Street car plan may include UC
Mike McQueary
Issue date: 10/29/07 Section: News
A $102 million street car project that may link the University of Cincinnati campus to downtown is on the drawing board, but it is doubtful students will be riding it any time soon.
The first leg of the project will not be finished before 2010 and will terminate at McMicken Avenue.
However, work on the second phase of the project, providing direct service to UC students, will not begin until after the first leg is finished - and no completion date for this stage has been announced.
The Queen City street car is being modeled on a system in Portland, Ore., where city officials have reported more than 7,200 new homes and 4.6 million square feet of new commercial development along a 7.2-mile rail line since it opened in 2001.
Skeptics, however, believe people may be afraid to take the street car because of Cincinnati's higher crime rate.
"These programs are developed with the issue of safety in mind, what's the difference between riding a Metro bus or a street car?" asked Karen Patterson, captain of the UC police department.
"We need to get beyond the mentality that Cincinnati can't be great again," said city architect Michael Moore. "The inertia that we first have to overcome is the attitude that we can't pull off a big project. We've never ever attempted anything like this.
"Our goal is to bring people to a vibrant downtown area. In my vision of safety I always feel safer in a crowd than by myself," said Moore.
The city of Cincinnati is spearheading the project, which is projected to serve up to 5,600 daily passengers after the first leg opens in 2010.
Finding funding for the project is not a certainty. The city hopes that private corporations will share a third of the project's estimated cost. A potential state of Ohio grant would produce $10 million and general obligation bonds from new development in the area near the streetcar line would cover $25 million.
Under the proposal, the city has put up $25 million from its capital fund and will use
The first leg of the project will not be finished before 2010 and will terminate at McMicken Avenue.
However, work on the second phase of the project, providing direct service to UC students, will not begin until after the first leg is finished - and no completion date for this stage has been announced.
The Queen City street car is being modeled on a system in Portland, Ore., where city officials have reported more than 7,200 new homes and 4.6 million square feet of new commercial development along a 7.2-mile rail line since it opened in 2001.
Skeptics, however, believe people may be afraid to take the street car because of Cincinnati's higher crime rate.
"These programs are developed with the issue of safety in mind, what's the difference between riding a Metro bus or a street car?" asked Karen Patterson, captain of the UC police department.
"We need to get beyond the mentality that Cincinnati can't be great again," said city architect Michael Moore. "The inertia that we first have to overcome is the attitude that we can't pull off a big project. We've never ever attempted anything like this.
"Our goal is to bring people to a vibrant downtown area. In my vision of safety I always feel safer in a crowd than by myself," said Moore.
The city of Cincinnati is spearheading the project, which is projected to serve up to 5,600 daily passengers after the first leg opens in 2010.
Finding funding for the project is not a certainty. The city hopes that private corporations will share a third of the project's estimated cost. A potential state of Ohio grant would produce $10 million and general obligation bonds from new development in the area near the streetcar line would cover $25 million.
Under the proposal, the city has put up $25 million from its capital fund and will use
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