MetroMoves

MetroMoves was a 2002 proposal by the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) to expand and improve public transportation in the greater Cincinnati metropolitan area.[1] The 30-year vision included the addition of light rail lines, commuter rail lines, streetcars in the downtown area, and expanded bus routes.[2] When put to a vote the citizens of Hamilton County rejected the proposal by nearly a 2-to-1 ratio, 68.4% to 31.6%.[3]

MetroMoves
Overview
OwnerSORTA
LocaleCincinnati, Ohio
Transit typeRapid transit
Number of lines7
Number of stations72
Operation
Began operationNot constructed
Technical
Track gaugeStandard gauge
MetroMoves
Kings Island
Western Row
Mason
West Chester
Fields Ertel
Springdale/Tri-County
Cornell Park
Glendale
Reed Hartman
Woodlawn/Lincoln Heights
Blue Ash/Pfeiffer
Wyoming/Lockland
Cooper
Hartwell
Kenwood/Galbraith
Paddock
Silverton
Elmwood Place
Ridge Road
Reading Road
Norwood
Dent
Eastgate
Monfort Heights
Newtown
Montana
Fairfax
Northside
Hyde Park
WintonPlace
Rookwood
Cincinnati State
Xavier/Evanston
Hopple
Martin Luther King Drive
Brighton
Walnut Hills
Liberty
Broadway Commons
Court Street
Downtown
Government Square
The Banks
Covington/Riverfront
4th Street/Levee
(Covington)
Pike Street
10th Street
(Newport)
(Covington)
12th Street
Carothers
Kyles
Southgate
Buttermilk
NKU
Cold Spring
AA Highway
Mineola
Donaldston
Airport
Florence
 Blue Line 
 Red Line 
 Green Line 
 Purple Line 
 Light Green Line 
 Yellow Line 
multiple lines
frequent on-street stops

History

Cincinnati transit planners began advocating light rail in 1993 when the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) recommended a light rail feasibility study for the area along Interstate 71.[4] In 1998 a solution was adopted to build a 19-mile rail line that stretched from Cooper Road in Blue Ash to 12th Street in Covington.[4] The line would then form a backbone for subsequent rail lines to connect communities in the region.[4]

MetroMoves began in 2000 as a plan to improve the city's bus system, but it was expanded to include the rail lines from the 1998 solution.[5][6][7] The complete plan was estimated to cost $4.2 billion, with the Hamilton County portion costing $2.6 billion for the rail lines and another $100 million for the expanded bus lines.[1] Of Ohio's $2.7 billion, half was to be paid by the federal government, a quarter by the state of Ohio, and the last quarter by a one-half cent Hamilton County sales tax levy.[1][8] In other words, about $39.50 per year per Hamilton County resident.[5] Commuter rails to Lawrenceburg, Middletown, Milford, and Hamilton would only be built if the surrounding counties could raise $1.02 billion to help pay for the lines.[5] The light rail portion was estimated to take 30 years to complete,[1] with the Covington-Blue Ash line scheduled to open in 2008.[4]

Several public figures opposed the plan, including Mayor Charlie Luken and Congressman Steve Chabotthe latter of whom referred to the plan as a "boondoggle."[4] Mayor Luken accused SORTA of using tax payer money to illegally promote a ballot issue,[9] but SORTA argued that they were obligated to promote public transit and educate its citizens about possible options.[10] Additionally, there were concerns that citizens would be "double taxed" because SORTA already had an earnings tax,[11] and that federal funding would be low due to the highly competitive "New Start" program.

Opposition to MetroMoves was led by a group called Alternatives to Light Rail Transit (ALERT). They argued that light rail is not workable over the long run, that highway systems are the lifeline of most businesses in the region and in the country, and that a study showed MetroMoves would have an insignificant effect on traffic congestion.[12] Others opposed MetroMoves because they didn't like the price tag, thought construction would disrupt neighborhoods, or they simply favored other transit options.[4]

Proponents of MetroMoves argued that the new system would create 36,000 new jobs, spark new development, connect 300,000 existing jobs that do not have transit, save the TriState $85.1 million in gas and other auto-related costs, and eliminate much of the need for bus passengers to go into downtown to transfer lines.[5][12] The new transit plan was backed by Procter & Gamble, Fifth Third Bank, the Sierra Club, and the League of Women Voters.[13][14]

A few weeks before Election Day $331,000 was raised to help promote MetroMoves, while ALERT raised less than $6,000.[14] During this time both sides participated in numerous public debates, where both reiterated the same arguments and accused each other of distorting the same set of facts to their advantage.[3] Additionally, citizens were reminded that Paul Brown Stadium opened $52 million over budget in 2000,[5] which was also funded by a half-cent tax levy.[15]

On November 5, 2002 the tax levy, known as "Issue 7," was rejected by 68.4 percent of Hamilton County residents.[3] MetroMoves received the most support in Clifton and Avondale, but received the strongest opposition in suburbs such as Indian Hill, Madeira, and Wyoming.[16] Because of the way federal funding for public transit works this meant the plan could not be reconsidered for at least another five years.[16] There was a chance the project could bypass this by putting MetroMoves back on the ballot in the spring, but the CEO of Metro said, "there is nothing that leads me to believe today that things will change significantly in the public's mind over the next four to five months."[16]

In 2003 the Ohio Elections Commission found ALERT guilty of using a false statement in an anti-MetroMoves television ad that ran during the 2002 fall campaign.[17] The ad stated that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) rated the MetroMoves plan as one of the worst in the country, but the FTA said it does not rate transit plans against one another.[17] Regardless, later that year Stephan Louis, the leader of ALERT, was chosen as a member of SORTA's board.[17][18]

In 2008 interest was renewed in MetroMoves due to a 4% system-wide increase in Cincinnati bus ridership when compared to 2007.[8] The bus ridership increased as high as 24% and 17% on some routes from April 2007 to April 2008.[8] As of July, 2008 there are no plans to put either MetroMoves or a new transit plan on the ballot, though support is reportedly growing.[8] When SORTA's light rail plan failed in 2002 gas prices were at $1.42 a gallon, and support from public leaders is expected to be much better.[8]

Plan

Light rail

The regional rail plan was developed by SORTA, OKI, the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK), and Hamilton County.[19]

Liberty, Brighton, and Hopple stations were originally built in the 1920s as part of the unfinished Cincinnati subway.[20]

Green Line
Kings Island
Western Row
Mason
Fields Ertel
Cornell Park
Reed Hartman
Blue Ash/Pfeiffer
Cooper
Kenwood/Galbraith
Silverton
Ridge Road
Norwood
Xavier/Evanston
 Light Green Line 
 Red Line  Blue Line 
Martin Luther King Drive
Yellow
Line
Walnut Hills
Broadway Commons
 Purple Line 
Court Street
Government Square
The Banks
 Yellow Line 
 Yellow Line  &  Blue Line 
 Yellow Line 
Covington/Riverfront
Pike Street
(Covington)
12th Street
(Covington)
Kyles
Buttermilk
 Red Line 
Mineola
Airport
Red Line
West Chester
Springdale/Tri-County
Glendale
Woodlawn/Lincoln Heights
Wyoming/Lockland
Hartwell
Paddock
Elmwood Place
Reading Road
 Green   Blue  &
Light
Green
Lines
Xavier/Evanston
 Light Green Line 
 Purple Line 
Court Street
Government Square
The Banks
 Yellow Line 
 Yellow Line  &  Blue Line 
 Yellow Line 
Covington/Riverfront
Pike Street
(Covington)
12th Street
(Covington)
Kyles
Buttermilk
 Green Line 
Donaldston
Florence
Blue Line
Eastgate
Light
Green
Newtown
Fairfax
Hyde Park
Rookwood
Xavier/Evanston
 Red   Green  &
Light
Green
Lines
 Purple Line 
Court Street
Government Square
The Banks
 Yellow Line 
 Red   Green  &  Yellow  Lines
 Yellow Line 
4th Street/Levee
10th Street
(Newport)
Carothers
Southgate
NKU
Cold Spring
AA Highway
Light Green Line
Dent
Purple
Line
Monfort Heights
Montana
Northside
 Purple Line 
Winton Place
 Red Line 
Reading Road
Xavier/Evanston
 Red  &  Blue  Lines
 Green Line 
Rookwood
Hyde Park
Fairfax
Newtown
Eastgate
Blue
Line
Purple Line
Dent
Light
Green
Monfort Heights
Montana
Northside
 Light Green Line 
Cincinnati State
Hopple
Brighton
Liberty
 Red   Green  &  Blue  Lines
Court Street
Government Square
The Banks
Yellow Line
Martin Luther King Drive
Green
Line
Uptown
UC
 Purple Line 
Downtown
 Red  &  Green  Lines
 Blue Line 
Covington
 Red  &  Green  Lines
 Blue Line 
frequent on-street stops

See also

References

  1. Pilcher, James (August 20, 2002). "MetroMoves: What will it mean to area?". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  2. Alliance for Regional Transit, Regional Rail Plan. Retrieved on 2008-07-10
  3. Pilcher, James (November 6, 2002). "Metro plan hits wall of resistance". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
  4. Monk, Dan; Lucy May (2001-05-11). "Missing the bus". Business Courier of Cincinnati. pp. 1, 12. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  5. Trapp, Doug (August 29, 2002). "No Free Ride: Hamilton County to decide on light rail". CityBeat. Archived from the original on January 2, 2005. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  6. Pilcher, James (September 13, 2000). "Metro shares options, asks for feedback". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  7. Giovis, Jaclyn (February 2, 2001). "Hearing on light rail along I-71 corridor finds support". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  8. May, Lucy (June 13, 2008). "Gas prices accelerate need for Cincinnati, region to rethink mass transit". Business Courier of Cincinnati. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  9. Korte, Gregory (July 22, 2002). "Bus ads blasted by Luken". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  10. Pilcher, James (October 8, 2002). "Light-rail opponents: Metro misusing taxes". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  11. Pilcher, James (October 15, 2002). "Cranley questions 'double' Metro tax". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  12. Springdale City Council, Springdale Council Minutes 10-16-02. Retrieved on 2008-07-12.
  13. Pilcher, James (October 7, 2002). "Light-rail plan, tax levy attract unlikely partners". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  14. Pilcher, James (October 25, 2002). "Transit plan promoters get $331K for campaign". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  15. Pilcher, James (August 21, 2002). "Metro ballot issue asks for boost in sales tax". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  16. Pilcher, James (November 7, 2002). "Rail side takes no for an answer". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  17. Pilcher, James (October 8, 2003). "Opponent of light rail considered for seat on regional transit board". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  18. SORTA, SORTA BOARD MEMBERS Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2008-07-12.
  19. The Eastern Corridor, Eastern Corridor and MetroMoves Archived 2006-10-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2008-07-11
  20. Pilcher, James (July 29, 2002). "Abandoned subway could save light rail plan". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
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