Does Cincy have or will Cincy get Light Rail service ? (Cincinnati: neighborhoods, bankrupt)

[Kerby W-R]

Will Cincinnati ever get Light Rail or do they have it ?
Everything on the internet shows it being voted down
in 2002 and no more talk.

[YoMikey617]

Cincinnati does not have light rail service. There was a referendum years ago which was in fact voted down.

Cincinnati probably will not have light rail service for at least 10-20 years.

[UncleRando]

No light rail service as of yet...but we are getting very close to the start of a streetcar system. You can find more information regarding the Cincinnati streetcar system here:
Cincinnati Streetcar - Connect the Dots
Welcome to Cincinnati Streetcar Development Group

As for light rail, it is still a vision in the community but lacks the necessary money to move forward. It also is lacking virtually any support from the western portions of Hamilton County. With that said, Cincinnati proper voted overwhelmingly in favor of the light rail referendum in 2002. The overall vote was for the county and it went down roughly 2:1...but the city had just experienced riots, the nation was reeling from 9/11 and the nation was in the midst of a recession. Furthermore, MANY voters had the bitter taste of cost-overruns with Paul Brown Stadium and weren't ready to approve another tax increase.

More information on the light rail plans here:
Light Rail Cincinnati

There is also a listserve with constant updates on what is going on with transit in the region. Go to the contact page on protransit.com and ask to be placed on their listserv.

[dramamama6685]

Yet,another way to waste tax dollars. Studies were done in other cities that got light rail and it was a bust. Couldn't even pay for itself due to little use and I believe, cost overruns.

[Ohiogirl81]

Light rail is definitely a Not In My BackYard topic in Cincinnati. The populace believes freight trains are going to come roaring through their neighborhoods at all hours, when nothing could be further from the truth.

[jlrosen]

Originally Posted by dramamama6685

Yet,another way to waste tax dollars. Studies were done in other cities that got light rail and it was a bust. Couldn't even pay for itself due to little use and I believe, cost overruns.

highways don't pay for themselves either.

[yayoi]

Originally Posted by dramamama6685

Yet,another way to waste tax dollars. Studies were done in other cities that got light rail and it was a bust. Couldn't even pay for itself due to little use and I believe, cost overruns.

Yeah, that's why Metro's ridership is up. Let's see if you're singing the same tune when gas hits $6-7 a gallon. It will happen.

[UncleRando]

Originally Posted by dramamama6685

Yet,another way to waste tax dollars. Studies were done in other cities that got light rail and it was a bust. Couldn't even pay for itself due to little use and I believe, cost overruns.

Highways are a perennial loser and you know what that's fine...but people must realize that just about every kind of infrastructure project loses money. These types of things are set up to be profitable...that is also why they aren't the sexiest things for politicians to get behind and support.

BTW, the federal highway fund is just about bankrupt...and more and more people are looking to ditch their cars (especially the younger generations). It should be interesting to see how things pan out over the next 10-20 years in this country.

[jlrosen]

In this week's city beat, it said that we would need an additional 50 billion dollars per year for the next 16 to maintain our country's infrastructure. that is $2600 per person per year. It would take an additional gasoline tax of $3.71 a gallon to cover the cost, currently the federal gasoline tax is $0.18

[JesusisLord]

Originally Posted by dramamama6685

Studies were done in other cities that got light rail and it was a bust.

Light Rail is most effective in heavy populated areas, Chicago, New York, Los Ang., Boston, Houston, and the route must have alot of big business along the way. It HAS to be convenient for riders, they won't want to take two buses when they get off light rail.

BTW, I'm sure Cincinnati residents desire light rail, but where I live in Los Angeles, these light rail projects take 5-10 years for scoping, all paper work, and trying to get federal funding. They take about 4-5 years to build. Hope you guys get it.