An open forum was held Tuesday night in Baker Hall East to promote awareness on campus about the upcoming North Corridor Light Rail project that may run along High Street.

Although no plans have been finalized, Central Ohio Transit Authorities are planning a light rail that will run from the Polaris area through the University District to German Village, south of downtown Columbus. If voters eventually approve a light rail, the earliest it would begin operating is 2008. COTA is looking to Ohio State to help work out an efficient plan.

“As students, we face traffic issues on a daily basis,” said Mark Minor, chairman of Campus Partners Student Advisory Board. “I think (the light rail) will help alleviate parking issues and get people out of their cars.”

One of COTA’s major planning questions revolves around the placement of the light rail, which will be mixed with traffic and powered by electricity. The tracks could be laid on High Street going north and south or on Fourth and Summit streets going in only one direction on each street.

Because the choice would greatly impact the surrounding areas, COTA has turned to OSU students for input on the decision.

“Students need to be educated on this,” Minor said. “There are a lot of votes here on campus that can determine this. Students need to let their voice be heard on whether they want this on Fourth and Summit or High.”

The number of riders linked to the University District remains a large factor in the placement of the light rail.

“We have 6,000 rides on COTA every day from students,” said Mike Bradley, director of rail development for COTA. “That’s almost 10 percent of our ridership. Students would really use the type of system we’re talking about here.”

OSU is located mid-corridor and would most likely have two to three stops if the rail is located on High Street. If not, additional transportation to and from campus to rail stations may be provided.

“One of the key decisions to be made is whether the rail will run on High Street,” said Steve Sterrett, spokesman for Campus Partners. “There would be a positive impact on the Gateway Center if the rail was to run on High and a greater impact to the neighborhood on Fourth (Street).”

The Gateway Center, which is scheduled to open in fall 2005, will most likely remain structurally unaffected, Sterrett said. The Center’s proposed guaranteed on-street parking would not be removed for the rail.

COTA and OSU don’t anticipate an increase in the fee students pay to ride COTA busses anytime soon, Minor said.

The light rail is the first of eight projects in COTA’s Vision 2020, a project to help reduce traffic congestion in densely populated areas.

“Specifically, I was concerned with more congestion on High Street,” said Zach Young, a senior in computer science and engineering. “The thing that really attracts usage is that people are afraid of the bus. And if it would go to Polaris, people could extend employment options.”

The North Corridor, which falls between state Routes 315 and 3, was chosen as the first rail project because it has the most traffic congestion, one-third of Columbus’ jobs and the largest population density in Franklin County are located there. COTA proposes benefits in areas of safety, economic growth, and an improvement of air quality.