Light Rail in Central Ohio « Columbus Underground Messageboard

Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Transportation

Light Rail in Central Ohio

[373 posts] [43 contributors]

Topic Rating:

(Total Ratings: 1)
Rate this topic:

Started 10 months ago by stephentszuter
Latest reply from jbcmh81

Tags:

« Previous 1…1819

stephentszuter
Downtown Columbus
Login to Send PM

I hate to resurrect an old topic, but COTA finally answered my inquiry about light-rail plans:

Thank you for inquiring about COTA's Plans for Light Rail.

When COTA went to the ballot in 2006 for the additional 1/4 percent temporary 10 year sales and use tax, we committed to using the additional funding for bus expansion; however, in our Short-Range and Long Range Transit Plans to note that COTA staff has to think strategically and consider other modes of mass transportation as we move forward. To that extend, COTA is working on a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project from the central business district north to Nationwide, east to Cleveland Avenue and continuing north on Cleveland Avenue to Polaris Parkway. This will be our foray into the Federal Transit Administration's New Start Process for service which will have signal priority, new stations, low floor vehicles with real time information displays at the stations. The stations will be spaced further apart in order to increase the speed of the service.

Some other mass transit options that might be warranted in the future are Light Rail Transit and Bus Rapid Transit in other corridors where part of the alignment is in mixed traffic and part in a dedicated lane specifically for the vehicles. Sufficient additional funding would be required to bring a larger project to the region.

Funding for these massive projects are limited at the federal level and without additional dedicated funds to match any potential federal funding, advancing the project to fruition would be problematic. In addition, a stream of funding would be required to address the operating costs for the future. Nonetheless, as we update the Short and Long Range Transit plans and if corridor based analyses are conducted and it identifies the mode as Light Rail or Bus Rapid Transit, the community will have to decide if they support the project initiative before the project can advance too far.

Comments such as yours are an important part of the planning process. Your comments will be shared with COTA planning staff and will be used when developing future service plans. Please feel free to visit our website at http://www.cota.com for updated service information, or to contact COTA with any additional comments you may have.

Posted 9 months ago #
Luke Streetwalker
Downtown Columbus by March1, 2013
Login to Send PM

Ok, I haven't read the entire thread, but I saw somewhere that someone said that local light rail should come after rail that connects downtown with the greater region and suburbs. Just share that iPortland, OR, has done both with it's MAX light rail system. It connects surrounding communities with Portland while also being an easy on/off option within the city where the rails are embedded on streets with other traffic. In some places leaving the city, it has it's own right of way designed for longer distance travel - such as to the airport. I think MAX helps brings people, life and vitality to neighborhoods and to downtown. I hope Columbus considers same. If people who are already downtown don't have to drive to drive within the city, it could take some strain off parking for those who do drive in to town.
Portland’s rail lines — both light rail and streetcars — have attracted high-density residential and commercial development along their corridors.

Food for thought:
http://www.columbian.com/news/2012/jul/29/despite-systemic-woes-light-rail-ridership-is-incr/
http://trimet.org/pm/economicbenefits/index.htm

Posted 3 months ago #
bjones7
Worthington Ohio
Login to Send PM

What the central Ohio needs is a Commuter Rail(heavy rail), from Delaware (or even Marion) to Downtown. I wish there was money for this study because I believe that if Columbus needs any type of rail its rail that connects cities to neighborhood to downtown. So I'm talking about a type of Metro Rail.

Posted 3 months ago #
bjones7
Worthington Ohio
Login to Send PM

They could even add a line from Downtown to KLD to the Airport to Gahanna to Easton to New Albany.

Posted 3 months ago #
johnwirtz
Glenview, IL
Login to Send PM

bjones7 said:
What the central Ohio needs is a Commuter Rail(heavy rail), from Delaware (or even Marion) to Downtown. I wish there was money for this study because I believe that if Columbus needs any type of rail its rail that connects cities to neighborhood to downtown. So I'm talking about a type of Metro Rail.

You lost me on the last sentence. Are you talking about commuter rail (diesel engines pulling commuter cars on shared freight tracks) or a subway/elevated heavy rail system (also called a Metro in many cities) running on electricity from a third rail with fully independent right-of-way? I'm assuming commuter rail since it's totally impractical to build heavy rail to Delaware or Marion. Of course, it's probably impractical to build heavy rail at all in Columbus.

Posted 3 months ago #
columbusmike

Login to Send PM

We need to work on better zoning codes to make sure we have dense nodes within the city so light rail makes sense.

Posted 3 months ago #
johnwirtz
Glenview, IL
Login to Send PM

columbusmike said:
We need to work on better zoning codes to make sure we have dense nodes within the city so light rail makes sense.

Do you think it make sense to do this before or after building the rail? I would suggest doing it ASAP and with a goal of having everyone in the city within a mile walk or a walkable "neighborhood center." Use buses to connect the centers until demand justifies the higher capacity of rail.

Posted 3 months ago #
InnerCore

Login to Send PM

johnwirtz said:
Do you think it make sense to do this before or after building the rail? I would suggest doing it ASAP and with a goal of having everyone in the city within a mile walk or a walkable "neighborhood center." Use buses to connect the centers until demand justifies the higher capacity of rail.

We need an organized plan to do both at the same time. The potential right of way for the rail should be determined and then zoning should be changed to encourage high density mixed use development at potential station locations.

Posted 3 months ago #
columbusmike

Login to Send PM

johnwirtz said:
Do you think it make sense to do this before or after building the rail? I would suggest doing it ASAP and with a goal of having everyone in the city within a mile walk or a walkable "neighborhood center." Use buses to connect the centers until demand justifies the higher capacity of rail.

I think you have to do both congruently, although with maybe a slight nudge to planning. You don't start a business without a plan, and the same goes with any form of public transit, especially when nothing exists. Columbus is in a unique situation where they really could plan a highly sophisticated public transit network feeding little neighborhood centers. Too often we see plans that put stations in places that don't make any sense, just because the right-of-way acquisition is easier.

Yes, ideally everyone lives within 1 mile or less from a decent neighborhood center. A neighborhood center that has a few basic needs (grocery, bank/atm, school, restaurants). Columbus is already pretty well suited for this. Columbus has a fair amount of neighborhoods with decent centers. There just needs to be a better effort on maintaining and growing these center areas and developing a transit network that feeds these nodes.

Posted 3 months ago #
johnwirtz
Glenview, IL
Login to Send PM

columbusmike said:
I think you have to do both congruently, although with maybe a slight nudge to planning. You don't start a business without a plan, and the same goes with any form of public transit, especially when nothing exists. Columbus is in a unique situation where they really could plan a highly sophisticated public transit network feeding little neighborhood centers. Too often we see plans that put stations in places that don't make any sense, just because the right-of-way acquisition is easier.

Yes, ideally everyone lives within 1 mile or less from a decent neighborhood center. A neighborhood center that has a few basic needs (grocery, bank/atm, school, restaurants). Columbus is already pretty well suited for this. Columbus has a fair amount of neighborhoods with decent centers. There just needs to be a better effort on maintaining and growing these center areas and developing a transit network that feeds these centers.

I wouldn't say that no public transit exists in Columbus.

Posted 3 months ago #
columbusmike

Login to Send PM

It would be interesting to see a map of all the existing/potential "neighborhood centers" and draw a 1 mile radius from each one. There would definitely be some big gaps, but nothing zoning couldn't fix over the years.

Probably more important than making sure almost all Columbus residents live within a 1 mile radius, would be to actually calculate the time required to walk/bike. Just because you live within a mile of a bus stop/light rail stop, there might be a river or highway cutting through your path making that 1 mile walk more like 3 miles, etc.

For example, these are both 1-mile walks, but completely different results:

Posted 3 months ago #
columbusmike

Login to Send PM

johnwirtz said:
I wouldn't say that no public transit exists in Columbus.

Whoops....fixed transit.

But I agree, COTA bus service could be the perfect gap solution until rail could be built.

Posted 3 months ago #
jbcmh81

Login to Send PM

columbusmike said:
We need to work on better zoning codes to make sure we have dense nodes within the city so light rail makes sense.

True, but rail itself will help spur such development as well. It's not just having density, it's about creating demand. Columbus' road network has been working against rail for a long time, but that seems to be changing with steadily increasing traffic levels along with the urban setting making a comeback.

Posted 3 months ago #