Roadtrip: Dayton, Ohio

[Metro Jacksonville]

Roadtrip: Dayton, Ohio



During the mid 20th century, Dayton was advertised as 'The Cleanest City in America'. Today, it seeks to restore that image.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/699

[DemocraticNole]

Nothing says classy city like traffic signals hung across the road on wires. That is the sign of a cheap city.

[Jason]

Great tour.  I had no idea the Dayton metro was comparable to Jacksonville.  I had always pictured it as being much smaller.

I does look like they have a ways to go, however, one plus side is the fact that they have a glut of underutilized properties that would make great fixer-uppers allowing the middle class a much better shot of revitalizing the core.  Jax is stuck waiting for the big money to come to town to develop over priced dirt lots.  I guess having a "clean slate" could become a positive if the city would push for dense working class housing on vacant properties that addressed the street in a pedestrian friendly way.

[Ocklawaha]

Fer Dem Docters of Transet Stuffology en Jerksonville... De above picuters of dem Dayton Trolley Buses iss REAL Trolley Buses! Dey ain't got no tater chip truck trollies like we do, in fact JTA kant eben spel Trollie!

Dayton win's by having REAL transit options.

Ocklawaha

[fpj]

I haven't been in Dayton in years, but when I was working there, the Oregon District was really inspiring to me.  It alone warrants a road trip, especially at night.  Funny to think I had to go to Ohio to get hooked on Israeli couscous after a dish I had at a restaurant in the district (at Pacchia I think, but the name could be lost to time.)

Still, that district has what a lot of people on this board are talking about:  daytime and nighttime business working together along with local residents in their community (and fighting over parking).

Other parallels abound, especially with the Oregon Historic District Society being formed in 1973 and Riverside Avondale Preservation in 1974.

Check them out for some potential inspiration at http://www.oregondistrict.org or maybe even some joint discussions to see what has and hasn't worked for them that we could use here in Jax.

[fpj]

Nothing says classy city like traffic signals hung across the road on wires. That is the sign of a cheap city.

They even hang their buses from similar wires

[Steve]

Nothing says classy city like traffic signals hung across the road on wires. That is the sign of a cheap city.

I like it - perhaps that's how they afford things like courthouses, trolley bus systems, and other capital projects.

Remember, they don't have to deal with hurricanes, which is one of the main reasons that we use poles here.

[DemocraticNole]

Nothing says classy city like traffic signals hung across the road on wires. That is the sign of a cheap city.

I like it - perhaps that's how they afford things like courthouses, trolley bus systems, and other capital projects.

Remember, they don't have to deal with hurricanes, which is one of the main reasons that we use poles here.

I was really taking a backhanded swipe at us as well. It wasn't until the 1990's that Florida started making a concerted effort to start putting traffic signals on mastarms (poles). That's why when driving around Jax, you still see many signals hung on wires. Go to California, Arizona, Illinois, NYC, Iowa, Nevada and various other places and you will notice that those municipalities don't place the signals on wires. It looks cheap and tacky. Cities can certainly have both appropriate signals and infrastructure such as trolleys, courthouses, etc. What keeps Jacksonville back is its incompetent mayor and county government.

[Lunican]

FDOT requires all new traffic signals to be mounted on mast arms. The ones on wires are old.

[fpj]

Mmmmmkay, most of the wires you see in these pictures are the overhead catenaries for Dayton's electric trolleys (I called them buses in an earlier comment, my bad).   So, with all that going on, why not hang the traffic signals in a similar way?

[molitor]

I lived in Dayton, Ohio for 11 years, after growing up in Chicago. Dayton is a dull,dreary little city. I could not wait to leave.
After living in Jax for 5 years, I can not compare the two places. The sun is hardly ever out in Ohio, summer lasts about 5 minutes.
They do not have hurricanes, but they do have tornados that can come along with barely any warning.
OK, I give in to the Oregon district. It is nice enough to feel like you are getting away... but when I went to the district I saw more head shops and dirty looking tatoo parlors than restaurants.

                                                                                                       

[heights unknown]

Poor Dayton; used to be bigger (in the 50's) than Miami, Tampa, or Jacksonville.  They're looking to bounce back though; but they have a long way to go before they catch up with Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Heights Unknown