A $585-million mass transit proposal that would include a downtown streetcar
system and a five-corridor network of HOV lanes and express buses has been
accepted by the Project Technical Advisory Committee for Mass Transit, a
subcommittee of the Metropolitan Planning Organization. The plan was developed
as part of a $2.5-million study by transportation consultant STV Inc. under the
direction of Steve Ortmann. The streetcar portion would cost $100 million and
might be extended from Southside to Homewood, possibly via a one-mi. (1.6 km),
$88-million tunnel through Red Mountain. The program must overcome several
barriers including approval of a funding referendum by the legislature, passage
of the ballot measure by voters, formation of an expanded regional transit
board, a consensus on how to provide the local share of the capital cost and
approval of federal funding. However, $85 million has been earmarked by
Congress for rapid transit in the Birmingham area and Ortmann indicated the
required legislation could be ready before the end of the year, allowing a vote
during 2003 in Jefferson and Shelby counties.
