Gee endorses trolley

At a Columbus City Hall public meeting on Thursday, Mayor Michael Coleman presented a financial plan in support of the construction of a $103 million streetcar project that will span 2.8 miles on High Street from Mound Street to the OSU campus. The streetcars are projected to open in 2012.

"This will be a difference maker in our community," Coleman said. He insisted that changes need to be made to ensure Columbus can compete with other metropolitan areas.

According to research done by the 42-member Streetcar Working Group, the starter line will cost $103 million initially and $11.4 million every year for 25 years - $500,000 of which will come from OSU each year. The streetcars will operate for 17 hours each day with possible extended hours on the weekends.

"Cities who stay the same fall behind," Coleman said to a receptive crowd, as he pointed to a sleek, tentative design for a futuristic streetcar in scarlet and gray.

According to Coleman's presentation, the streetcar system will increase property values along the 2.8 mile stretch, alleviate parking problems, fit into the existing right-of-way, be an environmentally-friendly form of travel and connect the university to downtown - which could help solve problems pertaining to drunk driving between campus and downtown bars.

OSU President E. Gordon Gee endorsed the streetcar plan.

"It will benefit our students, faculty and staff, as well as the people who live and work in the University District," Gee said in a press release.

On Thursday, Gee said his only requirement for the streetcars is that they be designed in scarlet-and-gray. He was particularly excited about the impact the streetcars could have on the university's parking problems.

"We have been able to solve many problems at Ohio State - parking is not one of them," Gee said.

Undergraduate Student Government president Kate Christobek was an eager contributor to the excited buzz following the meeting.

"I think it's a really great thing that the city is including the university in this project," Christobek said. "It's easy for the students to feel disconnected from the downtown area."

Christobek also said that she feels many students tend to avoid the COTA busses and would be more likely to use a streetcar system.

The five-member panel that answered questions from the audience insisted a primary construction goal of the streetcar system was to make Columbus a place where young professionals will settle. According to the panel, the city of Columbus would like to see OSU graduates choose to stay in Columbus, rather than move to larger cities such as Chicago or New York.

"This is a step toward attracting and retaining young creative and entrepreneurial professionals in the region," said Chester Jourdan Jr., Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission executive director, in a press release. MORPC has pledged $20 million over a 10-year period to the streetcar project.

Over two years of research by the Streetcar Working Group has shown areas that have implemented streetcar systems have reaped significant economical benefits. Portland, Oregon's starter system initially cost $55.2 million in 2001, and with new extensions is now worth approximately $1.35 billion, according to an article by Scott Bernstein in The American Institute of Architects' monthly journal.

Despite the extensive research by the Streetcar Working Group, conducted of engineers and financial experts, there is still uncertainty surrounding the project. The operating hours, exact route, how the streetcars will affect COTA busses and future extensions are still open for discussion. The community has also raised questions about the necessity a streetcar system co-existing with COTA buses.

"We will continue to seek community feedback," said Mike Reese, Mayor Coleman's chief of staff.

Angela Henderson can be reached at henderson.419@osu.edu.