Category: Transportation

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December 2, 2013: The Day Chaos Ruled City Hall

In what Nathaniel Livingston described as the most bizarre day at City Hall since now Mayor John Cranley (D) chaired over the Law & Public Safety Committee meeting shortly before the 2001 Race Riots broke out, City Council approved a confusing collection of 11 ordinances that will go for a final vote on Wednesday.

The confusion was due to a number of reasons. First, Mayor Cranley presided over the committee hearing, which does not normally take place as it is not the mayor’s role. Cranley then encouraged the committee to move forward with its proceedings before adopting any rules to govern the committee. Finally, Cranley then introduced 11 separate ordinances that had not been provided to the public or to the members of the committee, and instructed votes on each of them anyway.

Each of the 11 ordinances is slightly different, but each includes appropriations so that they cannot be challenged by referendum under state law. This goes against a campaign promise of Cranley and all incoming members of city council who stated over and over again that they respect the citizen’s right to referendum.

In the past, John Cranley, Amy Murray, Christopher Smitherman and Charlie Winburn have all talked about a “sacred” right to referendum, but appear to be opposed to one in this instance.

Each of the 11 ordinances squeaked by with a 5-4 majority – including Councilman Christopher Smitherman (I), who is currently being accused of having a conflict of interest that should prevent him from either voting or engaging in official discussion on the project. Here is what each of the ordinances would do, if passed on Wednesday:

  1. Item #201301490: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to construction and implementation of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain an independent financial review of the total costs associated with continuation of the Cincinnati Streetcar System; and further REPEALING Ordinance No. 392-2013.
  2. Item #201301491: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to its reimbursement agreement with Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company, LLC, related to construction of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain a financial review of the total costs associated with continuation or suspension of the Cincinnati Streetcar System.
  3. Item #201301492: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to its reimbursement agreement with Time Warner Cable Midwest, LLC, related to construction of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain an independent financial review of the total costs associated with continuation or suspension of the Cincinnati Streetcar System.
  4. Item #201301493: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to its reimbursement agreement with Level 3 Communications, LLC, related to construction of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain an independent financial review of the total costs associated with continuation or suspension of the Cincinnati Streetcar System.
  5. Item #201301494: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to its contract with CAF USA, Inc. related to design and fabrication of streetcars for the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain an independent financial review of the total costs associated with continuation or suspension of the Cincinnati Streetcar System.
  6. Item #201301495: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to its contract with LTK Consulting Services, Inc. related to construction of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain an independent financial review of the total costs associated with continuation or suspension of the Cincinnati Streetcar System.
  7. Item #201301496: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to its contract with Messer/Prus/Delta Railroad JV related to construction of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain an independent financial review of the total costs associated with continuation or suspension of the Cincinnati Streetcar System.
  8. Item #201301497: SUSPENDING all spending and incurring of additional costs by the City of Cincinnati pursuant to its contract with Parson Brinkerhoff, Inc. related to construction of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in order to permit Cincinnati City Council to obtain an independent financial review of the total costs associated with continuation or suspension of the Cincinnati Streetcar System.
  9. Item #201301498: AUTHORIZING the City Manager to take all steps necessary and proper to suspend construction and implementation of the Cincinnati Streetcar System in the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible, in the best interests of the public peace, health, safety and general welfare of the City of Cincinnati.
  10. Item #201301499: AUTHORIZING the City Manager to take all steps necessary and proper to negotiate the suspension of the Intergovernmental Agreement Between the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority and the City of Cincinnati related to the Cincinnati Streetcar System in the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible, in the best interests of the public, peace, health, safety and general welfare of the City of Cincinnati.
  11. Item #201301500: AUTHORIZING the City Manager to take all steps necessary and proper to negotiate the suspension of the Cooperation Agreement for Relocation of Utilities between Duke Energy Ohio, Inc. and the City of Cincinnati in the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible, in the best interests of the public peace, health, safety and general welfare of the City of Cincinnati.

For reference, Ordinance No. 392-2013 repealed in the first item listed above is the ordinance that was passed by City Council last week requiring phase one of the project to be finished. The final kicker was a motion filed by Councilmembers Mann, Winburn, Smitherman, Flynn and Murray that stated:

Item #201301501: WE move that the City Manager immediately suspend all work related to the streetcar as permitted under existing contracts, and immediately begin an analysis of the costs of continuation versus cancellation.

This all took place a day after CAF, the firm manufacturing Cincinnati’s streetcar vehicles, stated that they have incurred great expenses for this project and intend to pursue full compensation for their work from the city.

Prus Construction has now also indicated that they will be greatly impacted by a decision to cancel the project and appear poised to file major lawsuits against the city.

In Wisconsin, Talgo just recently filed a second lawsuit for $65.9 million against the State of Wisconsin after it canceled its inter-city rail project. In addition to that, Talgo has already been awarded $40 million as a result of the state backing out of its contract. The total contract amount, meanwhile, was only worth $47.5 million.

At the same time as all of this unfolded, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced that they were freezing their $45 million investment, which they had signaled they would do and would move promptly to recoup all of their funds should Cincinnati move to pause or cancel the project, and were prepared to begin debt collection immediately on any money already spent. This news came with great concern for Councilmember P.G. Sittenfeld (D) who fears that the action from FTA may have negative impacts for the region’s bus system.

“I’m concerned about a path toward damaging the most basic of transportation needs,” Sittenfeld told the Business Courier on Monday. “I think this could eventually lead to harming bus service.”

What was also announced today during all the commotion was that the Haile Foundation offered to pay 100% of the costs for any study needed to study the finances of the project so that it could move forward. Had the new council accepted that offer, there would have been no need to appropriate funds with each of the 11 ordinances, thus eliminating the possibility of a citizen referendum.

The Haile U.S. Bank Foundation went on to say that canceling the project would cause the philanthropic organization “pause” and would force them to “reconsider whether the city can be a trusted partner.” The letter further stated that such reconsideration would affect their planned investments at Smale Riverfront Park, Music Hall, Findlay Market and other redevelopment projects.

Going against this offer to fund a financial study were Vice Mayor David Mann (D) and Councilmember Kevin Flynn (C) – both of whom campaigned on the promise to carefully consider the facts and figures associated with cancelling the project before making a decision. Insiders believe both will hold their line despite the flood of evidence suggesting a cancellation of the project would be a financial disaster for the City.

If one or the other were to switch their vote in light of this information on Wednesday, then the streetcar project would have a 5-4 majority on City Council and the matter would be settled. If they hold their line, it appears that a slew of lawsuits, potential referendums, injunctions and a potential recall election could all transpire over the course of 2014. Happy New Year!

The day ended after a nearly eight-hour council session that left many more confused than when they arrived. The standing room only crowd – where 68 of the 71 members of the public who spoke were in favor of the project – left dejected and feeling a bit hopeless facing a defiant mayor utilizing every trick to block any chance of a citizen referendum.

The thought is that should the project go to a referendum for a third time that it would win with voters for a third time. The prospects of huge and lengthy lawsuits, the loss of a $45 million federal investment, the destruction of the relationship with the federal government and private investors, and the fact that it is estimated it may only cost $400,000 more to just finish the project would not sit well with voters.

Already, Sittenfeld and The Enquirer have switched their stance on the matter and have encouraged the mayor and city council to finish the project.

The question now is whether the facts and figures presented to date will be enough to sway either David Mann [david.mann@cincinnati-oh.gov] or Kevin Flynn [kevin.flynn@cincinnati-oh.gov], or will the Cranley Administration have the courage to allow a direct referendum on the matter?

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News Transportation

Streetcar Spurs Unsubsidized Growth in Portland

Streetcar stop at South Waterfront

Portland is often cited as the “go to” city for rail transit and good planning initiatives. As someone who had ridden a fair share of streetcar, light rail and subway systems, I traveled to Portland with a dose of skepticism. TV shows like “Portlandia” showcase the quirky and often times absurd hipster culture that has blossomed in the city despite chronic problems with homelessness.

For a Cincinnatian, downtown Portland is a showcase of what could have been for downtown Cincinnati. A brief detour into Pioneer Place mall shows the potential of the failed Tower Place mall in downtown Cincinnati. A block away there is a downtown Nordstroms, something downtown Cincinnati failed to land in the 1990’s. A few blocks away, there is a downtown Target and TJ Maxx. The city’s retail scene is vibrant and its eclectic arrangement of food trucks and bicycle infrastructure add to that vibrancy.

It seems strange that these similarly sized metropolitan regions have realized two very different fortunes. One is of success through investing in transit infrastructure, the other struggling to make gains so far without it. This is why the construction and success of the Cincinnati Streetcar project is so vital.

Twenty-five guests of the Alliance for Regional Transit, spearheaded by John Schneider, toured Portland last month to ride the various modes of transit in the city and tour the different areas along the city’s expanding streetcar system. This is the 30th group Schneider has led out to Portland and also the largest.

Schneider has not always been a fan of rail transit. Citing the availability of bus transit, he was often critical of the need for rail in cities like Cincinnati. After the formation of Downtown Cincinnati Inc. (DCI), however, a survey was conducted where rail transit was found to be the top priority for downtown residents and visitors. He was assigned as the head of the Transportation Committee and tasked with bringing rail to the region, something he scoffed at at the time.

When recounting this story, he told the group in Portland that he had ridden several systems until one day he was riding a train in St. Louis and it finally clicked. The self-identified Republican has been a supporter ever since.

The tour began at the South Waterfront district, located at the southern end of the North-South (NS) Streetcar line. It is a new neighborhood that serves as the residential and office extension off the Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital, which is landlocked at the top of the adjacent hill.

The $1.6 billion development started in 2004 and is home to thousands of residents. An aerial tram serves as a direct connection between the South Waterfront and the hospital. The tram also offers dramatic views of the city and the surrounding Cascades mountain range.

The east side of Portland, opposite the Willamette River, is primarily dominated by auto-oriented developments, however there is evidence that the recently opened Central Loop (CL) Streetcar line is having a positive impact on development in the area. A $250 million upscale apartment development has already begun construction at the junction between the streetcar and light rail lines at NE 7th Avenue and NE Holladay Street in the sleepy Lloyd District.

The next phase of the Portland’s streetcar system will connect the end of the CL Line in the east end to the end of the NS Line near the South Waterfront. To accomplish this the city is building a $134.6 million cable-stayed rail, bike and pedestrian only transit bridge that will open in 2015.

The tour also took the group through the Pearl District, which is the oft-touted renovated warehouse distinct in Portland.

While there are many comparisons to Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, it would be an unjust assumption because Over-the-Rhine features a greater amount of remaining abandoned and underutilized mixed-use multi-family buildings than the Pearl District. The Pearl District has seen over $2 billion in development, but it has largely been new construction built on sites that once were once occupied by rail yards and warehouses.

During the tour the group was introduced to different leaders who shared their perspective of Portland’s progress on its streetcar system.  People like Paddy Tillett, Principle at ZGF Architects, who is with the firm that helped spearhead the effort to establish the transit mall in downtown Portland.

“People were calling it a toy train and saying that we already had light rail,” Tillett told the group. “Even TriMet didn’t want to operate it.”

However Portlanders soon came to embrace their streetcar system, which is now in its fifth phase of construction. Tillett continued, “The streetcar helps extend peoples walking distance, it is not supposed to serve as point-to-point transit. Today it has a dedicated ridership and is helping demonstrate how streetcars can play an important role in public transit around the country.”

The tour was capped off with a meeting with Portland Mayor Charlie Hales (D). Hales told the group, “We no longer have to provide subsidies for downtown development.”

Mayor Hales also stated that it took fifteen years for developers to begin  reducing the size need of parking structures for development.

Portland is a beautiful city with vibrancy and life. However, this vibrancy was hard fought over the last three decades. The construction of the transit mall, TriMet light rail and the streetcar were huge gambles that ultimately paid off, and took Portland from a sleepy waterfront lumber town to a place where people move to even if they don’t have jobs lined up. Portland’s problems are ones born from success, not failure and even those problems are good to have.

At today’s council meeting, Cincinnati’s new political leadership will be making decisions regarding the continuation of construction of the Cincinnati’s streetcar system. The new mayor and city council will have to decide whether to continue the same hit or miss approach to development in the urban core, or decide to embrace a system that has a proven track record of success in many cities throughout the country and the world.

Cities like Portland are where the future is headed, Cincinnati’s new leaders should take heed.

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Business Development News Politics Transportation

Hundreds of Streetcar Supporters Rally in Over-the-Rhine as New Mayor, Council Are Sworn In

There has never been a single anti-streetcar event that has gathered more than 20 people, but earlier today it was estimated that close to 1,000 Cincinnati Streetcar proponents gathered with green balloons at Washington Park to show their support.

Event organizers from Cincinnatians for Progress and We Believe in Cincinnati lined up the hundreds of supports for blocks – stretching from in front of Music Hall on Elm Street to north of Findlay Market, where streetcar tracks are currently being installed.

The event also came on the same day that the new mayor and city council were sworn into their offices, marking the first time an organized protest of hundreds took place on the first day for newly elected leadership. With a defiant Mayor John Cranley (D) and five of the nine members of City Council poised to pass a bizarre collection of ordinances in order to bypass any further public protest of their actions, it appears that legal fights are about to begin.

Also earlier today, Mayor Cranley and Councilmember Chris Smitherman (I) outlined exactly how they intend to make it all work to their favor. At the same time, reports surfaced of a potential conflict of interest for Smitherman due to his brother’s involvement with the $133 million streetcar project through Jostin Construction.

A majority of city council and the mayor himself have stated that they support the right to referendum, but their proposed legislative action would run counter to that. Whether or not they will allow Cincinnatians to vote on the streetcar directly for a third time, or be forced by the courts to do so, is yet to be seen.

The next big event will take place on Monday, December 2 at 4pm inside City Hall. City Council will hold a special hearing on the streetcar project at that time, and it is expected to be heavily attended by both supporters and opponents. Those who would like to attend are encouraged to arrive early. Those unable to attend that would still like to get involved can do so by donating to the Alliance for Regional Transit and by signing up to volunteer.

“Does it make any sense to lose our reputation with the federal government simply because we want to prove a political point,” Rob Richardson asked the boisterous crowd. “I’ll tell you what does make sense…it makes sense that we have to fight for a comprehensive transportation system so we can compete with cities all across this country and all across the world. That is the goal.”

“We measure greatest not by what we cut, but by what we accomplish.”

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News Opinion Transportation

GUEST EDITORIAL: Those “streetcar” rails going down on Elm Street are actually light rail tracks

Cincinnati Light Rail Tracks
The first light rail tracks were installed on Elm Street for the Cincinnati Streetcar on October 15, 2013.

A couple of years ago, an engineer designing our streetcar mentioned Cincinnati wouldn’t be installing the type of streetcar rail used in Seattle and Portland because that Austrian-made product doesn’t comply with “Buy America” requirements. He said not to worry, that the type of rail Cincinnati would be using would open up more possibilities for the future. I never thought much more about it …

… until a couple of weeks ago when I studied the end-profile of the rail they’re installing on Elm Street right now. I could see it wasn’t the streetcar rail I’m used to seeing in the Pacific Northwest. It was common “T” rail used on all kinds of rail systems across the country. So I called my engineer friend and others associated with the project, and sure enough, Cincinnati is building tracks through Over-the-Rhine today that can someday host light rail trains.

There is a similar story in Tacoma, which wants light rail to Seattle someday. Tacoma built its “streetcar tracks” to light rail specs and is now running streetcars similar to ours until the time is ripe for light rail. You can look it up: Google “Tacoma Link Light Rail”. You’ll see pictures of streetcars, not full-on light rail trains.

What Cincinnati is building on Elm Street today could easily become the light rail spine through the heart of the region, slicing diagonally across the downtown basin with seven Fortune 500 corporations, two-thirds of our region’s cultural institutions and thousands of potential new homes within a few blocks of the line.

Prowling around the web site of our streetcar-manufacturer, CAF, I found this. This is the Cincinnati Streetcar, which CAF calls a light rail vehicle (LRV). Cincinnati is buying five of these three-section Urbos vehicles shown here, but CAF makes five- and seven-section Urbos too. Even nine-section ones if you need to move enough passengers to fill a 747.

I asked around some more, and it turns out the engineers have also designed the radii of the curved track to accommodate longer trains. In order to run light rail on our streetcar line someday, we’d have to boost electrical power, change the signal wiring, and lengthen the platforms where the trains would stop. But those are small potatoes in the big picture.

You’ve heard it before, many times: “The streetcar doesn’t go anywhere,” or “I’m not crazy about the streetcar, what I really want is light rail.”

Cincinnati Light Rail Tracks on Elm Street
After new light rail tracks were installed in front of Music Hall, refurbished cobblestones were restored along Elm Street. Photograph by Travis Estell for UrbanCincy.

It doesn’t have to be this way forever. Using the Cincinnati Streetcar tracks now under construction, we could have light rail in the I-75 Corridor sooner rather than later. Cincinnatians who believe that rail is “just about downtown” need to look at this from 30,000 feet.

Here’s why. Our streetcars will travel north along Elm until they pass Findlay Market where they will turn east to head up the hill to UC. Longer, faster light rail trains can follow the same path on Elm, but turn west north of Findlay, head over to Central Parkway and then to I-75 where a rail corridor extending throughout Hamilton County is being preserved as part of the highway work now underway. That was a requirement of the I-75 Corridor Study, which found that a newly widened I-75 would attract many more cars and trucks by induced demand and that only the construction of light rail in the corridor would keep future freeway congestion in check.

The I-75 light rail might not always run alongside the highway; it probably can’t in some places. And anyway, the rail line probably wants to leave the highway here and there in order to penetrate neighborhoods and business districts where people live and work.

So our new mayor and city council can choose to cancel the Cincinnati Streetcar at great financial and reputational costs to our city. Or they can move forward and complete the project, allow Cincinnatians to become accustomed to using rail transit, and — when we’re ready to resume the community conversation on regional light rail — have the keystone building block in place. This is an important frame for the decision our city is about to make.

It’s a big decision, a defining moment for Greater Cincinnati. If we turn away from the expanded transportation choices in front of us now, we probably won’t have this chance again for a long time.

John Schneider is a local businessman who has long been an advocate for rail transit. In 2002 he helped lead the MetroMoves campaign and was instrumental in both Issue 9 and Issue 48 victories. He has personally led hundreds of Cincinnatians on tour of Portland’s streetcar and light rail system, and the development it has caused. Schneider is also the chairman of the Alliance for Regional Transit and sits on Cincinnati’s Planning Commission. If you would like to submit a guest editorial to UrbanCincy you can do so by contacting our editorial team at editors@urbancincy.com.

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Business Development News Politics Transportation

Project Executive Estimates Cost to Cancel Streetcar Would Far Exceed $100M

The project executive for the Cincinnati Streetcar project, John Deatrick, gave a presentation to Cincinnati City Council’s Budget & Finance Committee today to outline the anticipated costs, time frame risks associated with cancelling or temporarily stopping work on the $133 million project.

Deatrick emphasized that at this point approximately $32 million has or will be spent prior to December 1. In addition to that, he explained exactly why the city would forfeit approximately $45 million in Federal funds, and be subject to local payment of any funds committed that would have otherwise been paid by those Federal funds. In addition to that, Deatrick and the project team estimate that it would cost $31-48 million to close-out the project.

Streetcar Cancellation and Close-Out Costs


What it means is that the professionals involved with overseeing the project believe the costs to cancel will be between $108 million and $125 million, not including any of the highly anticipated litigation costs.

The presentation also included a breakdown of more intangible numbers like the damage to the reputation the city has with the Federal government, and the future inability to receive Federal funding for any transportation projects as a result.

Cincinnati’s Budget Director, Lea Erickson, then explained how those costs would be paid and that the cancellation of the project would also result in the loss of any realized property and economic gains anticipated due to the streetcar, as outlined by an economic feasibility report done by HDR Economics. That total of lost tax revenue for the City of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Public Schools, she estimates, would $237 million in today’s dollars – or $594 million over the course of the next 35 years.

The 39-page presentation is packed with detailed breakouts and explanations for these figures. It also explains the relationship of the various contractors involved in the project.