Potential Columbus Light Rail Map
Following up on the previous thread, I’ve created a map now using the railroads around town:
There are also T-Shirts of this design at Skreened.
Unfortunately (or fortunately if you happen to own a music studio there), the entire North-East side gets no rail love (put the tracks in the roads?)…
Looking at other transit maps from other cities, there are all kinds of ways you could integrate COTA into a new solution. Really, the possibilities are endless.
I spent some time also looking at Calgary’s C-Train and it is important to note that a light rail system doesn’t have to use existing rails everywhere, nor does it have to be complex.
So, If you’d like to make your own map (and I know you do) this map is also Creative Commons licensed for non-commercial share-alike use, and available for download in several resolutions and formats. Also available over there is a tracing of the tracks, if you’d like to make one that’s more geographically accurate. I used Inkscape, exclusively, for all of the designs.
Thank you all for the support and kind words since the last one!!! Hope you all enjoy! But, also, in the spirit of a good debate, what simple routes could actually happen the fastest, cheapest, and perhaps augment COTA using its strengths? The last thread was getting there with that…… ;D
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November 9th, 2007 at 1:27 am
LMAO. I wish!
November 9th, 2007 at 5:43 am
I got tingles just looking at that…
November 9th, 2007 at 5:44 am
This is phenomenal. You’re really talented and hopefully this inspires some ideas in the powers that be. I wish this were a reality considering gas prices.
November 9th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Could you post a version of the map on Skreened without the text labels and key - so it’s just the colored lines and black dots? For maximum design-y mystery power. I would totally buy this.
November 9th, 2007 at 8:37 am
I love it!
There is an abandoned rail line that parallels Cleveland Ave. and then Westerville Rd. There are bridges crossing it on 161 and I-270. You could add stops at 11th Ave. in S. Linden, Hudson, Oakland Park, Innis, Morse, 161, and Westerville and points north! I think COTA’s long lost light rail plan utilized this line.
November 9th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Great concept.
One nitpick:
“Canal Fulton” should probably be “Canal Winchester” unless this proposed system goes south of Pickerington into a dimensional rift up to Stark County.
November 9th, 2007 at 9:33 am
I love it! Thanks for including the South Side. All of the current plans being pushed by the city do not include any South Side rail service.
November 9th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Long lost? No so thanks to archive.org. ;)
http://web.archive.org/web/20031121172904/www.cotafasttrax.com/maps.php
November 9th, 2007 at 10:09 am
very cool!
Sorry to point out another nitpick- Arena District is mis-spelled.
November 9th, 2007 at 10:31 am
It looks fun, but I don’t know how functional it is. It looks like you’d be required to take a streetcar/bus transfer to actually get downtown, and german village looks like an afterthought.
It’d be great for the folks living in Bexley who want to get to the fairgrounds or Rickenbacker (2 of them?). For those who want to get to practical destinations like downtown, or even franklin park, they might be better off walking. Perhaps if you turned that blue/purple line east on Broad St., then hit OTE, Franklin Park, Bexley, Whitehall, and Reynoldsburg it would look more functional.
Personally, I think COTA’s North Corridor line was a good start. Then, to augment that with a simple east-west Broad St. line, a Rt. 33 line, and an I-670 (downtown/airport/easton) line would be great.
The graphic looks cool though and it’s fun to see all of these obscure areas of Columbus on one map.
November 9th, 2007 at 10:48 am
So I was reading the Calgary CTrain link, and all I have to say is WOW.
I see the parallels between Columbus & Calgary. Both cities have nearly one million people, I believe the Columbus Metro Area has one million if you count the suburbs. Calgary has developed a nice downtown core, something that Columbus is aiming for, give it time, we’re on our way. Also, according to the report, Calgary has a number of large corporate headquarters based there, something else Columbus has. Also, we have Ohio State, which is a city unto its self. The only thing that we don’t have is the reserved space set aside for urban light rail. But you can always make space, you can make it work if you want to. I say any future plans for the City Center site should include a light rail transportation hub for any future lines that may be coming in from the rest of the city and suburbs.
November 9th, 2007 at 10:52 am
Agreed. Also, there’s no central hub. There should be a “Metro Center” to help cut down on the number of transfers.
November 9th, 2007 at 11:11 am
now lets get someone in this city who can make this happen instead of a 3 block streetcar.
November 9th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Okay, the Arean District or whatever it was has been demolished, as has the hole in space and time (thanks to Capt. Jack Harkness). The label-less version is now on Skreened, and you can see the 300 DPI version.
November 9th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Actually, it’s closer to two million, and quickly approaching.
I don’t know too many people who consider walking from OSU to Downtown a quick 3-block walk. :lol:
November 9th, 2007 at 11:56 am
This looks amazing.
Two suggestions… the green line should run through downtown, connect with German Village, and then you can just eliminate that gray connector. The yellow line should angle south, and follow the red line to a central Columbus station. That way, the downtown core will be more interconnected… would address some of Brewmaster concerns… it does seem to me that the metro downtown area/Central Business District is slightly underserved in this map. It’s amazing to see these use existing rail corridors; however we’ve lost some of those, so we may have to make a few up.
November 9th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Interesting map.
I would connect the gold (yellow) line with the blue line through downtown. Grove City to Deleware. Brown line can connect all the way downtown. Purple too can connect to the downtown hub. Port Columbus can continue to Gahanna / Pataskala / Newark.
Good job, just some minor tweaks and you have a decent presentation to the city. Look forward to the cost estimates :D
November 9th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
LOVE the link to Marysville. If this was a reality, I would probably round trip at least eight times a month.
November 10th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Maybe you find no need to come to Marysville, but I rountinely make a round trip to Columbus at least once a week as do many other Marysvillians.
November 11th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
As long as suggestions are flying…. me and about 40000 other workers who migrate to Dublin each morning would love a tuttle transit center!
I’ve taken the bus from downtown to my office building a couple of times but since it only runs twice a day there is the opportunity to be in a real pickle if you’re stuck in a meeting and miss the last one.
November 12th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
i love this map and this idea! a light rail network would change everything about living here for the better! i’m hoping the eastside and ne side could be worked into it though. I think the line should extend out to blacklick, reynoldsburg, and gahanna from the aiport. Maybe even go out as far as Pataskala? i’m in blacklick and it’s loaded with new builds, younger first time home/condo owners and families. i also work at port columbus and there is a huge population of us out on the eastside that would benefit from rail to the airport for work/travel and to downtown. how amazing would it be to finally get to go out drinking downtown with a train commute back home. no more dd and no more worries!!
March 22nd, 2008 at 7:11 pm
READ MORE
March 24th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
This is something I would definitely back as it is a benefit to the entire Central Ohio region and would help alleviate issues such as downtown parking, traffic, and gas usage. I would suggest having a stop that drops near the zoo up in southern delaware county and at easton since those are destinations in Columbus.
March 24th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Now all we need to do is propose a levy and make sure that you’re the only person who shows up to vote!
:D