© Copyright Downtowner and Taylor Communications Inc. 2001. Reprinted with permission.

Downtowner
Downtown Cincinnati News and Events
Vol. 23 No 6 — February 6, 2001

Rallying for rail

By DEREK KREWEDL

Front page photo Caption: Chip Tappan, Skyloop committee chair (right), shows Forward Quest's John Vissman possible Skyloop routes through downtown.

As Cincinnati commuters spend more and more time each year stuck in traffic, support for improved public transportation continues to mount. Imagine boarding a train at Second Street and a few minutes later getting off at UC or Xavier, Blue Ash or even Mason. Or, what about getting in a futuristic, driverless car at Newport Aquarium, swiping a card and five minutes later getting off at Fountain Square.

Proponents for a new light rail system, one that would initially connect downtown Cincinnati with the heavily-populated northeast suburbs, think it will ease transportation gridlock on the Tri-State's most congested roadways.

"Rail will offer an alternative to people to not use the expanded highway capacity and instead go to work on the train," said John Schneider, transportation adviser for Downtown Cincinnati Inc. and long-time light rail advocate.

Schneider said studies have shown that increasing highway lanes only causes more sprawl to follow the increased capacity of the roadway.

"When you widen the highway, it effectively acts to siphon off people from the city and push them further out," Schneider said. "If we only had a two-lane highway from here to Landen, not many people would live out there."

Highway congestion continues to be a major problem in the Tri-State as three-, four- and even five-lane interstates routinely grind to a frustrating halt during morning and afternoon rush hours.

Schneider said that congestion growth in cities without light rail is nearly 70 percent faster than in cities with existing light rail.

"Cincinnati is quite high on the list," he said. "Our congestion here is growing as fast as anyone in the country. We're right there with Atlanta, San Francisco and Seattle as cities with notorious congestion."

The light rail proposal that Schneider and others have proposed for Cincinnati includes several specifics already. The two or three-car trains would run on a track and be supplied with power from an almost invisible overhead wire.

"With electric transit you'll have much reduced pollution," Schneider said.

The system would have a central "spine" that would connect the central business district downtown with the University of Cincinnati and the hospital district in Clifton. From there the system would branch out, with routes to Blue Ash along an Interstate 71 corridor and an eastern Hamilton County corridor.

"Things are moving on multiple fronts," Schneider said. "Preliminary engineering work is being done right now."

The cities of Blue Ash and Norwood are closely involved.

"The plan is for rail engineers to give an idea to these cities of what this will look like," Schneider said.

Connecting the central business district with the University and hospital district in Clifton is important for the city's economic vitality, Schneider said.

"One of the largest colleges in the country is two miles from Fountain Square and downtown has nothing to do with it," he said. "Being only two miles from each other those people should interact."

Schneider called the separate economic centers in proximity an "anomaly," adding that the light rail system would act to merge the two large employment centers.

"What may unfold is an economy where the UC and Xavier area expands wealth and downtown expands wealth," he said. "When you start getting those kinds of changes that's a betterment for everyone."

Acting as a natural buffer between the central business district and the uptown universities and hospitals is Mt. Auburn, a hill too steep for light rail to climb. Because of that, a mile-long tunnel will need to be built.

Schneider said the trains will go subway at the foot of Mt. Auburn with portals being located at the exact location of the former Mt. Auburn incline. Following an underground stop at Christ Hospital, the cars will emerge north of the Shoemaker Center.

Through downtown, southbound trains would occupy the left lane of Walnut Street and northbound trains the left lane of Main Street, converging at the Intermodal Transit Center below Second Street. The corridor hasn't been completely defined yet, so specific downtown stops along the route are uncertain.

He added that Interstate 75 and other western corridors are also being studied for possible light rail.

Despite the light rail line tunneling below Mt. Auburn for a mile and the Second Street transit center being built below street level, a subway through downtown is not the way to go, Schneider said.

"I don't think we want to build a subway," he said. "If you have a choice, you don't want to go underground or be elevated. What really is sweeping the nation is light rail. It's people-friendly and more convenient than driving a car."

Schneider added that part of Cincinnati's existing subway, the long-abandoned lines under Central Parkway, could be used as part of a possible Interstate 75 or western corridor route. The tunnels, built in the 1920s, were never used after funding for the project ran out.

"I've never been in the stations," Schneider said. "I understand they are very nice."

If light rail travels down Walnut Street as proposed, it would pass directly over the subway at Central Parkway creating an intersection and possible transfer location.

Joe Vogel, the city's acting principle transportation design engineer, said the subway is inspected yearly and is structurally sound.

"The tunnels could be considered, in my opinion, if the I-75 corridor gains a light rail component," he said.

Light rail is not the only option being considered for the people-moving needs of the 21st century. Another group is concentrating on a completely different form of rail aimed at shuttling riders throughout the downtowns of Cincinnati, Covington and Newport.

Taxi 2000 has designed Skyloop, a system of three-person cars that ride on an elevated rail above city streets. Skyloop is a form of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) that acts more like an automobile than a train. Riders tell the computer a desired destination and within five minutes the car has arrived non-stop.

"You can get from any one station on this system to any other station in five minutes or less," said John Vissman, vice president of Forward Quest, a nonprofit organization focused on the future of Northern Kentucky. "You can't do that with any other system."

Unlike light rail, the Skyloop proposal is a difficult one to envision, primarily because nothing like it exists in the world today.

Skyloop would run on a track about three stories above street level. Computer-controlled cars would run at close intervals, exiting at selected stations much like a car exits an interstate. Cars continuing further down the loop would simply bypass other stations. Stations could be located directly inside buildings.

Skyloop proponents realize that moving the untested project from the drawing board to the city streets won't be easy.

"It's going to require lots of work to convince lots of people on something that doesn't exist yet," said Chip Tappan, chairman of the Skyloop committee.

He added that Skyloop would work well with a light rail system, linking at the Second Street transit center to give light rail riders direct access to destinations throughout downtown Cincinnati, Covington and Newport.

"People coming downtown on light rail have no choice but to walk where they want to go," Tappan said. "Light rail and the Skyloop complement each other very nicely. This is the only technology that pretty much can go anywhere you want to go."

Tappan said that should voters reject light rail when it ultimately goes to the ballot, Skyloop can still successfully operate on its own. He added that Skyloop could even be extended into the suburbs eventually.

Tappan said that Skyloop is a rare form of public transportation that would actually make money.

"It's an absolute no-brainer for the major building owners to want the Skyloop system," he said. "It will greatly enhance the value of their property. Downtown office space all of a sudden becomes a lot more attractive."

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., could be the first to employ a PRT system in the next few years.

Transportation officials will also likely consider an expanded Metro bus route regardless if light rail is approved. In addition, TANK's Southbank Shuttle service in the central loop will also be reviewed.

Schneider said the Southbank Shuttle is OK for now, but has flaws that surface when rider demand is high. With the continuing riverfront development in Ohio and Kentucky drawing increased visitors, more shuttles would be needed.

"The shuttle may work fine now on most days, but on peak days there's a long line to board it," he said.

Each Southbank Shuttle holds 24 riders and costs 50 cents per ride.

Schneider said he was also skeptical of the Skyloop proposal, suggesting the system is outdated even though it doesn't exist yet.

"It's an engineered solution that probably seemed feasible in the '60s but its time has come and gone," Schneider said.

He added that even if the system was possible, it wouldn't be the right fit for downtown Cincinnati.

"It's an aesthetic disaster," he said of the elevated tracks that would snake through the central business district. "What you really want downtown is people walking on the sidewalks."

Since light rail would run only on Main and Walnut streets, Schneider said he supported a vintage streetcar system for the three downtowns.

Vissman countered the claim that Skyloop's elevated rails would carry people over downtown shops and businesses.

"(Skyloop) will enhance downtown activity by a huge amount because it will bring more people downtown and make it a lot easier to get around downtown," Vissman said. In addition, he said that Skyloop offers unique opportunities for street level merchants to advertise to a captive audience.

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