That's one of the things that frustrates me about GCRTA's brass. They seem to look at transit routes/services as a response to the community and the transit agency as someone to decide how best to use transit to respond to that demand.

 

But I look at transit routes/services (particularly rail) as a foundation on which to build, and the transit agency as the vision-setter, champion, nurturer, marketer and even financier of that spin-off development.

 

Ironically, Joe Calabrese at GCRTA noted that his agency can get better bond rating than the port authority can -- which makes sense since GCRTA is funded by a permanent sales tax and the port authority's property tax has to be renewed every five years. Yet, the port authority has the development finance expertise and, just as important, the desire to use it.

In response to the Portland Streetcar reference: I believe it was funded and is operated by an independent agency, not Tri-Met (Portland's COTA).  They share a fare system, but are separate entities.  I also believe that a good deal of the initial streetcar line was funded with a TIF program that was created based on the entirely new neighborhood (Hoyt Street Yards) that was being built along part of its route.  They laid the rails before the majority of the buildings were built and the line opened around the time when the first of the buildings were being occupied.  The neighborhood seemed to spring up overnight! 

 

The initial line did travel from one well established neighborhood (NW 23rd in Northwest Portland) to another (Portland State University), but has since been extended further south to huge pieces of land that were assembled with the streetcar access in mind.  They are largely secluded from most people's idea of where Downtown ends (due to the freeway) and the streetcar served to create greater accessibility and visibility, as well as a new identity as a hot neighborhood with the convenience of the streetcar that everyone has become familiar with.

 

The Portland Streetcar has far exceeded expectations and has proven the importance of both connecting existing dense and high-use areas, but also instigating significant new development along an established transit line.

The Columbus system will be set up in much the same manner as Portland.  In fact, I am told it will be known as the Columbus Streetcar & Railway Company.  It will be a private non-profit.

The Columbus system will be set up in much the same manner as Portland.  In fact, I am told it will be known as the Columbus Streetcar & Railway Company.  It will be a private non-profit.

 

That name sounds familiar.  What was the name of the transit system for Columbus, pre COTA?

The Columbus Transit Company (CTC).... and prior to that: The Columbus Street Railway Company

^The new company name isn't as similar to the old names as I originally thought.  :|

What will be interesting to see now is how COTA responds to the Mayor Coleman's downtown streetcar plan.  This actually reduces COTA's potential outlay of dollars for light rail, because they won't have to spend millions of $$$ putting light rail into and through downtown.  All they will have to do is "connect" to it.

 

Secondly, the downtown system will ultimately expose the public to what modern "steel wheels on rail" transit looks like.  One has to assume this will increase the clamor for building light rail and (hopefully) a more aggressive light rail plan than what COTA has proposed to date.

I thought this article would fit best here.  It shows the support of German Village for the streetcars.  It probably doesn't come as a surprise, but projects like these need all the support they can get.

 

Initiatives called good for village

By GARTH BISHOP, COLUMBUS LOCAL NEWS

 

Mayor Michael Coleman's State of the City speech held promise for the German Village area, said Katharine Moore, director of the German Village Society.  "He works very hard on behalf of Columbus," Moore said.

 

Some of Coleman's ideas that affect German Village involve the City Center Mall, abandoned homes and a proposed trolley system, she said.  "We were really excited about the plans ... for the streetcars," said Moore.  "That seems to be a really viable project."

 

Coleman proposed a system of rail streetcars as a way of connecting areas in Columbus and cutting down on parking problems Downtown.  Such a system would provide an important link between neighborhoods, such as German Village, and downtown Columbus, Moore said.

 

More: http://www.columbuslocalnews.com

(I don't know how long the Dispatch has made their website "free" (previously you had to pay $5 a month to read the Dispatch online), but as long as the current situation exists, I'll be reading it from afar.)

 

Meanwhile, back to Public Transportation ideas in Columbus...

 

Notion of Downtown loop dates from Rhodes years

Thursday, March 02, 2006

JOE BLUNDO  

 

In 1950, Mayor James A. Rhodes proposed building a subway Downtown. In the 1980s, Mayor Dana G. Rinehart got behind a plan for a monorail Downtown.  And in 2006, Mayor Michael B. Coleman raises the idea of a streetcar Downtown.  Whether Coleman’s idea has merit is for others to decide. But I’ll tell you this: It has consistency.

 

For more than 50 years, mayors have been trying to take us for a ride.  With help from Sam Roshon at the Columbus Metropolitan Library, I reviewed a half-century of transportation dreams for Downtown. Here’s a sampling of what I found:

 

• In 1950, Rhodes, the future governor, suggested a subway system leading in all four directions from Broad and High streets.  He said the tunnels could double as bomb shelters.  ‘‘Many people will think the idea fantastic," Rhodes said. ‘‘But after all, this is a metropolitan city. . . . We must look to the future."

 

 

More: http://www.dispatch.com

A very good look at the Columbus Streetcar Plan and why COTA isn't part of it....

 

MISSING THE TRAIN

Why won't Mayor Coleman let COTA run his new streetcars?

By Erik Johns / March 2, 2006

 

"A seat at the table": COTA boss Bill Lhota has only a token role in the trolley project. The speech was almost an hour long. But last Thursday night in an overcrowded warehouse, Mayor Mike Coleman found time during his State of the City address to note the presence of more than two dozen city and community leaders. One at a time, they were invited to stand and be recognized for all they're doing to improve Columbus.

 

...

 

Read more at http://www.theotherpaper.com/cover.html

 

Trolley may kick-start streetcar plan

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Dean Narciso

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Bill Wahl is wistful each time he steps onto a trolley at Worthington’s Ohio Railway Museum. He can’t help it. "You’ve really just stepped back into the history of Columbus when you get on," he said of Car 703, which ferried people along Parsons and Neil avenues and High Street into Clintonville during the Roaring ’20s and Depression. The museum recently announced it would get rid of its steam engine and other rail equipment to focus instead on trolleys. So when Mayor Michael B. Coleman announced last week his desire for streetcars on Columbus streets, Wahl was ecstatic.

 

Read more at http://dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/03/04/20060304-C1-00.html

 

What follows below is a history of the streetcar in question and a photo of #703

 

Number 703 is representative of the last group of streetcars (Nos. 701-723) built new for use in Columbus, Ohio. The cars were initially painted scarlet and gray, (OSU colors), and got the name “Slaters Folly” because the scarlet paint kept peeling off the doors of the new streetcars. The cars were later painted the traditional CRP&L Co. colors as exhibited by #703 at the museum. Originally the farebox was in the rear of the car. The conductor operated the doors and signalled the motorman with a rope connected to a gong. The cars were converted to one-man operation in 1933 and were operated that way until September, 1948. The car body was purchased from a junk yard in 1962. The original trucks (Brill 77E1) were unavailable, so the Canadian version was purchased in Toronto, Canada. The car was originally built to run on 5' 2" gauge track, but have been re-gauged (4' 8 1/2") to run on museum trackage. After much effort, 703 was restored by the museum in 1973 and is now the only operating Columbus streetcar in existence.

Specifications

 

NUMBER: 703

TYPE: Columbus City Streetcar

DATE BUILT: 1925

BUILDER: G. C. Kuhlman Car Company, Cleveland, Ohio

LENGTH: 45' 3 3/4"

WEIGHT: 36,620 lbs

SEATING CAPACITY: 48

CREW: 2

TRUCKS: Canadian Car & Fdry. 3550

MOTORS: 4 Westinghouse 510A @ 35 hp each

WHEEL DIAMETER: 26 inches

BRAKES: Westinghouse

SME CONTROLLER: K35JJ

AIR COMPRESSOR: GE-C127

ACQUIRED: 1962

FORMER OWNERS: Columbus Railway Power & Light Columbus & Southern Ohio Electric Co.

Here's a good website for information on both light rail and streetcars:

 

http://www.lightrailnow.org/

Business First Columbus editorial on the Downtown Streetdar plan

Hitting the streets with some intrigue

Business First of Columbus - March 3, 2006

 

State-of-the-city speeches by mayors can be anticlimactic yawners, but Columbus chief Michael B. Coleman delivered some intriguing propositions in his assessment of the city's progress.  Perhaps most captivating, if not retro-imaginative, was his plan to examine whether street trolleys could return to the city.  Coleman isn't talking about those tourist-magnet pseudo-trolleys with molded bodies on bus frames.  Rather he's thinking the real deal - streetcars that would roll on rails and perform yeoman's work moving workers, residents and visitors around the center city.  In an era when cities are putting renewed emphasis on public transportation as gasoline prices and highway construction costs soar and traffic congestion thickens, the Coleman proposal makes sense on several levels.

 

 

Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2006/03/06/editorial1.html 

Final Business First Columbus On-Line Poll on the Columbus Streetcar Plan

 

Would you ride the rails?

How would streetcar transportation influence you to visit, shop or play downtown?

 

  I’d visit more often because I don’t like to drive or park downtown.

  50%

 

  I live near downtown, so streetcars would make it more convenient to visit downtown.

  22%

 

  I visit downtown, but I’d prefer to use my personal vehicle rather than a streetcar to get around.

  14%

 

  I rarely go downtown now and streetcars wouldn’t make it any more attractive for me to visit.

  9%

 

  I don’t go downtown and I don’t do public transportation.

  2%

 

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/poll/index.html

^ 72% isn't too shabby.

COTA colludes to convert Columbus commuters

Eric Horchy

Posted: 3/10/06

 

Following Mayor Michael B. Coleman's Feb. 23 State of the City address, renewed public attention has been given to the implementation of innovative modes of transportation in and around Columbus, in hopes of revitalizing the downtown area. Rapid-transit buses, light-rail transit vehicles and streetcar vehicles are the frontrunners in the city's plan to reconnect the suburbs of Columbus with downtown, to reduce motorist traffic on roadways and address high oil and gasoline prices. Columbus development planners aim to give $250,000 to research the installation, location and possible social, economic and environmental impacts that each of the three transportation systems could have on the area.

 

Read more at

http://www.thelantern.com/media/paper333/news/2006/03/10/Campus/Cota-Colludes.To.Convert.Columbus.Commuters-1683901.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.thelantern.com&mkey=625659

I think the OSU "Lantern" reporter fails to see that the downtown Columbus streetcar plan evolved (at least partly) out of a general frustration from City Hall and business leaders with the inability or unwillingness of COTA to move ahead with its light rail plans.  The article almost makes it sound as though COTA and City Hall are working together.  That may seem so on the surface, but the reality of it is that the backers of the streetcar plan got tired of COTA's all-talk-no-action light rail plan.

 

BTW: Shouldn't this be added to the existing thread on the Columbus Streetcar Plan?

Yeah...the lantern never really impresses me with thier ability to research stories.

 

I do agree with the professor quoted in the article though.  I'd rather see rail create dense development pockets around it's stops, instead of park and ride areas.  Both probably have thier places though.

Shouldn't this be added to the existing thread on the Columbus Streetcar Plan?

 

It looks like he was confusing the light rail and streetcars and the focus was on light rail, so I didn't put it the other thread. Another instance of reporters not understanding the topics they cover, which is much too often. I was thinking the same thing as Brewmaster and I hope they listen if light rail does come around.

I understand what you're saying.  I've heard people refer to the Ohio Hub Plan for intercity passenger rail as "light rail".... but most people don't know or care about the technical differences, they just want to be able to ride a train.

Yeah...the lantern never really impresses me with thier ability to research stories.

 

It's a college newspaper, those reporters are still "learning."  If anything, despise the professors or whomever is providing the "oversight" for the newspaper.

 

Otherwise, the kid could of gone to Knowlton or Derby Hall and got better opinions on campus about light rail in Columbus.

Now, I'm not posting this to enflame anyone.  But I think Mike Harden's purpose here is to remind people of the streetcar's past in Columbus.  No where does he suggest that this is also its future, nor does he knock the plan directly. I think his message is that if Columbus is to experience a return to using streetcars, it had better run a better system.

 

Streetcars no reminder of a kinder, gentler era

Sunday, March 12, 2006

MIKE HARDEN

 

Ah, sweet nostalgia. It is the flaming hoop through which we compel history to leap so that it might fit memories as porous as Swiss cheese.

 

Forgive me, but I just can’t help being overcome with dewyeyed sentimentality when I think that Mayor Michael B. Coleman wants Columbus to return to its old-fangled years of streetcar tracks and trolley bells ringing like a Rice-A-Roni ad run amok.

 

I am seized by wistfulness, and my thoughts return to my hometown’s storied love affair with streetcars. It was a romance that had everything — fistfights, strikes, stonings, sabotage, scabs, Socialists and Stutz Bearcat autos with hoodmounted machine guns prowling the streets with National Guardsmen at the wheel.

 

More: http://www.dispatch.com

 

No where does he suggest it's bad?? I think his last two lines are strongly suggestive of what he ultimately believes. This is a crap article that taps fear as an excuse to avoid change. Why would someone write an article like this if they weren't opposed to streetcars?

 

Don't sugarcoat this piece (of shit). Call a spade a spade. This guy is a fearmonger.

I disagree.  While not a ringing endorsement of streetcars, I think Harden is simply saying let's not build this out of some rosy sense of nostalgia for the good old days, because the "good old days" weren't always that good.  And unfortunately, when nostalgia enters into it, everybody tends to get so warm and fuzzy that they become satisfied with what they've accomplished and the momentum to do more and better is lost.  That's my big fear with Coleman's proposal: that they will build this to keep the downtown "titans" happy and we won't see it go much beyond that. 

 

It's bad enough we have a transit authority (COTA) who's CEO (see ny other post today) says COTA has to "think outside the box" and all he and his staff can come up with is a lame "buses on the highway berm" proposal.  But yet they won't pursue light rail with anything resembling vigor or innovative thinking.

 

I support the streetcar plan, but I don't blame Harden for rattling a few cages (including those of his own bosses at the Disptach who back the plan as well).  We all need to have our beliefs and assumptions questioned now and then.

 

Mike Harden, along with Joe Blundo, have also taken pot shots at Columbus's parking lot mentality as well over the years.

 

Nooo!!! Not another "could of"!! ARGH!!! But seriously, if we do have high speed trains that travel throughout the state I'd like one line that goes to the Lake Erie Islands.

I fail to see how bringing up the incident from 96 years ago has any application to today. There is no lesson to be learned from it.

 

Mike Harden's rationale smacks of: "Since O'Leary's cow may be responsible for burning down Chicago in 1871, we should be careful in our application of urban agricultural policies."

 

Or, "Perhaps Princess, Carnival and Royal Caribbean shouldn't consider trans-atlantic cruises because of what happened to the Titanic in 1912. Who knows, one of their boats might hit an ice cube."

 

It was a silly column and a waste of editorial space. Now, if he wanted to give us a meaningful, applicable warning, he should point to Buffalo's Metro Rail, Cleveland's Waterfront Line (and even it's Red Line) as well as Baltimore's Central LRT of how not to build rail transit. They were done on the cheap, didn't serve enough interactive traffic generators and weren't part of an overall urban redevelopment plan. Instead, they WERE the redevelopment plan!

 

That would be a far more instructive lesson from the past than conjuring up a labor riot, threats of socialism and tales of organized labor seeking recognition from 96 years ago as the reason to be careful about streetcars today.

 

Oh, by the way, we should reconsider our policy towards airships over sports stadiums. Did you hear what happened in Lakehurst NJ in 1937?

It was a silly column and a waste of editorial space. Now, if he wanted to give us a meaningful, applicable warning, he should point to Buffalo's Metro Rail, Cleveland's Waterfront Line (and even it's Red Line) as well as Baltimore's Central LRT of how not to build rail transit. They were done on the cheap, didn't serve enough interactive traffic generators and weren't part of an overall urban redevelopment plan. Instead, they WERE the redevelopment plan!

 

You're assuming Harden even knows enough about transit to know of these failures.  He is not the Disptach's transportation writer.  I don't disagree that these are good points, but I doubt Harden even knows these systems exist. 

 

I think his column points up a larger problem, and that is the general public's "perceptionof transit.  I mean, think about it: the last streetcars ran in Columbus in the late 1940's.  How many generations (including Harden's) have grown up either with a distant memory of what streetcars were like in Columbus, of have no memory at all and only know (if they have cared enough to look it up) what they're read in old newspaper articles or from what their grnadparents told them.

 

I think we're playing a bit of "kill the messenger" here and losing sight of the larger problem: that there is a lot of public education that needs to be done about modern streetcars, light rail and (for that matter) anything that moves on rails.

Very true about people like Harden, who will never let an absence of education get in the way of having an opinion. I only hope his head has more than just a mouth.

Very true about people like Harden, who will never let an absence of education get in the way of having an opinion. I only hope his head has more than just a mouth.

 

Yes, and we love you too. :roll:

Very true about people like Harden, who will never let an absence of education get in the way of having an opinion. I only hope his head has more than just a mouth.

 

:clap:

 

I think Harden writes not so much to inform or sway opinion as to revel in the glory of his own self-perceived skill at making cynicism and sarcasm roll down like water. He has admirable talent for crafting an exquisite diatribe, but his use of it is immature, self-indulgent and self-serving, and done without regard to the effect it has on other people and on the community.

It was a silly column and a waste of editorial space.

 

I had the same reaction when I finished reading the column and placed the Metro section back on the table Sunday morning. It read like a paraphrased excerpt of some old history text, and was of no value to the reader whatsoever. I want my two minutes I wasted reading the column that Sunday morning back.

Harden spoiled good idea from mayor

Thursday, March 16, 2006

 

Sunday’s column "Streetcars no reminder of a kinder, gentler era" by Metro Columnist Mike Harden incorrectly portrayed Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman’s idea of bringing back streetcars as nothing more than harking back to bygone days of fear and violence. Harden fails to understand that the mayor’s plan has proved a modern-day success in many other U.S. cities.

 

...

 

ANDREW BREMER

Columbus

 

http://www.dispatch.com/editorials-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/03/16/20060316-A12-07.html

 

:clap:

I'm not sure if this was discussed earlier, but would COTA buses run in the same places as the streetcars would? That wouldn't make them very convenient.

The streetcars would pretty much replace the COTA buses on High Street.  They would probably just be moved to the East on Third Street and to the West on Front Street.

 

The back story on this is that the downtown business leaders don't want buses on High Street. Streetcars would be quieter with no fumes (since they are electric).  They are also not happy with people hanging around the main bus stops at Broad & High, which (sadly) carries an element of (at best) snobbishness or (at worst) racism.  No one will admit to this publically of course, but they have privately expressed these complaints.

 

I don't see how bringing streetcars is a solution to their complaints, as it will only transplant them to another set of streets.

In the eighties, after Fort Wayne spent more than $2 million adding shelters, bump-outs, wider sidewalks and public art to turn two blocks of Calhoun Street that were already the long-time bus line-up zone (and before that, "transfer corner" going back to the horsecar era) into a pedestrian/transit mall, the few remaining retailers started agitating to get the "bus people" away from their front doors. The city moved the layover area off Calhoun Street to two separate off-street areas at each end of downtown. Within a year, all the complaining merchants were out of business and there were two blocks of vacant storefronts; the detested "bus people" had made up the bulk of their revenue, and they drove them away.

The streetcars would pretty much replace the COTA buses on High Street.  They would probably just be moved to the East on Third Street and to the West on Front Street.

 

 

This means that downtown will have really good public transit coverage.

 

Many case cities have shown that light rail/streetcars/other fixed route public transit attracts a different type of rider and is more successful than regular buses.  Do you know if there is any evidence to show that by getting more people to use public transit with streetcars, it would eventually increase peoples' willingness to take the bus in other places?

In the eighties, after Fort Wayne spent more than $2 million adding shelters, bump-outs, wider sidewalks and public art to turn two blocks of Calhoun Street that were already the long-time bus line-up zone (and before that, "transfer corner" going back to the horsecar era) into a pedestrian/transit mall, the few remaining retailers started agitating to get the "bus people" away from their front doors. The city moved the layover area off Calhoun Street to two separate off-street areas at each end of downtown. Within a year, all the complaining merchants were out of business and there were two blocks of vacant storefronts; the detested "bus people" had made up the bulk of their revenue, and they drove them away.

 

Were the "Bus people" homeless and panhandlers, or low end hourlies?  Besides being short-sighted and oblivious to their clientle, social equality way never be achived.

A combination of all three groups.

 

To Rob1412.... A similar thing happened here in Columbus at the old Northland Mall several years ago.  The owners (Jacobs Company) told COTA it would no longer allow it's buses to enter the parking lot and provide "to-the-door" service to the Mall.  The reasons cited were fears (which were completely overblown) of "gang violence".  Anyone with a brain could figure out this was a code word for not wanting young black and other minority youths coming to and hanging out at the Mall. 

 

Long story short: Northland Mall went belly up and has since been demolished.  The owners and managers never  bothered to see that these kids did more than just hang out.  They spent $$$.... and so did their parents and grandparents.  In refusing COTA buses access to the entrances of the Mall, they forced anyone who rode by bus to hoof it several hundred yards from a very busy Morse Road (where there were no sidewalks), walk through the parking lot (which was dimly lit.. at best... at night) and criss-crossed by drivers trying to find a parking place.

 

Much as it was good to see people (the owners) with such a thinly-veiled racist attitude get hit where it hurts (in their wallets), it also made the community poorer with the loss of a major retail center.

 

The after-story si that Northland is being re-developed into an office and limited retail center.

Were the "Bus people" homeless and panhandlers, or low end hourlies?  Besides being short-sighted and oblivious to their clientle, social equality way never be achived.

 

No homeless or panhandlers, I don't think. Some are mentally handicapped residents from the state hospital who go out to day jobs as dishwashers, etc., and then return to the state hospital at night, and some are residents who are turned loose during the day with a bus pass to get them out from under foot of the staff, because they're non-violent and high-enough functioning to not pose a danger to themselves or others. I don't know that any of them have ever caused any problems, but the folks who drive their SUVs from their suburban sprawl-mansions to their downtown office jobs would rather not see them or run the risk (shudder) of a mentally-handicapped person smiling and saying "Hi" when they're on their way to lunch.

 

Too, there are a lot of low-end hourlies and even a few true urban pioneers, professionals who commute by transit by choice. It carries a stigma. I know; I was one of those. Co-workers would ask me in a pitying manner if I was having trouble getting my car fixed, and one boss chided me for "putting myself at risk like that, living in that neighborhood and standing out at the bus stop alone before daylight."

Just a heads up:  I just found out that Mayor Coleman will hold a news conference at City Hall tomorrow on the Downtown Streetcar Plan.  I'm told he will formally announce his selections for the advisory committee that will be deciding the direction and scope of the plan.

 

Hopefully.... more later.

The following is from the official release from the Mayor Coleman's office.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MAYOR COLEMAN ANNOUNCES

STREETCAR WORKING GROUP

 

(COLUMBUS) Moving forward on the potential for a new, rail streetcar system to

reconnect downtown neighborhoods, housing, jobs and attractions, that was first

unveiled during the State of the City Address, Mayor Michael B. Coleman today

announced the creation of the Streetcar Working Group. This group will bring

together local leaders, stakeholders and a variety of experts to determine the

costs, benefits, funding options and challenges of a streetcar system through a

series of stakeholder meetings, public town hall meetings and consultant reports.

 

“We are opening a new public debate and researching the facts, so that

this community can make a solid decision on whether or not streetcars are

a smart solution for parking and transportation challenges in our

downtown,” said Mayor Michael B. Coleman. “I am proud that so many

people have stepped forward to serve on this committee, because it shows

just how strong the public’s interest has grown. This team has high

standards and will be able to tell us if streetcars are the right, affordable

option, and if they can be a useful tool in improving our local business

environment and reconnecting our neighborhoods to downtown.”

 

The new, 38 member task force is being chaired by Retired Admiral Dennis

McGinn, Senior Vice President of Energy, Transportation and Environment

Division of Battelle, and has community vice-chairs Kate Anderson and Floyd

Jones of the Dispatch Companies.

 

“I’m very honored that the Mayor has asked me to chair this task force,”

said Admiral McGinn. “This is an important topic – relating to a vibrant 21st

century downtown, and we are pleased to be part of the process.”

 

The Streetcar Working Group will begin immediately and spend about six months

researching five essential questions: Economic Impact; Construction Costs;

Operating Costs; a Business Model for Ownership and Operations; Financing

Options. The full team will have a series of public meetings and Town Hall

meetings to get input from residents and local businesses. The working group

also plans to visit other cities which have built streetcar systems around the

nation, to see how they systems have affected local businesses and

transportation.

 

The effort is being funded through a partnership of private companies and the

City of Columbus, including: OhioHealth, Grange Insurance, Battelle, Nationwide

Insurance Company, the Convention Facilities Authority, The Columbus Dispatch

and the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation. The companies have

committed nearly $250,000 to hire the best possible experts and consultants.

 

The City’s downtown is the economic heart of Central Ohio, and has seen

significant improvement in the three years since the Downtown Business Plan

was launched. Today nearly 110,000 people work in downtown, with another

33,000 students attending classes in the area. An estimated 4,500 people live

downtown, with thousands more on the way to fill some 3,800 new condos and

apartments being developed. 20,000 people live in the nearby neighborhoods.

In addition, 2 million conventioneers visit Columbus every year for events in and

around downtown.

 

Appointees to the Streetcar Working Group:

1. Admiral Dennis McGinn, Battelle Memorial Institute (CHAIR)

2. Floyd Jones, Columbus Dispatch (VICE CHAIR)

3. Kate Anderson, Community Representative (VICE CHAIR)

4. Dr. Robert Falcone, Grant Medical Center

5. Brian Ellis, Nationwide Insurance Company

6. David Roark, Grange Insurance Company

7. Bill Jennison, Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority

8. Don DeVere, Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District

9. Otto Beatty, Jr., Downtown Commission

10. Ty Marsh, Columbus Chamber of Commerce

11. Stephanie Hightower, Columbus College of Art and Design

12. Kevin Wood, Downtown Resident’s Association

13. Bill Schottenstein, Brewery District Business Association

14. Tim Wagner, Short North Special Improvement District

15. Cleve Ricksecker, Discovery District Special Improvement District

16. Jim Hopple, German Village Society

17. Bill Riat, Casto

18. Doug Moore, Central Ohio Transit Authority

19. Ahmad Al-Akhras, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission

20. Jeff Mathes, Due Amici

21. Michael Wilkos, United Way

22. Paul Astleford, Experience Columbus

23. Marc Conte, Victorian Village Commission

24. Rex Hagerling, Italian Village Commission

25. Pam Foster, Fifth-Third Bank

26. Will Kopp, Columbus State Community College

27. Laura Miller, Downtown Commercial Realtor

28. Pauline Edwards, Franklinton Area Commission

29. Ken Cookson, Discovery District

30. Walt Workman, AFL-CIO Central Ohio Labor Council

31. Reverend David VanDyke, Columbus Downtown Clergy Association

32. Dawn Tyler Lee, The Ohio State University

33. Pasquale Grado, University Community Business Association

34. William E. Carleton, Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board

35. Merle Pratt, MilVets

36. Nancy Duncan Porter, Columbus Museum of Art

37. Marilyn Baker, 1000 Friends of Central Ohio

38. Bertha Duran, Columbus Bar Association/Ohio State Bar Association

 

Biography for Vice Admiral Dennis V. McGinn, USN, Retired

On October 1, 2005, Admiral Dennis McGinn became Vice President and

General Manager of Battelle’s new Energy, Transportation and Environment

Division. He first joined Battelle as in 2002, following retirement after 35 years

with the U.S. Navy, during which he served as a Naval Aviator, test pilot and

national security strategist. He was the first Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for

Warfare Requirements and Commander, U.S. Third Fleet, a role in which he

greatly advanced joint and naval operational innovation and experimentation.

Admiral McGinn serves on many professional, scientific and leadership boards

and is currently serving as a Commissioner on the National Commission on

Disabled Veterans’ Benefits in Washington, DC.

The story plus video from NBC 4:

 

Concept Of Street Cars Moves Forward

Public Meeting Set To Include Public Opinion

 

POSTED: 5:10 pm EST March 22, 2006

UPDATED: 6:09 pm EST March 22, 2006

 

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Could there soon be a new, yet old way to get around downtown? Mayor Michael Coleman first brought up the idea of rail street cars in downtown Columbus in his State of the City address a few weeks ago.

 

Columbus could end up with a street car system on Broad and High streets, NBC 4's Elizabeth Scarborough reported.

 

Coleman announced Wednesday that the Streetcar Working Group -- made up of about 40 area leaders -- will be investigating the viability of street cars in Columbus.

 

http://www.nbc4i.com/news/8191945/detail.html

38 member task force?! Isn't that large enough for a seperate city agency/dept.

The thinking... I think.... is that by having a large group you have a better chance of holding meetings where most (if not all) will show up.  Don't forget, all of these people have full-time jobs and are volunteering their time to be a part of this effort. 

 

Having met Admiral McGinn at today's press conference, I feel safe in saying this gentleman will make things happen and keep everyone on task.  Put it this way: If he can command the U.S. Navy's Third Fleet in the Pacific Ocean (which he did), I think he can guide 38 people through the process of deciding if streetcars are right for downtown Columbus.

 

BTW: There was very good media coverage of this by NBC 4 (nice catch CMH_Downtown !), as well as 10TV, Ch. 6, the Columbus Dispatch and WCBE (Public Radio). 

 

 

Coleman picks panel to study streetcars

Group of 38 to look at bringing trolleys to Downtown area

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Mark Ferenchik

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH 

 

The panel appointed to study bringing streetcars to Downtown Columbus is almost big enough to fill a trolley car. Mayor Michael B. Coleman has appointed 38 community leaders to figure out in about six months whether it’s worth the time, effort and cost to pursue federal funds to pay for streetcars.

 

Read more at http://dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/03/23/20060323-B5-01.html

 

What's interesting about this streetcar plan is the long term effect it could potentially have on transit in Columbus and Central Ohio.  When this downtown system is built (and I'm betting it will be), I think there will be an immediate reaction from adjoining neighborhoods to ask "what about running this to where I live?" This is a system that can adapt and expand very well to each ring of neighborhoods that surround downtown.

 

The question is: how will COTA react?  It is clear that Mayor Coleman does not want COTA running this streetcar system.  (I was at the news conference and Coleman's vocal support for COTA was lukewarm at best.)

 

Will COTA finally get off their collective behinds and pursue an agressive and broad-based light rail plan?  I think not.  CEO Bill Lhota has made it clear that the next levy request will go first and foremost toward more buses.  Light rail has been back-burnered and at a recent meeting Lhota was quoted as saying "buses will alway be the backbone of COTA's system."  For that reason, I doubt voters are going to support another .25% for more of the same mediocre bus service.

 

So what happens next? If the streetcar system shows promise and an operating entity other than COTA shows it can run the system well, COTA will become less and less relevant to the community.  That relevance will decrease further as the system expands.

 

That raises the question: why not dismantle COTA and come up with a better operating entity, such as a regional transit authority that includes not only Columbus and Franklin County, but all of the adjoining counties?  I mean, the impact of sprawl has gone well beyond the Franklin County boundaries.  Neighboring counties and cities are already complaining about traffic congestion, Walmarts and everything else connected to sprawl.  There should be a transit system that truly addresses these issues.

 

 

That raises the question: why not dismantle COTA and come up with a better operating entity, such as a regional transit authority that includes not only Columbus and Franklin County, but all of the adjoining counties?  I mean, the impact of sprawl has gone well beyond the Franklin County boundaries.  Neighboring counties and cities are already complaining about traffic congestion, Walmarts and everything else connected to sprawl.  There should be a transit system that truly addresses these issues.

 

You certainly have captured the vision. Unfortunately, most people can't visualize things they haven't experienced, and it's frustrating to deal with that. "This is the way we've always done it!" and its corollary, "But ... we've never done it that way before!" are the guiding principles by which many people live. Anything outside their own immediate personal experience prompts cynicism, skepticism and even fear.

Any of us who have advocated for better transit and/or passenger rail understand that frustration with the inability or unwillingness of people in those very modes to think outside of the box.  The good news is that there are a lot of visionary people in the transirt and rail industry whose voices are starting to not only be heard, but taken seriously.

 

Gene Skoropowski with California's Capital Corridors commuter service is one that comes to mind.  Wisconsin DOT Director Frank Busalacchi is another.  Patricia Douglas with the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority is yet another.

 

I guess the message here is not to lose hope.  What we, as advocates need to do (now more than ever) is make our voices heard in letters to the editor and on radio talk shows.  We need to not only advocate for what we believe in, but we also need to let people like Bill Lhota at COTA, and even Joe Calabreese at GCRTA that sticking with buses as the "backbone" of their systems is hardly a vision of the future and cannot address those future needs.  We also need to be letting our legislators know that transit and rail need a strong state and federal role in the funding and development of new and better systems.

Before roads, rails shaped city life

Thursday, April 6, 2006

Ed Lentz

Ed Lentz writes a history column for ThisWeek.

 

There been some talk recently about bringing back streetcars to Columbus.  Only the automobile has had a more striking effect on how cities arrange themselves across the landscape.  For most of the past century, the places where we lived, worked and shopped as well as the places where we sought amusement, have been largely influenced by the places we have built highways and byways.

 

But in the 1800s, the sites of our homes and offices and factories were more influenced by rail than by asphalt. The railroad linked cities and towns one to another and made America -- once a place of many quite separate regions -- into one country. Within those cities and towns, the streetcar changed how we lived.  We can still see the influence of the streetcar on Columbus.  A simple drive in any direction from Broad and High will, in a few minutes, bring us to the neighborhoods that ring the downtown area.  Most of these nearby streets are filled with houses quite close to one another.  They are streetcar suburbs.

 

Read more at http://www.thisweeknews.com/?edition=common&story=thisweeknews/040606/West/News/040606-News-126729.html