Tag: Politics

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Ohio’s 3C Rail Corridor Project Seeking Input

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) last week announced that they have jointly developed a website called 3CisMe, which will serve as the main hub for information surrounding Ohio’s proposed 3C (Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland) rail corridor. Although the name of the site is admittedly lame, the site itself is quite useful.

3CisMe is meant to both inform the public as to the progress of Ohio’s 3C rail line and serve as a sounding board for critics and boosters alike. In addition to being one way that the ODOT and ORDC will disseminate information on the progress of the project, a “public comment” section will allow citizens an opportunity for their voices to be heard. Some of those comments will even be featured in the application for funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (better know as the Stimulus Package). Ohio must turn in its application by October 1.

The current 3C proposal would allow travelers to travel between Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Cleveland, and Toledo, collectively home to 60% of the state’s population. With stimulus funding, Ohio’s “quick-start” plan would be operational by 2011.

This system will link in with a larger mid-west network, servicing Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Louisville, Omaha, and Kansas City. The Chicago Network Hub would serve as the gateway to the west. The 3C corridor is well suited to link with the Keystone corridor, a network of rail lines servicing New York, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and the rest of the east coast.

A March 2009 Quinnipiac University Poll showed that nearly two thirds of Ohioans favored re-establishing passenger rail in the 3C Corridor. Some want to see it happen because they know the economic development potential it creates, while others think the 3C corridor would be useful because they don’t want to put the mileage on their car, or they don’t have a car at all. While some want to travel by train because it is more relaxing than traveling by car or plane, others like the idea because it will allow them to be more productive, like this commenter from the site:

“Several times per year, I have to travel to Columbus for meetings and training. Whenever I go now, I lose at least 5 hours of productivity per trip. On the train, I could use a laptop to keep up with my e-mail, tend to paperwork, have telephone conferences, and sometimes even meetings with coworkers. These things can’t be done in a car.”

Just one parting thought: There is a proposed amendment to the Cincinnati City Charter that would require a vote each and every time the city wanted to invest in a new phase of planning or constructing passenger rail. If it passes in November, neither the State nor the Federal government would be able to count on Cincinnati as a stop on the system. The timeline on this project is one that will require cities and states to efficiently compile an application for funding. If Cincinnati cannot commit in a timely manner (and it would not be able to commit without going to another vote if this passes), the Federal dollars will go to one of the other 278 projects in 40 states that have already submitted pre-applications as of July 17.

Cincinnati would be offered another transportation choice with rail, but the city could easily be left out if the amendment passes. Passing the amendment would reduce travelers’ choices, and leave Cincinnati at a competitive economic disadvantage. For more information on the potential negative implication of the proposed amendment, please see the Cincinnatians for Progress web site. Though I disagree with them, for the other perspective on the amendment, please click here.

Note: to visit the 3CisMe site directly, go to http://3cisme.ohio.gov/ and please note that it does not include the www in front like many sites. Source for this post.

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"Let’s be bold, not typical, on streetcar"

While the editor’s at the Cincinnati Enquirer have said that they’re not in favor of a streetcar system for Cincinnati right now, the Cincinnati Business Courier disagrees. Business Courier publisher, Douglas Bolton, hits on a key issue with this topic. Whether you like the plan or not, now is not the time to tie Cincinnati’s hands on passenger rail development as the rest of the nation moves forward with a prioritized passenger rail agenda.

“Sure, the economy is generally burnt toast right now – but history tells us that some of the most important companies, inventions and decisions were made during great economic strife. The Cincinnati streetcar should join that list. If Cincinnati and its voters turn their backs in November on a streetcar and rail system this time, we once again will be cutting ourselves out of significant state and federal shifts toward this type of transportation system that are sure to propel other metropolitan regions far ahead of us.” – Douglas Bolton, publisher Cincinnati Business Courier

Bolton emphasizes a couple of important points that are embodied in the above selection:

  1. It is important to do more than just “tighten the belt” during tough economic times, as there are opportunities out there to improve your bottom line and grow revenues. The Cincinnati Streetcar will grow revenues by growing our city’s population in underpopulated neighborhoods and creating new job opportunities through the needs of construction and engineering needs, and by the new permanent jobs that will be created as a result of the new economic development. This will all come while many contractors are offering lower than normal bids to get work during this economy which will save the taxpayers money.

  2. The November ballot item that Cincinnatians will be voting on affects much more than the Cincinnati Streetcar. It will damage Cincinnati’s ability to receive state and federal money for rail projects that have quickly become a political priority nationwide. It would prove to be unwise to tie our hands in such a way that Cincinnati will miss out on these opportunities while the rest of the nation leaves us behind.

  3. Cincinnati can’t afford to rest on its laurels, especially during a time like this. Cincinnatians need to be aggressive in our thinking about how to get out of this economic downturn, and how to be positioned to thrive once the economy does recover. Part of this strategy needs to include a comprehensive transit system that includes much more than our automobiles and limited bus service. Cincinnati needs passenger rail options, and this Anti-Passenger Rail Amendment would kill those options off in a heartbeat.

As Cincinnati moves forward in the coming months more will become clear about the positions of both sides of the rail transit debate in Cincinnati. Much of what was heard in 2002 is being said again in 2009 with this effort to bring rail transit to Cincinnati (second largest metropolitan area in the U.S. without rail transit, behind only Detroit). It is important that the voters are offered correct information and that they hear more than the same old rhetoric used to defeat rail transit in the past. No longer are we able to sit back and let things happen. Cincinnati will either be a part of this new economy and capitalize off of the changing U.S. demographics, or it won’t.

Vote AGAINST the Anti-Passenger Rail Amendment this November.

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‘Cash for Clunkers’ not so environmentally motivated after all

It appears like the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program is more about stimulating the auto industry than it is about being environmentally beneficial. Officially known as the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), the program officially kicked off on July 1, 2009 with $1 billion worth of money to go out and get an estimated 250,000 “clunkers” off the road. That money was intended to last until November 1, 2009, but it was already projected to be depleted within the first month. As a result Congress acted “within minutes” by allocating an additional $2 billion for the program following a briefing by Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

The auto industry, car dealerships and many individuals out there seem to be giddy at the idea of getting up to $4,500 to trade in a vehicle for a newer model…especially when they might not have been planning on doing so. This benefit is being matched some some automakers and car dealerships which makes it even more financially advantageous for Americans to go out there and ditch their car for a modestly more efficient vehicle whether they need to or not.

There is estimated to be 1,000 gallons worth of energy within an already existing automobile. So the lifetime gas savings should exceed that 1,000 gallons worth of fuel in order for this program to be worthwhile from a fuel standpoint alone. ABC News notes that:

“A car may be traded in for a new car that gets as little as 22 miles per gallon; the owner of a large pickup truck that gets 15 miles per gallon or less may be eligible for a $3,500 voucher to purchase another large pickup truck of no better fuel economy if it is “smaller or similar” in size.”

It has been said that the most “green” building is one that already exists, so it makes more sense to renovate historic and other existing structures than it does to tear them down or let them deteriorate beyond repair. I guess this same theory can be applied to automobiles. This program just seems to be more evidence that our nation is obsessed with consumption and that we can not accept lower growth rates as reality. At some point our revenue and growth models are going to have to be adjusted in a way to be profitable without such high rates of consumption that leave us all broke.

Photo from TheCarBlogger

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News Politics Transportation

The stimulus money is starting to flow in Cincinnati

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has been criticized for not injecting the necessary amounts of money into the economy quickly enough. The stimulus package is meant to do exactly that, stimulate the economy, and thus far even the proponents of said stimulus package have been frustrated by the slow activity so far.

Luckily things may be starting to change as it appears that the money is starting to flow into the Cincinnati region. Yesterday at Mayor Mallory’s press conference regarding rail transit in Cincinnati and the budget, he announced that the City received $13.5 million from the ARRA for the Cincinnati Police Department – something Mayor Mallory says could save around 50 police officers from being cut. Another $3.4 million will be going to Hamilton County to rehire 15 road patrol deputies that were laid off earlier this year.

Then today Steve Driehaus (D, OH-1) announced that the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) which runs the Metro bus system will be receiving an $823,000 grant that will be used to purchase 3 forty-foot replacement biodiesel buses.

Driehaus then sent out a later press release that announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded just over $2 million to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center through the Recovery Act. The $2+ million will go towards biomedical research and research training at the Uptown hospital.

All three seem to be good uses for the stimulus money as they are directly creating or preserving jobs. So what’s next for the Cincinnati region? The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is currently going through some issues as the state threatens funding cuts. The streetcar would not only create engineering and construction jobs in the Cincinnati area, but it would also help spur additional economic development that would come as a result of the streetcar. The announcement of a new rail transit system in the Midwest might even spur the creation of a new manufacturing facility to produce the rolling stock needed for such rail projects. What’s on your list?

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Mayor Mallory Speaks Frankly about Streetcar/Budget Issues

Sometimes, people just say exactly what needs to be said. This is one of those times.

Please take 2 minutes to read what our friend Jason over at Somewhere Over the Rhine has just said about why the election this November is so important.

And from the Mayor himself:

“If that measure passes, it’s the end of streetcars in Cincinnati, it will be the end of the conversation about light rail, it will be the end of the conversation about passenger rail between Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland,” Mallory said. “If we are in a situation where we have to wait, the federal government is going to move on.”