Indianapolis vs. Columbus, Ohio

[BU191433]

I have lived in Indianapolis most of my life, and have only visited Columbus a few times. One thing I can say without any fear of contradiction is that downtown Indy is much nicer than downtown Columbus - not even close.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

I am assuming there will be plenty of stops in Marion County. However, a line running from Fishers to downtown is going to serve one primary purpose, shuttling people in Fishers to and from downtown. I can not imagine enough traffic within Marion County to justify the cost of that single line if Marion County is shouldering the tax burden. Marion County has other things to spend money on that are more important than shuttling suburbanites.

Wouldn't the train also run in the other direction? Are there no Marion County residents that work at employers such as Forum or Sallie Mae??

I think the last thing Indy needs is a toxic battle pitting city v. suburb. Otherwise, we're just working toward becoming another Detroit. I offered a funding plan that shares the burden.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by grmasterb

Wouldn't the train also run in the other direction? Are there no Marion County residents that work at employers such as Forum or Sallie Mae??

I think the last thing Indy needs is a toxic battle pitting city v. suburb. Otherwise, we're just working toward becoming another Detroit. I offered a funding plan that shares the burden.

The traffic patterns between Fishers and DT Indy do not show equal traffic volume in each direction during rush hour. Yes, many people (including myself) would benefit greatly from the train. However, there is no question a Fishers to downtown train will largely benefit Fishers; and do you honestly think people from Johnson County or Hancock County are going to get on board with a plan to raise their taxes to build a rail line for Fishers?

I am borrowing this from a blog:

The Urbanophile: Commuter Rail Proposed for Indianapolis (http://theurbanophile.blogspot.com/2008/06/commuter-rail-proposed-for-indianapolis.html - broken link)

But the comment is from an anonomous poster that sums up my feelings about this perfectly, and why I don't think Marion County is going to jump on board with a Fishers commuter rail line:

I was at a meeting today where, in response to a question about his position on mass transit, Mayor Ballard said that when people moved to Fishers, "they knew it was a mess". It brought applause.

He expressed doubt about building the Hamilton County line first, asking "what about the airport"? He is privvy to the convention-driven visitor counts and downtown hotel room-night counts. It might just be that an airport line would daily serve far more people with less of a peaking issue.

I still like Indy more than Columbus, Ohio by the way.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

The traffic patterns between Fishers and DT Indy do not show equal traffic volume in each direction during rush hour. Yes, many people (including myself) would benefit greatly from the train. However, there is no question a Fishers to downtown train will largely benefit Fishers; and do you honestly think people from Johnson County or Hancock County are going to get on board with a plan to raise their taxes to build a rail line for Fishers?

I am borrowing this from a blog:

The Urbanophile: Commuter Rail Proposed for Indianapolis (http://theurbanophile.blogspot.com/2008/06/commuter-rail-proposed-for-indianapolis.html - broken link)

But the comment is from an anonomous poster that sums up my feelings about this perfectly, and why I don't think Marion County is going to jump on board with a Fishers commuter rail line:

I was at a meeting today where, in response to a question about his position on mass transit, Mayor Ballard said that when people moved to Fishers, "they knew it was a mess". It brought applause.

He expressed doubt about building the Hamilton County line first, asking "what about the airport"? He is privvy to the convention-driven visitor counts and downtown hotel room-night counts. It might just be that an airport line would daily serve far more people with less of a peaking issue.

I still like Indy more than Columbus, Ohio by the way.

Folks in Johnson and Hancock counties would vote for such a plan if there's something in it for them -- which would be money from the pot to maintain and build roads, or develop their own transit systems, whatever they chose.

I would support a rail line between the airport and downtown, and between Greenwood and downtown. But the Nickel Plate line is already in place and owned by the government, so it's the one that has the best shot at getting going soon.

Interestingly, Urbanophile (a noted contributor to IBJ blog discussions) supports this idea.

And I love Indy as well, although I won't trash Columbus is proclaiming so. I'm a native Buckeye.

[REM]

I love how people say there is nothing in Indianapolis when in truth is they only know so much about the city it's self.

[krock1dk]

I'm a native of Indy, but know Columbus OH very well. Both cities are great places to raise a family, extremely decent and similar in population and general layout. There isnt much to do in Columbus unless you are among the young, hip, sophisticated urbanite, thanks to Ohio State U. Indianapolis probably has the better advantage though: slightly larger in population, 2 pro sports teams, great location, downtown redevelopment, lesser crime than Columbus and a bit more things to do. Maybe I'm being biased, but Indy over Columbus (but not by much). The ignorant and uninitiated often think Indy is boring and has nothing to do. How the contrary. It certainly aint New York, but Indy has alot to do if people just look around and find out for themselves.