Columbus — Streetcar Study

Rail Transit Online, August 2006

The city council on July 24 voted to spend $47,500 on a downtown streetcar feasibility study that will be commissioned by the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation.  During the debate, rail transit supporter Councilwoman Maryellen O'Shaughnessy suggested that, if the streetcar is built, the infrastructure be designed to LRT standards “…so we don't preclude light rail in our downtown in the future.”  (The Central Ohio Transit Authority board of trustees on July 10 scrapped a proposed 13.2-mi. [21.2 km] LRT route from downtown Columbus to Polaris when it became apparent that the line would not be eligible for federal funding.)  A public meeting on the streetcar proposal has already been held to obtain input from residents.  Several routes were suggested, all but one beginning on High Street.  A streetcar system was first proposed in a State of the City speech by Mayor Michael B. Coleman, who later convened the Downtown Streetcar Project Working Group.