The city of Cincinnati starts hosting a series of 10 open houses tonight to provide information on the proposed streetcar line connecting the downtown riverfront, Over-the-Rhine and the Uptown area around UC. City staff will be on hand to answer questions about the line’s economic benefits, costs and route. There is no formal presentation.
Tonight's meeting is 5-7 p.m. in the lobby of the Aronoff Center for the Arts downtown, 650 Walnut St.—-
From the city's press release about the meetings: "Additionally, the public will be asked to provide comments on the system and particularly the 'connector route' to Uptown. This is the path the streetcar will take from its downtown route to Uptown, which includes the area around the University of Cincinnati, the hospitals and the zoo. These are the city’s two largest employment centers with about 130,000 workers every day. The proposed system does not currently include a route that circulates through the streets in Uptown."
Check out the city's streetcar web page if you want more background info.
FYI, this weekend's MidPoint Music Festival is bringing back the Scion Streetcar Shuttle, a fleet of cool Scions that will travel a circular route through downtown and Over-the-Rhine to deliver music fans to MidPoint venues (get the lowdown here, at the bottom). It was devised last year as a test case of how convenient it would be to park once downtown and enjoy multiple music clubs over a 10-block area by walking or hopping a ride. The Scion Streetcar was a huge hit last year and is back this weekend.
The schedule for the remaining public meetings includes Thursday at Bond Hill Recreation Center, Sept. 28 during lunch on Fountain Square, Sept. 29 at the Main Public Library downtown, Oct. 13 at Oakley Recreation Center, Oct. 20 at College Hill Recreation Center, Oct. 27 at Corryville Recreation Center, Nov. 4 at LeBlond Recreation Center (East End), Nov. 10 at City Hall and Nov. 18 at Price Hill Recreation Center.
