Tag: Transportation

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Finance Committee to decide on critical $3.5M for Cincinnati Streetcar

Today at 3pm, Cincinnati City Council’s Finance Committee will debate whether to set aside $3.5 million, from the sale of city streetlights to Duke Energy last year, for the Cincinnati Streetcar. When the sale initially took place, the $3.5 million commitment seemed like a sure allocation for the Cincinnati Streetcar, but with a new City Council in place the issue is being debated once again.

Supporters of the Cincinnati Streetcar are encouraging the public to come and speak at the meeting, or at the very least show up in support of the Cincinnati Streetcar. Within the next month or so Cincinnati should find out if it will receive the necessary federal and state funds to make the project a reality, and allocating this $3.5 million is a clear indication of the local support for the project.

Local support is critical when applying for federal and state funding, and the lack of clear local support can often cost projects valuable dollars. So while the previous City Council indicated its support and committed the $3.5 million for the Cincinnati Streetcar, the same does not hold true for the new City Council elected this past November and it could spell serious trouble for the transportation project.

The Finance Committee will meet in the City Council Chambers located at Cincinnati City Hall (map). City Hall is well-served by Queen City Metro routes 1, 6, 10, 32, 33, 40X, 49, and 50. To see which route is most convenient for you, and to plan your trip now, use Metro’s Trip Planner.

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Share your winter weather bus stories with Metro

Have you used Metro as a means to avoid driving in severe weather conditions? If so, Metro would love to hear your winter weather transportation story. According to Metro officials, your comments may be used for promotional purposes, in a forthcoming news article, on Metro’s website, or for other purposes.

If you don’t necessarily have any winter weather bus riding stories to share with Metro, but have another story about your bus riding experience, Metro would love to hear that as well. You can share all of your stories with Metro online by visiting the following site.

Metro bus in winter weather photo provided by Metro.

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News

A Vision for High Speed Rail in America

  • “Investing in our infrastructure, and investing in our transportation pays big dividends.”
  • “What we need is a smart transportation system equal to the needs of the 21st century, a system that reduces travel times and increases mobility, a system that reduces congestion and boosts productivity, a system that reduces destructive emissions and creates jobs…what we’re talking about is a vision for high speed rail in America.”

-President Barack Obama discussing the importance of a quality high speed rail system for America.

  • “Most other countries, that have addressed this issue, have adopted high speed rail as the next generation high capacity, fast link between their major cities.”
  • “We need to assess what 21st century transport links we are going to need”

-Transport Secretary Lord Adonis as he speaks about the transportation issues facing the United Kingdom over the next several years.

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News Politics Transportation

UC*Metro deal sees more changes

UC students, faculty, and staff will soon pay more to participate in the UC*Metro program. When originally created, the deal allowed free rides on any Metro bus route by simply showing your UC ID card. In September, we reported that riders must now pay a quarterly fee ($40 for students, $120 for faculty and staff), and pay an additional fare for routes outside of Zone 1.

Due to an increasingly tight budget situation at Metro, which has required a combination of service cuts and fare hikes, the UC*Metro deal will see additional changes. In addition to paying for the quarterly card, riders must now pay a 25¢ fare for routes within Zone 1 (formerly free), and increased fares in other zones (see full list of fares at UC’s website).

The new fares will take affect on December 27. Those who have already purchased a pass for Winter Quarter have been given the option of requesting a refund, from now until January 11, 2010, by e-mailing Marie Sutthoff at marie.sutthoff@uc.edu or calling 513-556-4319.

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News Politics Transportation

Cincinnatians continue to show strong support for rail transit

This past Wednesday night, dozens of transit supporters gathered for the Cincinnatians for Progress (CFP) holiday party and victory celebration at City Cellars downtown. The meeting came just over a month after Issue 9, the Anti-Passenger Rail Amendment, was soundly defeated by Cincinnatians at the polls. In the campaign, CFP out-raised, out-canvassed, and outsmarted the special interest groups looking to hold back our city.

At the meeting, rail advocate John Schneider discussed the status of the Cincinnati Streetcar plan and other transit projects regionally and nationally. Cincinnati is getting closer to making its Streetcar plan a reality, with the possibility of receiving funding from several state and federal sources. Any one of these awards could fully fund the project; and depending on the amount, later phases of the plan could even be fast-tracked.

[LEFT] John Schneider speaks to the crowd at City Cellars. [RIGHT] The crowd gathered at City Cellars showing their support of rail transit in Cincinnati.


The 3C Corridor project, which would give Cincinnatians a rail link to Columbus and Cleveland, was also discussed. Schneider said Ohio is in a position to receive federal funding, depending on what strategy is used to develop our national inter-city rail infrastructure. That’s because Ohio is the most dense U.S. state without rail linking its major cities.

As the special interest group known as COAST ducks away and tries to regroup after being blasted in the November 3rd election, transit supporters continue to rally and maintain a strong and loyal base of supporters that are indicative of the larger voter population in Cincinnati.

Formed in response to Issue 9, Cincinnatians for Progress grew quickly and gained true grassroots support. Chairs Joe Sprengard and Bobby Maly explained that thanks to this support, the organization will continue to exist as a pro-growth, pro-transit group supporting our city and urban core.

If you are looking to help make the Cincinnati Streetcar reality you can do so by doing one or more of the following:


(Video courtesy of 5chw4r7z.)