The Cincinnati Streetcar is Coming No Matter What

Recently, Cincinnati got a glimpse of the streetcar they've been arguing about for the past 3 years. The sleek, modern car was mounted on a flatbed rig and parked along the Fifth St. side of Fountain Square. According to a city press release, Mayor Mallory, City Manager Dohoney, other city dignitaries and a group estimated at 100 people were the first in line for a streetcar tour.

It wasn't Cincinnati's actual streetcar. The car was a sample brought from Oregon for photo ops, public tours and closeup examination. It also provided the opportunity for Cincinnatians to accept that the streetcar will be a part of Cincinnati's future whether they like it or not.

Made in America

The unit was manufactured by United Streetcar, a Buy America compliant manufacturer in Clackama, Oregon (near Portland). If you had any doubt about its American manufacturing origin, the streetcar had a red, white and blue color scheme with "MADE IN USA" in car-high letters on the sides. Inside, three United Streetcar employees were ready to conduct tours and answer questions. They had United Streetcar promotional literature available, as well as bumper stickers, buttons and a city produced handout entitled Cincinnati Streetcar, On Track for Growth."

Some People Love the Idea of a Cincinnati Streetcar

Some Cincinnatians are excited by Cincinnati's transportation future. Downtown developers and city administrators loved the idea from the beginning. The streetcar will be a system of modern electric cars powered by an overhead wire. The cars will operate from a fixed rail beneath the street and travel a loop route to the city's Banks Project near the Bengals and Reds stadiums and past a number of other Downtown attractions. Proponents of the streetcar expect construction to create jobs and generate revenue.

A route extension will provide transportation to businesses and private residents in recently renovated areas of Over the Rhine. In addition to Downtown locations, the streetcar route will connect Downtown, Over The Rhine and Uptown, an area adjacent to the University of Cincinnati and several major hospitals.

Some People Hate the Idea of a Cincinnati Street Car

Some Cincinnati residents see the sleek streetcars as wasteful spending. We Demand A Vote, an odd fusion of the Cincinnati NAACP, Tea Party/Republican supporters, COAST, Southwestern Ohio Green Party and the Cincinnati Libertarian Party, united in opposition to the Cincinnati project in 2009.

In 2009 COAST chairman, Mark Miller, spearheaded a petition initiative that collected 56,951 signatures. That effort put a transportation funding issue on the 2009 ballot. It was defeated by a narrow margin, allowing streetcar plans to move forward.

What About the City of Cincinnati Budget Deficit?

Those who oppose the streetcar, have pointed out that the new transportation system would serve only a very small slice of the community. An additional problem for those against the project was the estimated 128 million dollar streetcar cost. Groups like We Demand a Vote felt the expenditure would better serve the city elsewhere. One glaring example of need is the city's current estimated 60 million dollar budget deficit that may require a layoff of fire and police personnel.

The City of Cincinnati website lists acquired financial support in an amount of 114.5 million dollars, 90% of Cincinnati Streetcar funding. This money came from a number of sources: $64 million in bonds, $28 million from city capital funds, $11 million for selling the Blue Ash Airport, and $25 million from Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Districts. City projections estimate the streetcar completion date as some time in 2013. Perhaps everyone will be used to idea by then.

Sources:

United Streetcar - WWW.Unitedstreetcar.com

Cincinnati Streetcar Referendum, Issue 9 (2009) - http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Cincinnati_Streetcar_Referendum,_Issue_9_%282009%29

We Demand a Vote - http://wedemandavote.com/

Coalition to Oppose Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) - http://www.gocoast.org/

City of Cincinnati - Streetcars - http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/noncms/projects/streetcar/streetcar_cost.cfm

Streetcar pdf - http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/city/downloads/Streetcar.pdf

City of Cincinnati Streetcar on Vimeo - http://vimeo.com/16004738

Who supports the streetcar? - http://www.cincystreetcar.com/support001.html

Cincistreetcarhandout.pdf - http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/noncms/projects/streetcar/docs/CinciStreetcarHandout.pdf

city_pdf39411.pdf - www.cincinnati-oh.gov/city/downloads/city_pdf39411.pdf

streetcar_map.pdf - http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/noncms/projects/streetcar/docs/streetcar_map.pdf