GCrites Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 Horstman is drawing nearer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taestell Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 I think the streetcar should by default stop at every station. Get rid of the stop request button. Many times I've forgotten to press the button because I was talking with someone. Today during a heavy rain at 4th/Main the streetcar sped past me as I stepped up onto the platform. This driver is much faster than the others and as a result there is a long gap between him and the next streetcar. Its like he's trying to catch up to the third one. Disagree. The street car is so much faster when it only stops when people are getting on/off. I'm still surprised how fast it can get between 12th/Vine and Rhinegeist due to the small number of streetcar stops and stoplights. It's extremely annoying when you're riding and stopping at every stop because a little kid is constantly pressing the stop request button, and their clueless parents are like, "Press the button Tommy! Yay! You pressed the button!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmecklenborg Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 I think the streetcar should by default stop at every station. Get rid of the stop request button. Many times I've forgotten to press the button because I was talking with someone. Today during a heavy rain at 4th/Main the streetcar sped past me as I stepped up onto the platform. This driver is much faster than the others and as a result there is a long gap between him and the next streetcar. Its like he's trying to catch up to the third one. Disagree. The street car is so much faster when it only stops when people are getting on/off. I'm still surprised how fast it can get between 12th/Vine and Rhinegeist due to the small number of streetcar stops and stoplights. It's extremely annoying when you're riding and stopping at every stop because a little kid is constantly pressing the stop request button, and their clueless parents are like, "Press the button Tommy! Yay! You pressed the button!" Last weekend the streetcar was bogged down in traffic along all sides of Washington Park for the health expo. The big problem was nobody driving there seemed to know that Washington Park has a garage underneath it or where those entrances were. So people were sort of drifting around looking for a place to park. Plus, people (uber and otherwise) were blocking the streetcar tracks letting groups get in and out of their car. Music Hall has been closed for the entire time that the streetcar has been operational. When it reopens, it could turn what is now the fastest section of the route into a major choke point during events. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taestell Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 It depends where they put the valet parking. There is a whole extra lane right in front of Music Hall that is blocked off for the construction right now. If they use that for valet, there will be plenty of room and it shouldn't disrupt the streetcar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 How in the world does this happen?! "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmecklenborg Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 I am not surprised that a streetcar was routed onto the wrong track or even hit another one in the storage yard (such accidents are fairly common in freight railroading and in trucking) -- I am amazed that a streetcar could be traveling fast enough while entering the storage tracks to cause "extensive" damage. Hopefully that word choice was made out of an abundance of caution and both of these streetcars will be running again in a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColDayMan Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Streetcar ridership, still below projections, rises Boardings on the Cincinnati Bell Connector streetcar rose significantly in April, hitting about 50,000 riders for the month for the first time since Christmas. That level is still below the projected 82,325 boardings for the month, but the overall budget is $139,683 in the black. ... Streetcar monthly ridership April 2017: 49,966 March 2017: 34,679 February 2017: 36,681 January 2017: 35,334 December 2016: 52,209 November 2016: 33,066 October 2016: 95,286 September 2016: 133,323 More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/05/09/streetcar-ridership-still-below-projections-rises.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim uber Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 I am not surprised that a streetcar was routed onto the wrong track or even hit another one in the storage yard (such accidents are fairly common in freight railroading and in trucking) -- I am amazed that a streetcar could be traveling fast enough while entering the storage tracks to cause "extensive" damage. Hopefully that word choice was made out of an abundance of caution and both of these streetcars will be running again in a few days. I listened to a little of the discussion at the council meeting today. The easy one to fix, for which they have parts, is out of commission for "weeks". the other one will take longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taestell Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 And 99.6% of riders are paying their fare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleepyLeroy Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 So with the new budget cut proposal of 'booting' cars vs. towing them, do you think they will boot cars interfering with the streetcar tracks or is that still going to be a tow-able situation? From what i read most cities still tow for something like this but who knows what will go down here as it relates to the streetcar and the current administration. I was told when my driveway was blocked once in CUF that the towing comes out of the police budget and they just ticketed the car and i had to wait till the dude came back in the morning to park at home so maybe this is a Cranley concession to the Police for their support in November disguised as a budget maneuver? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim uber Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 Yesterday I entered the Fountain Square visitors center for the first time, to pick up some maps for a couple guests. The two nice ladies staffing the place told me to have my friends stop by for a chat. They could, for example, tell them how to "ride the trolly" up to over the rhine. I explained how that would be great, as I live "up there" right across from the Liberty and Elm streetcar stop. They blinked, and smiled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taestell Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 I can't imagine that the city would ever boot a vehicle that was blocking the tracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJP Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 In Europe & Canada, when cars are in the way of #trams, they remove the cars. In the USA, we blame the #streetcars.... Toronto Has a Plan to Clear the Way for Streetcars Stuck in Traffic http://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/05/15/toronto-has-a-plan-to-clear-the-way-for-streetcars-stuck-in-traffic/ “What is the meaning of this city? Do you huddle close together because you love each other?” Or “We all dwell together to make money from each other”? -- TS Eliot’s The Rock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taestell Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Metro just announced that half a million rides have been taken on the Connector. So much for Dusty's prediction that only 50 people per day would ride... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmecklenborg Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Metro just announced that half a million rides have been taken on the Connector. So much for Dusty's prediction that only 50 people per day would ride... Kansas City is still getting 10,000+ riders every Saturday and had 17,000 on May 6. That didn't stop Citylab from lobbing another anti-streetcar/pro-BRT hit piece that conveniently ignored the KC phenomenon: https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/05/the-streetcar-boondoggle-continues-this-time-in-detroit/526878/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmicha Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 So around 2,000 people/day. Not really that great but hopefully that picks up dramatically with the better weather and all the events that occur over the next four or five months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincydave8 Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 So based on the numbers up to April 30 reported at 470,544. They've already had 29,456 in May or am I Just really bad at math? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 And on Twitter, BillGRhinehart says that according to Cincinnati Metro, there have been 511,196 passenger trips since last September. That would mean there have been 40,652 passengers in May. "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cincy513 Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 It's pretty packed on nice weekends, last weekend every time I saw it go by it was either partly or completely full. The weekday crowd is what they need to get figured out. The winter months are obviously going to be lower then when it's nice so I'll love watching the average daily number climb over the summer. I expect big crowds for Taste weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neville Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 It's pretty packed on nice weekends, last weekend every time I saw it go by it was either partly or completely full. The weekday crowd is what they need to get figured out. The winter months are obviously going to be lower then when it's nice so I'll love watching the average daily number climb over the summer. I expect big crowds for Taste weekend. Too bad they can't run 2-car trains on those really busy days. That would help with weekend crowding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmecklenborg Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 I predict that the Taste of Cincinnati situation will be a disaster. There is going to be total gridlock on Main and Walnut for many hours each day. We know the solution to this is to cone off the streetcar tracks or simply close several blocks of those streets, but we all know Cranley isn't going to let that happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taestell Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 It's pretty packed on nice weekends, last weekend every time I saw it go by it was either partly or completely full. The weekday crowd is what they need to get figured out. The winter months are obviously going to be lower then when it's nice so I'll love watching the average daily number climb over the summer. I expect big crowds for Taste weekend. Too bad they can't run 2-car trains on those really busy days. That would help with weekend crowding. Our streetcars are not able to be connected together in multi-car trains. They should start running more streetcars to meet the demand though. Most weekends they should run 4 streetcars to adequately meet the demand. Of course, if we're going to do that, we need to purchase additional streetcars because you can't run 4 out of the 5 on a regular basis... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taestell Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 I predict that the Taste of Cincinnati situation will be a disaster. There is going to be total gridlock on Main and Walnut for many hours each day. We know the solution to this is to cone off the streetcar tracks or simply close several blocks of those streets, but we all know Cranley isn't going to let that happen. Or to have some cops directing traffic on downtown streets and ushering the streetcar through... but we know that's not going to happen under this administration either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Hash Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 I predict that the Taste of Cincinnati situation will be a disaster. There is going to be total gridlock on Main and Walnut for many hours each day. We know the solution to this is to cone off the streetcar tracks or simply close several blocks of those streets, but we all know Cranley isn't going to let that happen. Or to have some cops directing traffic on downtown streets and ushering the streetcar through... but we know that's not going to happen under this administration either... The Cranley admin certainly has a huge distraction now. We may actually see things improve since the brainpower will be used to navigate his campaign off life support instead of subversion of the streetcar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmecklenborg Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Judging from online chatter and what I saw in person over the Memorial Day Weekend, things appeared to run smoothly and ridership was quite high. The police appeared to be actively directing traffic near the Taste of Cincinnati and waving the streetcar through. I had feared that Cranley was going to allow the situation to devolve into chaos. Seems like during a special event like this they could cone off the streetcar tracks in order to keep people from attempting to pick up and drop off passengers on the tracks. Also, the Lytle Tunnel exit ramp is closed so much of the east side traffic came from Reading or Gilbert rather than up from the riverfront. I spent several hours at Washington Park and no doubt the many people visiting from out-of-town at the park and on the streetcars left with a positive impression of Cincinnati that they aren't going to get from any of our neighbors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slumcat Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 ^@jmeck...as far as you know, did they manage to maintain continuous schedule as planned throughout the event, or were there periodic delays/ interruptions due to crowds, parked vehicles, etc. BTW, hope someone can post May ridership stats soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmicha Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 ^Can't speak firsthand since I'm not in Cincy anymore, but from what I was hearing on Facebook they were regularly hitting 12 minute intervals and most everything was working perfectly all weekend with only minor problems here or there that were resolved quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmecklenborg Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 ^@jmeck...as far as you know, did they manage to maintain continuous schedule as planned throughout the event, or were there periodic delays/ interruptions due to crowds, parked vehicles, etc. BTW, hope someone can post May ridership stats soon. I wasn't around enough to say anything definitive, although I kept seeing stations showing the wrong arrival time. I'm in disbelief that about 6 months have passed since the time when we were told it had been "fixed" and the signs are still routinely showing wildly incorrect times. Is there any effort underway to fix this? Or do we have to wait until Cranley is voted out in November? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Wiederhold Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 David Beckham’s Miami soccer stadium won’t include parking https://archpaper.com/2017/05/david-beckham-miami-soccer-stadium/ Don't know whether to start this conversation here or in the FC thread... so both for now, mods can delete where appropriate. With FC Cincinnati talking about stadiums in Newport and at Taft, it might be worthwhile to discuss how they could avoid having to build structured parking and instead, contribute to a Northern Kentucky loop or an Uptown loop that could make existing parking garages useful for streetcar stops at Elm & Liberty/Washington Park (two blocks to the Taft Stadium) or new stops at the Ovation project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmecklenborg Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 I just looked at google maps and the measure tool shows that that their new stadium will be 2,700 feet from the closest Metrorail station. Incidentally, that will also be where Florida's new high-speed passenger rail terminates. The proposed new stadium in place of the Taft High School stadium will be only 800 feet from the unused Liberty St. subway station. It is 1,050 feet from the streetcar stop at Elm & Liberty and 1,100 feet from the one at Music Hall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 13,413 rides on the streetcar Memorial Day weekend (Fri-Mon) according to Metro "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old edale Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Disappointing. That is low ridershipfor a big weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Bombay Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Disappointing. That is low ridershipfor a big weekend. Is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmecklenborg Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Is it? Downtown and OTR seemed oddly dead aside from the Taste. There was no Reds game or programmed event at Washington Park. Everyone's routines are completely upended over that holiday weekend, with many people attending family functions out in the suburbs. Nevertheless, May ridership should be much higher than any month since October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old edale Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Disappointing. That is low ridershipfor a big weekend. Is it? I would say an average of 3,350 riders per day on a weekend where 550,000 people are downtown for the Taste alone (not counting other events along the line) is pretty damn disappointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanlammi Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 don't compare a daily average with a weekend total. Either 3,350/day rode the streetcar and 137,500/day were at taste; or 13,400 rode the streetcar and 550,000 were at taste over the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old edale Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Ok, I feel like that doesn't really change the point, though. I think Taste didn't actually start until a Saturday, right? So it's disingenuous to count Friday ridership in the long weekend/Taste total, if we want to be pure in our analysis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanlammi Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 I just don't think comparing numbers measuring different things is helpful. And yeah, it looks like Taste started on Saturday. I avoided anything south of Central Parkway last weekend because of Taste, so I didn't know what day it started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Civvik Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Is it? Downtown and OTR seemed oddly dead aside from the Taste. There was no Reds game or programmed event at Washington Park. Everyone's routines are completely upended over that holiday weekend, with many people attending family functions out in the suburbs. Nevertheless, May ridership should be much higher than any month since October. It didn't help that the meteorologists predicted 90% chance of rain and thunderstorms Saturday and Sunday, and there ended up being essentially none. I know the Midwest is tricky with weather, but I'm starting to think meteorology is not far removed from astrology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram23 Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 For comparison sake, Oktoberfest weekend had 29,113 riders. I go to Oktoberfest, but not Taste. I wonder if the crowds are significantly different - is Taste more family oriented? During Oktoberfest there were lots of people heading to bars/breweries before and after via the streetcar. Maybe that's not the case with Taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanlammi Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 I went to Oktoberfest last year, but not most of the years prior. I mainly went to check out the new layout. Fifth Street sucks, which is why I avoided Taste again. Nothing for me there. I think more people are up for going out after/before Oktoberfest. The Reds played during Oktoberfest, no downtown teams played during Taste this year. Also, the streetcar was brand new, which probably added to ridership. We need several years of data to get a true idea of how this compares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmicha Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Did it actually say "Friday to Monday" because all I saw was "Memorial Day weekend" which could very well just be talking about Saturday and Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmecklenborg Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Per Metro's press release... Friday May 26: 2,709 Saturday May 27: 5,010 Sunday May 28: 3,215 Monday May 29: 2,479 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmicha Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Has Taste traditionally been an event where people go to it then promptly go home to do other family things since it's a holiday? I never really went to Taste in the decade I lived in Cincy so I can't really tell if maybe the reason for the lower than expected ridership (although not terrible overall) is a result of people purely not doing anything OTHER than Taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDipper 80 Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 ^This wouldn't surprise me - it's an event where people pay to eat a small amount of food from a local restaurant instead of just going to the restaurant and getting a meal, so I would assume that it attracts those folks who just want to try things and go home without actually going to the actual place downtown, coupled with the fact that you just ate and drank on 5th Street and don't really have an incentive to go up and eat/drink/party/whatever more in OTR unlike Oktoberfest which is obviously more "party all night" oriented. “To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmicha Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Yeah that's always the vibe I got. When living in OTR I seem to remember the weekend of Taste being pretty dead/quiet whereas the weekend of Oktoberfest was a hot mes (in the best of ways). I feel more places also get in on the fun of Oktoberfest by having mini events that are spread around the basin a little more whereas Taste seems to be highly focused on 5th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IAGuy39 Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 I went out in OTR on Saturday night, took an Uber from Mount Lookout and we got Kruegers. It wasn't really too packed we got in pretty late, but there was still a ton of traffic downtown as we went in from 3rd street, took us a long time to get there. OTR wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be for a beautiful Saturday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim uber Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 This is a pretty great idea: A lunch club with discounts for streetcar riders: http://www.downtowncincinnati.com/exploring-downtown/downtown-cincinnati-restaurants/connector-lunch-club Had a write up in the Cincinnati Business Courier today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old edale Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Does anyone know the bus routes with the highest ridership? I'd be curious to know the streetcar compares to daily ridership on bus routes. Actually, just looking at the ridership of all the routes would probably be very interesting. Is that data available somewhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomasbw Posted June 2, 2017 Author Share Posted June 2, 2017 Does anyone know the bus routes with the highest ridership? I'd be curious to know the streetcar compares to daily ridership on bus routes. Actually, just looking at the ridership of all the routes would probably be very interesting. Is that data available somewhere? 43 17 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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