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City takes another step toward Streetcars
National Advisors Hired to Lead Streetcar Financing Plan
Mayor Michael B. Coleman and Columbus City Council members, took another step this week to bring a modern streetcar system to Columbus to reconnect neighborhoods and drive new development through and around downtown. On Monday, City Council approved the Mayor’s plan to hire recognized national streetcar advisors HDR Inc. and the local Capitol South Urban Redevelopment Corporation to put together a specific financing plan for building and operating a Streetcar system.
“We’ve seen the evidence that streetcars can reconnect neighborhoods and downtown, that they will help attract jobs to the area and spur greater housing construction along the routes, and now we need a specific game plan on how to pay for the system without raising local income taxes,” said Mayor Michael B. Coleman. “As gas prices soar, I believe we need to start investing in a modern, urban transit system so that people can afford to get to work, and streetcars can be the first step in that journey.”
HDR Inc. is a national architectural, engineering and consulting firm with local offices in Columbus, ranking 19th among Engineering News-Record’s 2007 “Top 500 design Firms.” HDR Inc. has worked on a variety of light rail and streetcar projects from Miami to Phoenix, Pittsburg and Winston-Salem, NC, more information is available at www.hdrinc.com.
In November 2006, Mayor Coleman appointed a 42-member Streetcar Working Group of transportation experts, downtown stakeholders and neighborhood representatives to study the feasibility of creating a downtown Streetcar system. The study showed that such a line in Columbus could lead to the creation of 3,000 new jobs, 1,500 new downtown housing units, 300 new hotel rooms and hundreds of millions of dollars in economic development. Following this extensive research, Mayor Michael B. Coleman appointed a Streetcar Steering Committee to determine if a financing plan for constructing and operating streetcars in downtown Columbus is achievable given existing federal, state and local resources.
Based on the Steering Committee’s recommendation, the City is investing $150,000 to hire national streetcar expert HDR Inc. and Capitol South, who will produce a specific financing plan on how Streetcars can be built and operated using a mix of private sector funding with federal, state, and local investment. The plan expected to be completed in approximately six month. For more information on Downtown Streetcars, visit, www.downtowncolumbus.com and click on Streetcars.
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City takes another step toward Streetcars
By: Walker
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Published by underducky July 25th, 2007
Hip cities have streetcars. Many have subways and trolleys and light rail and those dangly chair things from the state fair and monorails and some even have free bikes. It frees people up from having to worry about how they are getting home and allows them to live more stress-free existences. Ergo, they live longer and have more fun doing it than those living in squaresville. I am not kidding. Check it out for yourself.
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He gets it. He really gets it.
you know that money for the streetcar is in that bond package and it will be built by the bicentinnial. everybody knows it whether they want to admit it or not. the city is going to do whatever it takes to build as many projects as it can before the bicentinnial. they are coming out with guns a blazin. it’s going to get very interesting.
by that time, i’ll probably find someone and get married and she will want to move to the burbs. it’s just my luck.
There has been so much talk about getting projects completed for the city’s bicentennial. That seems to be a good thing, but I hope that it doesn’t mean that in 2013, when the bicentennial has passed, that there is less of a motive to continue the progress.
I hope everyone realizes that the shopping in the Short North will be no longer if the street car plan goes through. We’re taking a hit already for the repaving that just started.
Say what?
Yeah, I don’t get it. I know it would be a temporary hit during construction, but I’m sure the improved transit (and increased ridership) would more than make up for the displaced parking.
I hope that all business owners in the Short North realize that this will likely be a net-gain for them. People like me who are hesitant to go up there due to parking issues will likely bring a whole bunch more money into the area. Likewise for OSU students if the extension goes in.
Repaving limits access and visibility of businesses, unlike streetcars, which improve access and visibility.
This reminds me of business owners griping about making Gay St. into a 2-way pedestrian-friendly avenue. It seems almost counterintuitive.
Most retail is only a couple of bad months from closing. This would be a project that would likely bring us a year or so of bad months consecutively. There are very few people down here that could sustain that hit. I am so tired of people in Columbus complaining about parking. It’s not a problem. At all. You can find a spot with-in 5 minutes wherever you are in town. The reason that people complain about parking is that they see neighborhoods like the Short North as a cluster of destination shops, rather than a destination in and of it self. If you are driving from Dublin to come to Rowe or something, it probably seems frustrating that you cannot find a spot directly in front of it. If, however, you are driving from Dublin to come to the Short North as a whole, there is no problem parking.
I totally agree that the parking isn’t as bad as people make it out to be, and that the people who complain the loudest are typically the ones who have been spoiled on the ease of parking in suburban strip mall developments in the burbs. Compared to larger cities, parking in downtown Columbus is a breeze.
So where do we find the balance between accomodating those complainers, and educating those complainers?
I’m not sure really. I have spent a lot of time the last few days thinking about that very subject. If we get our boutique mall up and running by the holidays, we’re going to put in a “free lounge” that just has free wine and coffee all the time for the season to encourage lingering. We need to find a way to make people realize that the short north (and like neighborhoods) are places to spend a day. Maybe really using the gas prices thing in our advertising or something. Sort of a “make it worth your while” campaign.
How about an “Easton Schmeaston” campaign that compares The Gap to Dr. Mojoe, Panera Bread to Northstar Cafe, and Cheesecake Factory to The Burgundy Room?
Hmmm….. What would a politician say here?
What Columbus needs (if it already has one, I don’t know about it), is a Buy Local campaign. These have proven to be very effective in other cities in educating people about why it is good to support local businesses. Check out this site for lots of links and data about these types of campaigns:
[url]http://newrules.org/misc/resources.htm#retail[/url]
YES! Someone was in the store talking to us about that yesterday. Maybe it was you, I don’t know. But I totally agree (well, obviously). If you know me, or have EVER spoken with me, I am pretty passionate about this, and about informing a lot of the young professionals (cringe) who are brought in from bigger cities to work for corporations here that they have access to most of what they have access to when they travel. I think they just don’t know. There is another problem with the more affluent class in Columbus which is the destination attached to their purchase. I am trying to get (among other things.._ a high-end bag counter started. The concern with it is that most ladies that can afford that in Columbus need to tell their friends their bag is from New York. Even if its the same handbag, it seems less impressive for some reason if its bought locally.
What about a smörgÃ¥sbord of celebratory Gallery Hops to keep people pumping through the neighborhood while the streetcars go in?
I mean, if the people heading the Gallery Hops keep in touch with Capital South, the two can work together to peg the progress of the streetcar project (namely, the progress of its construction–not necessarily planning) to the theme of the monthly Gallery Hops. It could be a great PR campaign: “The Rails are Coming In–Come Down to the SN and Kick It!” “Bury Me Deep–They’re Digging Trenches!” That sort of thing.
I know it’s weird, but–’weird’ draws a crowd.