Conservative Cincinnati approves $102 million streetcar system

[thelakelander]

Cincinnati is know as one of the country's most conservative major cities when it comes to mass transit.  Its interesting to know that even this community is now moving forward with rail, as opposed to buses intended to look like railcars.  Another thing worth mentioning is they want to have the first 3.9 mile phase running by 2010 and will fund it without dealing with the FTA.

$102M for streetcar line

'Need to seize the momentum'

BY MARGARET A. MCGURK | MMCGURK@ENQUIRER.COM

Undaunted by a $102 million price tag, five Cincinnati City Council members Tuesday voted to push forward with plans for a streetcar line from Freedom Way in downtown to McMicken Avenue in Over-the-Rhine.

City Manager Milton Dohoney and City Architect Michael Moore told the economic development committee that the system could be operating by December 2010.

The proposed line would run north on Main to 12th Street, west to Elm, north to McMicken, east to Race, south to Central Parkway, east to Walnut and then south to Freedom Way.

Dohoney won a round of applause from onlookers crowded into the hearing with his fervent appeal for streetcars in spite of the city's immediate budget crunch.

"We need to seize the momentum when we have it, and we have it now," he said.

He said the plan calls for sacrifices in the form of deferred capital improvements.

Committee member Roxanne Qualls praised the plan but asked for details on what work would have to wait because of the streetcars.

Fellow committee members Cecil Thomas, Jeff Berding, David Crowley and Chairman Chris Bortz all spoke in glowing terms about the plan's potential to boost the city's economy.

"We need to do some reprogramming in order to achieve this big project, this big vision." Bortz said after the meeting. "If we continue to cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, the city will continue to decline."

Capital funding breakdown:

TIF: $25 million

City Capital: $25 million

Blue Ash Airport Sale: $11 million

Public Private Partnerships: $20 million

Private Contributions: $11 million

State Capital: $10 million

Time to build: Two to three years.

Cost to build: $102 million in 2010 dollars or $26 million.*

Length: 3.9 miles with 18 stops.

Cost to operate: $2 million to $2.8 million annually (not counting fare revenue).

Proposed fare: 50 cents.

Daily ridership: 4,600 in 2010; 6,400 in 2015.

* Includes tracks, cars, maintenance facility and a 15-25 percent contingency allowance.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071017/NEWS01/710170375