After reading John Cranley's 9 pages of questions about developing a streetcar route connecting Cincinnati's downtown neighborhoods, existing and future, I saw that he missed a lot more good questions.

being the civic minded guy that I am, I came up with a few more that he can use in his next round of stonewalling.

My proposed questions in red.

II. Economic Impact



b iv. If the streetcar reduces the required subsidy on a per unit basis, how much does it reduce the subsidy? Please provide specific market analysis from another city. How was that analysis made?

  Why has 3CDC never broken down their subsidy requirement estimation to detail what the cost of developing parking per unit costs ?

  Why do I not already know that ?



v. Are any developers willing to develop these units without a subsidy? Who?

  Why isn't there a line of developers waiting with baited breath for the Cincinnati City Council to DO something ?



vi. If the city alternatively spent $100 million to revitalize these 1574 units, wouldn't it be cheaper than subsidizing these units and building the streetcar?

  Is this a strawman question ?

  What would it cost to raze downown & erect subsidized housing made of concrete & cinderblock ?



c i. How much of this vacant land and surface parking is along the proposed route? Please list the addresses.

  Again, why don't I already know this ?



d. i. What is the average subsidy on a per unit basis for new construction in the city? Please answer by referring to Parker Flats.

  When you answer this I will ask you to compare subsidies to another development

iv. Will the construction wait until after the land is rezoned?

  Will we willfully violate zoning laws ?



v. How much of the vacant land is in a historic area or historic overlay district?

  Will these properties be developed with respect to historic parking lot guidelines ?



III. Ridership

a. ii. Was ridership greater for the proposed alignment than the alternatives? If so, why?

  Are there altenative stops planned for any of the proposed routes ?

  What will ridership estimates be for each of these routes be considering every feasible number and location of stops on an hourly and daily basis.



i. What percentage of trips will be internal, external, and special event trips respectively?

  Please provide figures for every porposed route & every feasible number and location of stops on an hourly and daily basis.

iv. How did the city arrive at these numbers?

  Please be prepared to answer several questions for each answer you give here.



v. Were these numbers drawn from other streetcar markets?

  Is this a loaded question ?

 For each of the other markets (Portland, etc.), how many people worked and lived near the line when it opened, how many shops, restaurants, etc. were there?

  Who owned them, what type of businesses were they, what was each & every one of their sales per hr depending on what hours the streetcars were running



i. How many people live within two blocks of the proposed route and how many will need to use the streetcar to get to work? How did you generate these numbers?

  And how is this relevant to the idea of an area that will (theoretically) increase it's opulation after the line is established.

  Please provide estimates on an hourly daily basis given the effect of seasons, weather conditions (which will be questioned at a later date) and day of the week ?

  Would estimates be different if we abolished labor laws ?



iii. How many people do you project will drive to downtown or Over-the-Rhine and then use the streetcar to complete their commute to work?

  Being as this is an icredibly stupid question, how many people are expected to take the bus downtown & use the streetcar to continue their communte to work ?

    How many bus riders who use transfers

    How many who come from outside Zone 1 zone 2 zone 3 & 4 ?

    How many bus riders who use park & ride ?



v. Will anybody park at Findlay Market? How many?

  Will anybody park at the riverfront and ride to Findlay Market ? How amy ?

    as usual, provide estimates for every day of the year & the hours they would be using the service because I am a simpleton andx am basing all my uestions on first shift workers



vii. What percentage of streetcar riders will consist of those making the trip to and from work?

  What percentage will be to visit people who live in the area ? I am drunk and keep forgetting that this idea i to promote more residency in the downtown area.



d. The second use for the streetcar is shopping: how many will use the streetcar for shopping purposes on a daily basis?
 What percentage of the total ridership does this constitute?

  What will they be shopping for ?

  How many cubic feet of goods will they be carrying ?

  What is the estimated weight of goods purchased expected to be ?

  What percentage of riders will be buying black market goods & services ?



e. The third use is entertainment: how many will use the streetcar for entertainment purposes on a daily basis? What percentage of the total ridership does this constitute?

  Seriously, doesn't this need to be broken down into time & day of the week ?


iii. How long would it take the average downtown worker to leave work, get to the restaurant, eat lunch, and return to work? Will a worker have enough time to take the streetcar to lunch during a typical one-hour lunch break?
  Be sure to break this down by the average serving time of each and every restaurant along the route and all proposed alternative routes.



iv. What is the expected loss to downtown restaurateurs as a result of the streetcar, if downtown workers take the streetcar to Over-the-Rhine for lunch?

  What is the expected loss to Over-the-Rhine restaurateurs as a result of the streetcar, if Over-the-Rhine workers take the streetcar to downtown for lunch?

v. How long does it take to walk from Fountain Square to Findlay Market?

  In the snow

  Pushing a baby carriage

  pulling a grocery cart

  If you are obese

  If you are 3' tall

  If you are 4' tall

  If you are 5' tall

  if you are 6' tall

  if you are an Olympic marothoner

  if you are a 75 year old with one leg

  How long on a rascal

  How long in a wheelchair

  How long for an obese 60 yr old blind grandma in a wheelchair being pushed by an obese 40yr old mother trying to keep track of her kids while carrying groceries on the snowy streets that the city does not enforce the laws concerning clearing of ?

  How long for an obese 60 yr old blind grandma in a wheelchair being pushed by an obese 40yr old mother trying to keep track of her kids while carrying groceries on the snowy streets that the city does not enforce the laws concerning clearing of at night ?

  How long for an obese 60 yr old blind grandma in a wheelchair being pushed by an obese 40yr old mother trying to keep track of her kids while carrying groceries on the snowy streets that the city does not enforce the laws concerning clearing of with a tailwind ?

  How long for an obese 60 yr old blind grandma in a wheelchair being pushed by an obese 40yr old mother trying to keep track of her kids while carrying groceries on the snowy streets that the city does not enforce the laws concerning clearing of with a headwind ?



vi. Wouldn't it be quicker and cheaper to drive or ride a bike?

  Nevermind that the city has inadequate parking and charges a premium for what it has.

  Nevermind that there is basically no dedicated bicycle parking.



vii. How long does it take to walk from the Kroger building to Fountain Square?

  How long does it take to walk from Music Hall to City Hall ?

  How long does it take to walk from the DIC to 3CDC ?

  I can keep these up all day long - it's kinda like filibusterng. See, I am up to holding a federal office !



viii. If it is faster to take the streetcar, how much faster?

  Have you deduced that I am batshit crazy ?

In all honesty he had some good questions - he just had a lot of dumb ones that indicate he isn't doing much to keep up on what's going on in the city he is supposed to be running.

oh wait, that's the city manager's job.