Traffic in Columbus is a mess, and the police don’t play around. Meter maids can be seen lurking behind cars that have parking meters near expiration and campus police practically have towing companies’ phone numbers on their speed dial.
The city has left commuters with two alternatives to driving their own cars: cabs and COTA, both slow and potentially expensive.
The city recently pitched a misguided alternative – streetcars. The Lantern strongly opposes clogging the downtown area with these large, noisy vehicles.
Streetcars, also called trolleys or trams, are single-car transit vehicles running on rails mixed in with the normal traffic flow. These vehicles are native to large cities with routes only a few miles long and speeds less than 40 mph.
The price tag on the streetcars has been divided up into three routes: High Street (2.9 miles) costing about $63.9 to $76.6 million to build and $4 to $4.3 million per year to operate, OSU (3.6 miles) costing about $96.3 to $115.5 million to build and $4.6 to $5 million per year to operate, the Z-Line (East/West) costing $42.3 to $50.8 million to build and $2.6 to $2.8 million per year to operate, according to Columbus-based Downtown Streetcar Working Group.
This project is being funded by Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, Battelle, the City of Columbus, The Columbus Dispatch, the Conventions Facilities Authority, Grange Insurance, Nationwide and Ohio Health, which combined have invested $287,500. Even with a hike in gas prices, busing operations are far less than this.
People traveling on their bikes are also at risk, competing with the traffic for the street. The trams will operate on tracks about a foot about ground level, in which the grooves on a bike tire can become stuck. Additionally, bikers riding along the tram tracks can close the niches in the track, resulting in a changed tram route, stopping it altogether or derailment.
The Lantern does not agree the streetcars will reduce traffic flow or pace. Trams only run in one lane and will be delayed by obstacles in their lane, versus a bus that can maneuver around parked cars, pedestrians, etc. Do not think you will save time by taking a tram either. City traffic flow would need to be changed to make room for it, possibly backing cars up into bigger jams. Trams operate in the same manner as buses with regard to stops. Every few blocks, the streetcars will stop to let passengers on and off, and the routes aren’t even that long to begin with, usually lasting only two to three miles.
Though they are on tracks, trams are still at risk for traffic accidents. The driver ultimately controls the switches to the tracks ahead of the tram. Major derailments have occurred across the world, including in Geneva, Switzerland.
Since 2000, downtown Columbus has grown rapidly. After a $2 billion renovation, the city has attracted more than 100,000 workers, residents, students and visitors. The Lantern believes, however, that not only alternative transportation methods, such as buses, bikes and cabs, can more effectively accommodate travelers, but the funds generated for the study can be spent more wisely and help its people first.
For more information, visit www.murphyepson.com/public/enew/streetcarnews4.html.
