duke's cockblocking may have a seriously adverse effect on the city as a whole come All Star Game time. On revenue, on the economy, everything. That -might- be grounds for a lawsuit (I'm no lawyer), or at the very least some political strong-arming by city council.

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  17. 2015 is Cincy's chance. Just do, and get in trouble for it later.

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  18. Agree Giacomo. You know ultimately the city owns the streets and could rail right over Duke's lines if it came to that. One other question. Are road projects ever delayed because Duke won't come out and move poles?

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  19. Anyone have any luck contacting Duke Energy? If so, by what means?

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  20. My concern is the streetcar project is way expensive. I don't get the value over painting rails on the street to indicate the route on the street and running trolly's, like the Blue bus that runs between Covington and Cincinnati. Another alternative is a lot of cities are looking at aerial trams, the advantage is you also get a tourist attraction. You could probably do a three or four stop tram between Clifton and the riverfront and Blue bus multiple stop idea above for the same price as the streetcar.

    http://publictransport.about.com/od/Transit_Vehicles/a/The-Use-Of-Gondola-Lifts-And-Aerial-Trams-In-Public-Transportation.htm

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  21. Vudutu,
    The streetcar's cost is equal to one lane mile of interstate. That 8 mile stretch of 75 they are working on is going to cost over 800 million.
    As far as a trolley goes, Cincinnati has had buses running downtown since 1951, what exactly have they done for development?

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    1. Maybe you should ask the people who get on and off the buses everyday at Goverment Square who work in the office buildings in a variety of tasks and hospitality service industry people who keep downtown and its visitors feed and in motion.

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    2. Bob, I guess bottom line for me is why are expensive rails better than tires? Are there studies that say they are cheaper to run, or increase rider numbers?

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    3. Tons and tons of studies, you should google some.
      But you can also see UC's study on the Cincinnati streetcar blog.

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  22. I'm sorry I thought it was obvious.

    Ask them this-"......Cincinnati has had buses running downtown since 1951, what exactly have they done for development?"

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    1. OK, I guess. What point are you trying make? I'm lost.

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    2. In your statement you questioned "...what exactly have they (meaning buses) done for development?"

      The point is the wheels of commerce downtown have been kept turning, a least in part and a larger part than we-and in particular you-realize, by people who ride the bus to and from work everyday using the bus since at least 1951 (your point of reference). No buses/no people. No people/no commerce (development). Pretty simple. Not a single set of parallel steel rails involved.

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    3. Interesting take.
      Of course since the streetcars were ripped out and replaced by buses the population of the city has declined every single year.
      So there is that.

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  23. I think blaming the population decrease on the removal of the streetcar system in the 1950's is a bit of a stretch. The exodus to the 'burbs was driven by the development of the interstate highways system in the '50's and '60's. Just as the exodus from the original basin neighborhoods was driven by the streetcar to the new "suburbs" like Hyde Park, Price Hill, Western Hills, Oakley, Walut Hills and others in prior decades.

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    1. As is claiming that buses played a large part in keeping downtown commerce moving.
      Neither is a silver bullet, just another piece of the puzzle.

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