CapitolFax.com - Latest Comments in Question of the day

Re: Question of the day

Beatred Peppa — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 18:21:21 -0000

Not sure why people are complaining about downtown restaurants...it's the only place where there are no chains and you should be happy. Where I live, we would love a quaint street with a Sammy's bar or a Cafe Moxo. Great food and even better service. Throw in a Bento's and you have heaven - rice, chicken, beer from Sammy's and a little breakfast at Moxo to wash it all down. Get real peeps, have fun with your city.

Re: Question of the day

Larry — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:04:27 -0000

Springfield needs a Fulgenzi's Downtown. There is no better double cheeseburger after a long night out.

I agree the city need to clean up entrance corridors. Not a pretty picture, yet not unlike most older towns I have visted.

Need more inter connected bike/jogging paths

Re: Question of the day

Peaches — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 22:26:33 -0000

How about Incredibly Delicious (corner of Clay and 7th - just north of Springfield Clinic). Authentic croissants, vegetarian fare for lunch and all bread made on site. Great lattes and espresso - better than Starbucks.

Re: Question of the day

Techboy — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:15:34 -0000

There's a Kinkos on the West side, has been for a long time now. Yes, a branch downtown seems like a no-brainer. When the downtown core comes alive with more apartment dwellers, it may sustain one again.

I want to see someone reopen On Broadway as a restaurant/nitespot.

I want that vacant church near Capitol Ave. to be turned into a satellite campus for UIS.

They HAVE to keep a night bus service going thru downtown connecting the East and West sides. Right now, only car owners can travel town after six. That measn no Eastsider can work a Westside or downtown night job or go to night school to better themselves without a car or cab fare that's too expensive to use every day. No other city our size is so backwards. There is a smart way to do it: smaller night service busses, dynamically scheduled using a web site and phone hookups. If you know a day ahead you want to use a night bus, or you want to use it for daily commuting, you click or text a web site with a request for a stop nearest your home, and the computer plans the next day's optimal route and size and number of busses based on known number of riders, time of day and where they are, along a general set of major arterial routes. If you just this minute decided you want a ride to a downtown party, a call or text message to another site calls a much smaller bus or even a large airport type van, keeping the expenses lower, yet being flexible. This could start out as a van pool service piloted by a large religious organization and maybe a rich car dealership to supply the vans. It is worth a try.

I want to see the city use some of the TIF money to subsidize rents downtown, to stimulate more residential rental and small retail. Much of the boarded-up and closed property downtown is owned by out of town or out of state trusts that use them as a tax deduction and don't care if they are occupied and kept up, or abandoned and deteriorating, so they never drop the rents to a reasonable level. If you discounted/subsidized the first two year's rent for a small shop or residential apartment rental, you build a self-sustaining critical mass of professionals and tourists after-five downtown, and that's going to make everybody a lot more money. At least charge the trusts more upkeep fees on the property they are supposed to be stewarding, maybe they'll sell it off to a local developer like Oxtoby, and it will get cleaned up and put to tasteful use.

Don't move the Amtrak station to the outskirts of town, as the tentative plans for the multimodal station are suggesting. Keep it handy to the city core, and reroute just the freight lines to the outskirts: add a warehouse/distribution center to that freight re-route, and generate more tax revenue and jobs. The old Pillsbury area would maybe work for that, and generate Eastside jobs.

To me, Springfield's biggest sin is they loved for years to tear down old buildings to make surface parking lots for the cars of people who come...to see the old buildings that are now gone. We are making some progress on preservation and renovation, but it is hard to overcome the laziness and greed of the locals who'd just as soon see another Walgreens pop up as preserve old homes.

Finally, keep the beach open thru August. The open season is too short.

Re: Question of the day

pedal pusher — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:00:58 -0000

Springfield transportation planners should create a network of bike lanes to help people safely get out of their cars and commute to work. I've also noticed that there are no bicycle parking racks downtown to lock a bike. What gives?

Another idea: how about creating a marked trail or route to help people interested in biking to/from the various Lincoln sites? It could start at the downtown museum/library complex.

Come on Springfield government leaders; it's time to make the city more bike-friendly!

Re: Question of the day

Objective Dem — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:39:57 -0000

I'm not a fan of the trolley idea. The overhead wires are ugly and the tracks are something else that has to be maintained. Overall it would be a very expensive undertaking. If there is a need to get the tourists from one site to another, I perfer Trolley like busses.

Re: Question of the day

Keyser Soze — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:29:01 -0000

To vanilla man: Restored trolleys, such as used in San Francisco and Kenosha, have been suggested to the City by the R/UDAT follow-up team. They would ostensibly serve as a downtown circulator system. Two over-lapping routes were suggested that would connect the downtown area with the nearby hotels, government offices, and hospitals. Anyone interested in promoting such a system should contact city hall.

Re: Question of the day

Smack-o-cratic — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 17:22:08 -0000

This just in...........Gov. Balgojevich has requested all state department heads and liaisons to walk with him in the State Fair parade tomorrow evening as a buffer. All are reportedly planning to wear "I'm with Stupid" T-shirts....

Re: Question of the day

Objective Dem — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:10:40 -0000

The tough part regarding the regional approach is it will be very hard to make the tradeoffs necessary to make it work. For instance, a true regional airport in BN makes a lot of sense. The reality is BN is only about an hour from the other cities, which is about the same travel time for getting to O'Hare from the city or most of the burbs. But the only way that works is for the other cities to give up or limit their commercial service and I don't see that happening. Likewise a high speed train from Chicago to St. Louis would be great, but it can't make stops in all the central illinois cities. Who wins and who loses?

Re: Question of the day

Reddbyrd — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:08:30 -0000

Rich:
what a brilliant question
You are the brightest bulb in the lamp.

Asking the city to look this over is a very good idea.

I would suggest a late nite tobacco store near 5th and Adams nite lige district. A nice place where one could lite up a cigar and pouring
a little booze down. One of those empty store fronts ought to be available.

Re: Question of the day

Team Sleep — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:32:49 -0000

Good point, ObDem. It would work well if we combined forces with Chambana, B-N, Decatur and Peoria. Kind of like Voltron, only different. Sorry if no one gets the mid-80s reference.

Some guy called into Molson and Lee last month and said that, in order to make Springfield fun, we need a Dave and Busters. I about peed my pants laughing so hard at that.

Re: Question of the day

zatoichi — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:24:30 -0000

Need to throw in a pitch for Andiamo's, Indigo, Auggies, and Sebastian's. Other than that get more varied radio. Wish someone would rebroadcast WNCW from North Carolina (fabulous blue grass mixed with Frank Zappa), KEXP from Seattle, and KPIG from San Francisco. All on internet, but not my car. More live music of all kinds. Lincolnfest could be run better if the drunks are controlled.

Re: Question of the day

Objective Dem — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:10:12 -0000

Lanier,

The concept you are talking about was successfully done in the Research Triangle in North Carolina.

Re: Question of the day

Lainer — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:04:33 -0000

Maybe so. But notice how close the other Central Illinois cities are that you mention. That's why I suggest they all work together to attract industry and on major infrastructure projects like highways, high-speed rail, air service, etc.

Maybe all these cities (plus Decatur) could think of themselves as part of one big metro area that happens to have a lot of green space : )

I think the total population of this area is over 500,000... if they worked together they could become an economic and political powerhouse that might even give Chicago and the Metro East a run for its money.

But I digress a little. And it's time to get off my soapbox too.

Re: Question of the day

spfldsouthender — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:00:02 -0000

Put a really good book store and office supply store on South Dirksen or Stevenson Drive.

Re: Question of the day

Gus Frerotte's Clipboard — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 14:58:30 -0000

Rich, I'm not saying Muldaner's is too far to walk for a good meal given the time -- but on crazy session days, getting over to Sixth Street seems prohibitive purely from a time standpoint.

Re: Question of the day

Objective Dem — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 14:56:14 -0000

In regards to landscaping and planting trees, how about something interesting. There are several places known as Rhododendrum capitals. DC is known for cherry blossoms. People go to New England for the fall colors of the sugar maples. I'm sure the local horticultural experts could come up with something that is appropriate for Springfield (besides corn and soybeans).

Re: Question of the day

Team Sleep — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 14:46:45 -0000

Our educational opportunities and our medical community is top-notch here in Springfield. Plus, an hour to the north is ISU; an hour and half to the east is Chambana; and an hour to the northwest is Peoria. Central Illinois is doing something right!

Lainer, I agree that Springfield needs a "contingency plan", but we would be at a disadvantage with St. Louis less than two hours away and Indy less than four hours away. Plus, Peoria has a rejuvinated downtown and B-N is a nice college city.

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 14:18:14 -0000

Bring in Sufjan Stevens for a concert to perform his "Come on feel the Illinoise" album.

Re: Question of the day

Anon — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 14:12:31 -0000

Re: the Kinko's suggestion, Capitol Blueprint on S. First can do many of the same jobs and is considerably cheaper.

Re: Question of the day

The Welshman — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 14:09:09 -0000

The leadership of Springfield needs to grasp a vision and nurture it. See it through! As a downtown resident, I have heard much rhetoric with little action. It is entirely possible to mold your city to your vision through perserverance and determination. Our city core is in dire distress. Will people wait until our shared historical and cultural heritage fades into yesteryear, or better yet is bulldozed for surface parking, at the expense of a cheaply constructed strip mall built further and further away?

Okay...I'm off my soapbox. Hope everyone has a nice day!

Re: Question of the day

Lainer — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 14:06:25 -0000

VM says "Springfield would be just another Jacksonville without the State of Illinois."

Actually I've grown to like Jacksonville; the presence of two private colleges (Illinois and MacMurray) gives it more culture than one might expect.
Seriously, though, perhaps Springfield ought to work on diversifying its economy enough that even if every state agency moved to Chicago, and the Capitol itself packed up and left, we could survive. We have UIS, Lincoln Land, Springfield College, SIU Medical School, the under-construction Medical District, two highly regarded hospitals, and a third on the way (a psychiatric hospital for youth in the old Doctors Hospital facility). We can build on these sectors of the economy and add more.

Re: Question of the day

MILFof 2 — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:53:23 -0000

Anon~
Bomke and Brauer's House Bill 1355 establishes a preference for locating state facilities in historic central business districts(downtown).
The bill passed both houses and was sent to the Gov. He hasn't signed it yet.

Re: Question of the day

Rich Miller — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:48:27 -0000

By the way, I called Mayor Davlin's office today and asked that they urge him to read these comments.

Re: Question of the day

Team Sleep — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:46:40 -0000

Rich, that was friggin' hilarious.