The SLC’s Mission: Create A New Transit System

Forward Quest evolved from the efforts of several hundred community leaders and citizens representing neighborhoods, local governments, businesses and industry working together to create a master plan for the future of Northern Kentucky. The master plan was entitled Quest: A Vision for Northern Kentucky. The plan and its creators recognized the importance of linking across the River, and thus includes downtown Cincinnati in the master plan scope.

In March, 2005, Forward Quest revisited the Quest vision with a new community planning initiative called Vision 2015. Again the work of several hundred community leaders, a revised 10 year strategic blueprint for Northern Kentucky was created. The report was released in March, 2006, and can be found at the Vision 2015 website.

Six areas were selected by Vision 2015, one of which is Urban Renaissance. Therein one vision is to "enhance the safety, walkability and connectivity of our river communities." The Sky Loop concept is within this vision, but until a workable system can be bought, Vision 2015 will not pursue it further.

History of Sky Loop Committee (SLC)

The SLC, under its earlier name the Advanced Elevated Rail Committee (AERC), was given the task of finding a transit system that would maximize this linkage in a cost effective manner and of then working to implement this system. They envisioned this system as being a loop connecting the downtown areas of the three riverfront cities. The SLC felt that, if a linking transit system were to lessen traffic congestion in the downtown areas rather than to increase it, it would have to be elevated.

The SLC’s Search: Which System Will Work Best?

The SLC asked the question, "What elevated transit system employing existing technologies would best serve this need for linkage of our three riverfront cities?" They got answers to this question by sponsoring a symposium in June of 1998. From over fifty companies from around the world, the SLC selected twelve representing varied elevated transit technologies to present their systems at the symposium. An SLC evaluation committee selected the system known as Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) from these contenders. They named this system the "Sky Loop".

Beyond Transit: Personal Rapid Transit

Three-passenger, lightweight vehicles operating on small (3 x 3-ft cross section) guideways ensure low cost and minimum visual impact

PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) was selected for several key reasons: its small size, ability to be elevated, service on-demand, non-stop transport, use of existing technologies in its design, and computer control verses manual operation. What is new about PRT is the way that it integrates and uses these key features. PRT uses automated three-passenger cars which ride on a slender guideway 16 feet above the ground. PRT cars travel at speeds up to 50 mph. The cars travel non-stop from the station where the passengers board directly to the passengers' destination station, by-passing all other stations. Because PRT takes passengers directly to their destination station, it operates on demand, i.e., the cars don’t run on schedules but, instead, are waiting at the stations for their passengers to arrive. On-demand non-stop service makes the system more efficient and provides convenient travel at any time of the day.

Off-line stations enable non-stop travel to destination

Ticketing is done through ATM-type machines. Purchasing a ticket calls a car to the passenger loading area and encodes the destination in the on-board computer. PRT service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, rain or shine. The working parts are enclosed making the cars impervious to most weather conditions. As electrically powered vehicles, PRT cars do not add to the exhaust fumes or noise pollution found in congested urban areas. The PRT system is also quiet because the cars ride on rubber wheels.

Private service with room for groups of up to three adults traveling together

Like the other PRT components, the design of stations is flexible. Planners can design stand-alone stations, or if desired, can plan for a station to be built inside a larger, multi-story building. The physical appearance of the guideways and stations can be constructed to mirror the flavor of the area or neighborhood. The flexibility and compactness of PRT design allow it to be gracefully integrated into the streetscapes of the areas it serves. Plus, the PRT system can be easily expanded into new areas, using the same system components.

Vehicle is programmed by the ticket to proceed automatically to the destination

This combination of design and operating features provides a safe, convenient, private riding environment for an individual, group, or handicapped rider, while being sensitive to the impact on the surrounding community.

Considering all of the current demand on taxpayers, the SLC and Forward Quest recognized that approaching the taxpayers with yet another tax increase could deal a serious blow to the Sky Loop, well before we built the first guideway section. Fortunately, another appealing aspect of PRT is the potential to use a combination of private and public funding to pay for the design and development of the system. Mixed funding is feasible because PRT costs significantly less than large scale elevated rail projects. It does not mean that implementing a PRT system will be inexpensive.

Beyond Turf: Three Urban Centers United Into One

The Sky Loop will unify the downtown areas of Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport into the greatest venue in the metropolitan region. By providing passenger stops or links to all key attractions on both sides of the river, such as Newport on the Levee, the Newport Aquarium, the two convention centers, numerous restaurants, retail stores and hotels, Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ball Park, all downtown visitors will have convenient access at all hours without needing an automobile. Downtown living will be greatly enhanced since residents will be able to commute at any time to a multitude of places of work, shopping, and recreation without driving or transit transfers. As a unified employment center, the Sky Loop area includes an extensive grouping of commercial and governmental facilities. Automotive commuters and visitors will be able to board a Sky Loop car at a station convenient to numerous parking locations and go directly to the station near or in their place of work, thus making a wider array of parking locations available.

Since the SLC proposed the Sky Loop, hundreds of condos and apartments have been built in the three-city downtown area. Hundreds more are now under construction. Further, The Banks and Ovation, proposed on the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati and Newport, will add thousands more downtown living units. Thus the addition of a downtown circulator such as the Sky Loop would add greatly to the convenience of downtown living. These folks would also be among the best prospects for monthly 24/7 passes on the Sky Loop, which SLC always felt would be the backbone of financial support for the Sky Loop.

The SLC believes that if we truly want to nurture a regional identity for Northern Kentucky and downtown Cincinnati, we will need an effective course of action. The development of the Sky Loop is an important first step because it integrates the entire downtown area. By overcoming the developmental barriers caused by the Ohio River, the Sky Loop could become a strong link in a cohesive effort to bring together our riverfront communities. Linking communities strengthens relationships, and builds economies by maximizing all existing commercial opportunities within the entire area. All three communities have economic assets and cultural flavor that need to be maximized.

Affordable, convenient transportation is a key ingredient to building communities. Linked together under one powerful identity, the Sky Loop will position us to capture more economic potential and cultivate our identity as a vital regional center. In short, developing and installing a PRT system will create an impressive, more unified identity, and allow us to maximize all of our economic resources.

Beyond Today: Regional Leadership in the 21st Century

The SLC believes that, in order to succeed, we first need to expand our definition of community. We are not individual communities who can afford to stand alone anymore, we are an emerging region. Secondly, we need to realize the importance of efficient and affordable transportation on economic prosperity. Transportation is an integral component to any healthy community, but not any transportation mode will do. For this reason, the SLC held its Symposium to ensure that the selected transportation system was the best choice. We can maximize the potential of our entire riverfront area by pulling together to provide the key components needed to make our community economically viable, as well as appealing to visitors.

The Sky Loop will provide transit of the future, today. By undertaking this project, we will be one of the first metropolitan regions in the world to develop a PRT system. This provides opportunities for local educational, research, commercial, and industrial firms to participate in early developments and growth of a new industry. In turn this will help produce a change in global perception establishing our metro region as a global leader in new technology.

Copyright © The Sky Loop Committee of Vision 2015