Columbus — Downtown Trolley

Rail Transit Online, May 2003

A wide-raging coalition of government and civic groups has banded together in an effort to raise more than a billion dollars to improve public transportation and spruce up the region.  Among the projects would be a downtown streetcar or heritage trolley circulator, modeled on the Portland line using low-cost construction methods, and a long-planned 13-mi. (20.9 km) light rail line from the city to suburban Polaris.  A study completed by a local civic group supported a four- or five-mile (6.4 km -8 km) trolley line between downtown and the Ohio State University area (see RTOL, November 2002).  Funding would come from a 0.25-percent hike in the sales tax and from various federal programs.  In addition to rail projects, the money would finance bus rapid transit routes and other improvements in the bus system, wider sidewalks, new parks, riverfront promenades and other quality-of-life upgrades.  New peripheral parking garages would be located adjacent to transit routes, allowing commuters to complete their journeys by rail or bus.  Among the organizations supporting the funding program are the Central Ohio Transit Authority, the Columbus Downtown Development Corp., the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, Franklin County and the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce.