Columbus Rail Today
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ColumbusA Timeline to Multi-Modal TransportationRail Today DRAFT ColumbusA Timeline to Multi-Modal TransportationRail Today CHAD D. GIBSON, PROFESSOR KNOWLTON SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY DESIGN BY WILL HUGHEN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Columbus, Ohio is the largest city in the United States without passenger rail service. Recognizing this as a key factor to Columbus’ ability to compete with other cities for business and residents, Mayor Michael Coleman challenged the city to connect downtown to Port Columbus by passenger rail in his 2014 State of the City address. Following this charge, the Jobs, Expansion and Transportation Task Force was assembled to find ways to maximize Columbus’ assets and turn it into a world-class city. It quickly became apparent that Columbus cannot become a world-class city without a world-class transportation system. Cities across the country have been increasingly turning to fixed-guideway transit systems such as light rail to serve their citizens’ mobility needs and attract business and development to their urban cores. This has been happening in the context of a wider trend of reurbanization, which Columbus has also undergone. The experience of cities throughout the nation has shown that successful light rail transit is best utilized in dense corridors, which Columbus has been cultivating for over a decade. Port Columbus is a tremendous asset to the city’s transportation infrastructure, but it lacks connectivity with the rest of the city. While the Broad Street corridor could provide service to the airport via Seltzer Road, the existing development patterns are less attractive for light rail projects than is the High Street corridor, where a relatively short line could serve a dense collection of neighborhoods with strong connectivity within the fabric of the city. A strong first line is critical to the success of new rail transit where an effective line can lead naturally to others. A major hurdle to past rail proposals has been funding, as these projects are considerable capital expenses. A project can “make it or break it” by the landscape of subsidy when it is introduced and thus careful timing is needed to ensure success. Over the years, however, a steady trend away from grants has emerged. At all levels, from local to federal, credit programs have gained popularity by way of direct loans and bond initiatives as well as efforts to improve the implementation of public-private partnerships. Even after construction, there has been a wave of innovation in non-farebox revenue streams to improve the fiscal salience of systems. Columbus will require a diverse funding strategy and network of strategic partners to ensure success. A commonality across new transit systems in recent years has been adherence to a plan over the long term. This is important to note in the context other initiatives in Columbus, including the Cleveland Avenue Bus Rapid Transit project. Light rail is not something that can be built overnight, and Columbus has plenty of time to plan and develop a financial strategy over the next few years. Producing an environmental impact statement is often the longest step for any capital improvement, and Columbus has considerable experience with this over the years and regarding the first phase proposed in this plan, the city already has produced a statement, which need only be revised as many of the conditions from just a few years ago remain. Capitalizing on this experience places Columbus in a strong position moving forward. However, any system is ultimately used, and largely paid for, by the residents of the city, who need to be engaged early and often. Proposals of years past have broken down at this step and failed to have widespread public support, resulting in struggles at the ballot box and derailing the project. Light rail transit can be a complicated topic and definitions are at times ambiguous and for this reason, education is an important piece of public outreach. The more people know, the better feedback they can give. - MICHAEL BICKLEY FOREWORD The 11 undergraduate students that comprise the CRP 4910S The students also pushed forward a strong public outreach studio course have been assigned a daunting task – to learn endeavor to find out if Columbus residents actually want the intricacies of light rail transit in the United States and such a system and if they might accept the potential cost assess the feasibility of such a system in Columbus, Ohio. In that goes along with it. A website – columbusrail.today – April of 2014 Mayor Michael Coleman revived the buzz about was created to gather public input on the matter and see such a system at his State of the City address. Subsequently, what people’s reactions were to different ideas. Social media core members of the local advocacy group Transit Columbus was also employed to further awareness of the topic and conveyed the idea of an entire studio course dedicated to get people talking (Twitter - @ColumbusRail). Conceptual the subject to The Ohio State University’s City & Regional routes, transit station locations and even streetcar designs Planning Department. Concurrently, the Mayor established were investigated to give the project a tangible feel. the JET - Jobs, Expansion and Transportation Task Force which consists of three core working groups: Economic I have been extremely impressed with the professional-grade Development, Regional Transportation Center and Air and innovative work this group has produced, and I believe Service. The 14-plus members appointed to the JET Task that this document will be useful beyond the academic Force are an extraordinary collection of civic, educational realm, helping the JET Task Force make key decisions that and corporate leaders whose primary goal is to maximize will shape the future of Central Ohio. The issue of light rail in the potential of Port Columbus International Airport (CMH). Columbus, Ohio generates genuinely emotional and widely differing responses among its residents. Many believe that The first several weeks of the semester were dedicated to the established transportation network is acceptable and research on all things transit, and each student was assigned that Columbus will be a fairly easy city in which to travel a transit system in a different U.S. city to research and far into the future. However, most do not realize that over assess. These case studies enabled key issues to be identified 500,000 new residents will reside in Greater Columbus by and allowed the collection of both positive and negative 2050, and that our current transportation system will be attributes associated with each city’s transit system. Of overburdened. Then, with limited right-of-way and ever- course, cost and funding became a core focus of the group’s increasing fuel costs, city planners will be left to design work, and identifying the various funding sources which transit enhancements without adequate foresight and with apply to a range of complex circumstances was a challenging a significantly higher price tag. component. The political climate was also identified as an important factor, and having a project that is either ready I am very proud to have been a part of this effort, and I for the right circumstances to materialize or one that is not sincerely hope that the efforts of these outstanding students completely dependent on the party in office became another remain relevant into the future. area of attention. Successful public-private partnerships were studied to determine what key ingredients were needed to make such a collaboration coalesce. Several members of the JET Task Force came to OSU to speak with the students and offer their perspective and expertise. These sessions were invaluable and energized the students’ efforts. - CHAD GIBSON SENIOR PLANNING OFFICER CITY OF UPPER ARLINGTON TABLE OF CONTENTS BACKGROUND PREVIOUS EFFORTS1820 STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS 22 CURRENT COLUMBUS PLANNING EFFORTS 22 THE ROUTE CRITERIA2628 EVALUATION PROCESS 30 PHASES ONE AND TWO 31 COST PROJECTION 33 BENEFITS 34 CONNECTIVITY 34 OBSTACLES 36 GOING FORWARD 37 FUNDING AND IMPACTSFUNDING SOURCES 4245 TRADITIONAL FEDERAL FUNDING 46 ALTERNATIVE FEDERAL FUNDING 49 PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS 52 LOCAL FUNDING 55 DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL 56 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 57 OTHER BENEFITS 58 OUTREACH SURVEY6063 DESIGN TOOL 68 CONTINUING EFFORTS 69 STUDIO TEAM Jevonna Morris Aubrey Wilson Aaron Smith Michael Bickley Outreach Coordinator Route Design Background and Research Website Design Dan Boberek Alex Swift Luke Gerken Ryan Dittoe Impact Analysis Cost and Ridership Public Relations Route Projection Levi Koehl Steve Orange Will Hughen Professor Chad Gibson Funding and Economics Graphic Design/Outreach Route and Document Design ACKNOWLEDGMENTS CITY OF COLUMBUS Randall J. Bowman, PE Assistant Public Service Director MID-OHIO REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION William Murdock, AICP Executive Director Thea J. Walsh, AICP Director | Transportation Systems & Funding Dina López Principal Planner - Freight | Transportation Systems & Funding TRANSIT COLUMBUS Alex C. Smith, MCRP Seth Josolowitz Elissa Schneider COLUMBUS REGIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY Elaine Roberts President & CEO David E. Wall, A.A.E. Senior Manager | Airport Planning & Noise Compatibility Mark Mulchaey Manager | Customer Service & General Aviation Business Development CENTRAL OHIO TRANSIT AUTHORITY Michael Bradley Vice President | Planning & Service Development US RAILCAR Jolene Molitoris President Welcome to Columbus. Welcome to Columbus, Ohio. You may have landed at Port Columbus International Airport on one of the 142 direct flights that arrive in our state capital every day. You may have reached your stop using the ever-expanding Central Ohio Transit Authority bus system or perhaps you utilized one of Columbus’ promising new car or bike share programs. Maybe you are here conducting business at one of Columbus’ nine Fortune 500 companies. Perhaps you are visiting The Ohio State University, one of the top five largest universities in the country. Surely your visit will include stops in some of Columbus’ nearly one hundred neighborhoods, each with characteristics more unique than the last.