The Knowledge Bank at The State University

Ohio State Engineer

Title: A New Passenger Terminal for Columbus

Creators: Sherman, C. E. (Christopher Elias), 1869-1940

Issue Date: Jan-1921

Publisher: Ohio State University, College of Engineering

Citation: Ohio State Engineer, vol. 4, no. 2 (January, 1921), 2-6.

URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1811/34068

Appears in Collections: Ohio State Engineer: Volume 4, no. 2 (January, 1921)

MAP OF COLUMBUS,OHIO SHOWING LOCATION OF PROPOSED NEW PASSENGER TERMINAL Scale of miles

LEGEND Railroad passenger stations • Railroad freight depots Public grounds or institutions The Ohio State Engineer 3

A New Passenger Terminal for Columbus By PROP. C. E. SHERMAN, Dept. of Civil Engineering

Cities of the North Central States—character- north about half a mile (to the Union Station) istically American—have had great difficulty in from its original position, which was at or near keeping their transportation facilities up to in- the State House. creasing traffic demands. Many cities are woefully It is not safe to assume the growth of Columbus lacking in traffic accommodations at the present has stopped or will soon stop. In fact very care- time, and are seemingly unable to successfully ful estimates—that for the new water supply now solve such problems. Cincinnati, in the way of being planned—show that the population will be terminals, has been in sad plight for many years. 500>000 in 40 years more. Contrast this with the has a very difficult passenger terminal growth during the past 40 years. No less than problem. In the congested Pittsburgh district it half a million people should therefore be provided requires commanding ability to keep railroad for when a new terminal is built. This consider- freight and passengers moving. ation alone eliminates the present Union Station Natural topographic conditions are making site, for there is not room for future expansion. their limitations felt at some places, as at Pitts- The accompanying map, with a few words of burgh, Cincinnati and elsewhere. The high hills brief description, will make the situation clear. that hem the narrow valleys in which the towns Fourteen railroads enter the city as shown, from started, impose an increasing burden as these as many different parts of the State. These 14 cities grow. Topography also has its effect on lines are under the control of five operating com- lake cities such as Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, and panies, as follows: The Railroad . For, altho these cities are not limited Co., the Baltimore and Ohio, the Norfolk and by hills, their business centers, first established Western, the Chesapeake and Ohio (operating the on or near the water front, become increasingly Hocking Valley railroad) and the Cen- distant from the bulk of the population, which tral Railroad Co., which operates the Big Four of necessity spreads out fan-shape away from the and T. & O. C. lines. lake, leaving the active business center at the The T. & O. C. uses the West Broad station remote apex of the fan. only, but all other lines enter Union Station with The list of cities in traffic difficulty at present their passenger trains. The Hocking Valley pas- may be greatly extended by including smaller senger trains run into the Union Station as a places like Toledo, Akron, Columbus and many head or sub station at considerable inconvenience, other towns. Even towns surrounded by no im- and use the T. & O. C. tracks to South Columbus. portant topographic limitations seem subject to The Hocking Valley and the N. & W. railroads the same trouble—rapid obsolescense of passen- are tenant companies using Union Station which ger and freight terminals. is controlled by the other three companies above Considering from now on, only passenger ter- mentioned. The B. & O. uses the Big Four tracks minals, Columbus is no exception to the general from the Station west to the Scioto River cross- rule, altho like Toledo it is free to grow in prac- ing. With these exceptions, and the joint use of tically any direction so far as topography is con- the B. & O. and the Pennsylvania of the tracks cerned. The present Union Station is the third running east to Newark, all companies are using which has stood on the same site, and it is inade- their own lines into the city. quate now after 24 years of service. The preced- Between High and Fourth streets, in the area ing station lasted 22 years and its predecessor north of Naghten, sets the present Union Station lasted 21 years. This is too- high a rate of depre- surrounded by freight houses and team tracks. ciation for comfort, and yet it is not far from Through this congested area or "bottle neck" run average American experience. all the east and west freight trains of the Penn- Why should traffic accommodations of Ameri- sylvania and B. & O. and many of those of the Big can cities become so rapidly obsolete? The rea- Four. It may thus be said that the present Union son is generally overlooked. It is that traffic Station is superimposed upon an area needed grows almost as the square of the population ade- badly for freight purposes, for, it congests with quately served. That is, if the population of a its eight tracks and waiting trains, the flow of town doubles, its traffic is not doubled, it is more through traffic and the switching of freight cars. nearly quadrupled! Not so in other matters, To use the same area for a new terminal must water supply for example. For increased water be a temporary expedient, very costly in the end. supply, simply add 100 gallons daily for each per- Besides, a Union Station is the main portal to a son added by the census to the population, and the city and a portal surrounded with freight depots supply is generally ample, no matter where the and team tracks is not an attractive one. city or what the growth. The various freight depots, represented by The population of Columbus in 1860—nearly 10 black spots on the map, are well located to serve years after the first railroad entered—was about the central region of the city. They should be 18,000; in 1870 about 31,000; in 1880 about disturbed as little as possible, altho it may be 52,000; in 1890 about 88,000; in 1900 about necessary to move the Hocking Valley depot from 127,000; in 1910 about 181,000, and in 1920 it the northeast corner to the west side of the Peni- was closely 237,000. The population has settled tentiary, if this site is chosen for the new termi- fairly concentrically around the town as first char- nal. Ultimately a belt or partial belt line will be tered, altho the center of population has moved needed to serve outer industries, and over this 4 The Ohio State Engineer belt freight trains may be detoured to avoid the BOULEVARD SYSTEM "bottle neck." No other site lends itself so well to future boule- EIGHT CONDITIONS vard connections. The heavy broken lines on the map suggest some of these boulevards or wide Eight important conditions should be met by a streets. That one up the Olentangy to Ohio Sta- passenger terminal, especially a Union Station. dium is under formal consideration now. A re- They are that the new terminal site should:— markable topographic opportunity of extend- 1. Be centrally located. ing this boulevard north and east to Alum Creek, 2. Be easily accessible to all railroads. thence down this stream to Broad Street, is being 3. Provide for ample future expansion. investigated by civil engineering students at the 4. Have ample street connections and en- University, but space forbids description here. trances. This circuit, shown by heavy broken line, would 5. Afford a beautiful view of the city. admirably serve the north and northeast parts of 6. Be located on reasonably cheap ground. the city in quickly reaching the station and the 7. Be a thru (not a head or sub) station. center of town. Neil Avenue at Goodale Street 8. Have elevated tracks. should also be cut straight thru to Dennison, The small circle on the map is one mile in diam- which is about to be improved to eliminate grade eter. The settled area of the city touches or ex- crossings, south to the Scioto river. This will tends slightly beyond the large circle on the north, then connect the North Side directly with the south, east and west. Bexley and Upper Arling- river boulevard and new station, making the ton are really integral parts of the city. Linden latter more accessible (with its three entrances) Heights has just been taken into the corporation, than is the present station with only one. and Clintonville was taken in some time ago. A similar speedway circuit can be arranged for Therefore the Union Station should be within or the W^st Side (that territory south and west of close to the smaller central circle. the Scioto River). The Pennsylvania tracks, Examining in detail all sites within or near this south of and parallel to the Scioto, can be con- circle it is found that only one, the Penitentiary verted into a portion of such speedway, connect- site and adjacent grounds, can meet the necessary ing as shown with the west end of the Broad requirements. The United States Barracks, the Street bridge. This connection is already avail- ball park to the west, and Goodale Park can able by reason of the river improvements now hardly meet half the necessary conditions. Good- under way. The levee from Broad Street south ale Park, the next best site to the Penitentiary, is being made wide enough to form another por- cannot meet conditions 6, 7 and 8 listed above, tion of such a West Side circuit, and may connect and it meets only indifferently, condition number near Greenlawn Avenue with the Jackson Pike, 5. Besides, its deed to the city provides that it thence to the sewage disposal works, thence west shall revert to the heirs of Lincoln Goodale, if and thence north to close the circuit. used for other purposes than a park. The above suggested circuit involves abandon- The Penitentiary site is being abandoned by the ing the Pennsylvania bridge in front of the Peni- State. This 28 acres, and contiguous territory, tentiary and the tracks running west from the should be organized for railroad purposes by the bridge. Practically no factories are served on city, the State and the railroads in cooperation. this part of the tracks and the city could buy the The light broken lines on the map suggest how the right of way as a part of its cooperation in the tracks may run thru it. The station building general plan. The Cincinnati trains could be proper would set south of the tracks or train shed, brought into the new station by using the cut-off and front on the river, as shown in accompanying shown at the west side of the map. Thus these photograph of a model made by students in archi- trains would avoid four railroad grade crossings, tecture at the State University. The east and for, the T. & 0. C. would be crossed overhead by west axis of the station building proper would be the cut-off. on the center line of Chestnut Street which would Boulevard or wide street circuits, similar to the form the east entrance to the station, the main northeast and southwest ones just mentioned, can entrance being on the river side, and a third en- be arranged also for the northwest and southeast trance fronting on Dennison Avenue. parts of the city. Thus Broad Street east and High Street south from the State House (both No more beautiful view of the city can be ob- streets being wide) would form two sides of the tained for a station. Passengers stepping out of southeast loop. These four loops, connected con- the station would look south over the river toward veniently, would form a system difficult to equal the new concrete arch bridges at Broad and Town in any city in the country. Any loop, or any com- Streets which form a part of proposed Victory bination of the loops could be circled, and every Park. A boulevard sweeping around the north circuit would furnish a maximum of river drive river bank in front of the station would connect (with consequent minimum of interruption), for, it directly with Broad Street and the south and the northwest circuit also would have river drives east parts of the city. This same boulevard ex- (Dublin Avenue widened and a drive along the tended along Dublin Avenue, would connect the Olentangy) on all but the northern part of the station directly with the northwest part of town. circuit running east and west between the rivers. Sandusky Street, now 100 feet wide to the river, should be carried thru at the same width PROPOSED WATERWAY to Dublin Avenue, thus giving the West Side If the Central Route is chosen by the U. S. ready access to the new station and eventually Army engineers (who are now preparing a report doing away with the need of the T. & 0. C. on the project) to connect Lake Erie with the station, Ohio River by using the slack-watered Scioto as The Ohio State Engineer 5 a part of the channel, the waterway would fit in binations which may be advantageous to all con- admirably with the future developments of the cerned, but to insure that an equitable distribu- city previously outlined. tion of the benefits is secured. In the case of If the Scioto is improved as a portion of the railroads, ample provision now exists to secure proposed route, there would be a beautiful stretch such benefits thru the Interstate Commerce Com- of water 300 feet wide and 12 feet deep, reaching mission and the State Public Utilities Commission. from the sewage disposal grounds upstream thru Such a combination of the N. & W. railroad the heart of the city eight miles to half a mile with the Pennsylvania lines existed but was dis- west of Grandview Avenue, at which point a lock solved by the United States in 1906. The pooling and dam would pool the water four miles to the of the interests of these two lines at Columbus storage dam. The surface of this eight-mile pool was investigated as a thesis by students under would clear all bridges by 25 feet at low water, the writer's direction, and it shows that great and its fluctuations would become insignificant, advantages would result to both the city and the thus making an excellent water park for the city. railroads if such combination were permitted. The water terminal for the city would logically Similarly if a terminal company were organ- be at the junction of the Olentangy in the angle ized to handle all the railroad facilities within between Dublin Avenue and Sandusky Street, the city, far more effective results could be ob- which property is now owned by the city. The tained than under present methods. Rerouting Scioto would have to be straightened from San- could gradually be used to greatly improve the dusky Street west to Grandview Avenue for navi- service. For example, it might be found in fu- gation purposes, and it is remarkable how this ture that southbound T. & 0. C. trains could pro- straightening would facilitate elimination of rail- ceed into Union Station on the Big Four tracks, road grade crossings on the two streets men- thence east on B. & 0. to the U. S. Ware House, tioned, which are the only available connections thence south four miles on its own tracks to Ban- between the West Side and the northwest part of non, thence on as usual; northbound trains vice Columbus. The river banks on either side be- versa. The Hocking Valley southbounds, like- tween the two streets would furnish two or three wise, could run as thru trains into Union Station, miles of frontage for waterfront plants. thence east on B. & 0. and thence south on N. & The pool surface of the eight-mile stretch would W., six miles to its own lines at Valley Crossing; be about at elevation 698 above sea level (four northbounds vice versa. This would do away feet lower than the crest of the old State dam) with the T. & 0. C. station, but it would not and this lowering of the present surface would inconvenience West Siders if the Penitentiary site greatly help in putting the Olentangy Boulevard were made available, as proposed. The railroads under the tracks north of Dublin Avenue, as well could thus save by all combining to operate one as greatly help in readjusting the Mound Street thru station. crossing of the Hocking Valley railroad. As to the street car rerouting, not much may RAILROAD AND STREET CAR OPERATION now be said for lack of space. Rerouting is undergoing adjustment between the city and rail- It is not too much to hope that the United light authorities as this paper is being written. States Government wilLsoon permit railroads to The difficulty is that High Street from the Union combine more freely than they have in the imme- Station to the State House is badly congested diate past. The day of "trust busting" is past, with street cars and other vehicles. The Dublin for, the problem now is not how to break up com- Avenue car line is the only one at present passing

SCIOTO R I V E R 6 The Ohio State Engineer the Penitentiary, but it can be seen from the of Front, Third and Fourth Streets, with the east accompanying map that the Neil Avenue line and west connections, and fortunately the streets could easily be brought down Dennison Avenue in this business section are wide. High Street to the river boulevard, and follow this around to north of the viaduct is being widened at a cost Main Street, and then proceed east over its pres- of about $500,000 per mile. This is very cheap ent route, instead of using congested High Street indeed compared with costs in many other cities, from Goodale to Main, as it does now. Proper and suggests the importance of securing lands rerouting of street cars forms a large subject and promptly for future wide streets or boulevards, will not be treated here. especially along the rivers, whether such high- ways go paved or unpaved for a number of years. CONCLUSION Similarly Columbus has a remarkable oppor- tunity, in contrast with every other city that the Columbus is happily situated thus far. Its writer knows, of effectively solving its Union traffic ills are easily curable if foresight is soon Station problem. The land around the Peniten- employed, not to spend great sums at once, but tiary is remarkably cheap for so central a loca- to plan to avoid the choking which has involved tion. It should be organized for railroad pur- so many cities as their population has approached poses for the future welfare of all. or passed the half million mark. The cry should not be so much for faster as for One peculiarity of Columbus is the tendency to better growth. The wrong emphasis in this mat- overuse one street—High street north of the State ter has long made American civic ills the target House. Future growth will force a greater use of every European municipal observer. *Errata: For 4-mile circle in this article and map, read 3.5 mile circle.