Cincinnati City Council April 15 passed a resolution asking the city administration to draw up a report on possible funding sources for the planning and construction of phase 1B of the city’s streetcar.
The relatively small step caused a firestorm of controversy, illustrating how politically divisive the transit project remains. The motion, authored by City Councilman Chris Seelbach, launched a contentious hour of debate among council members about whether it was appropriate to look ahead to the next phase of the controversial transit project when the current phase, a 3.6-mile loop around downtown and Over-the-Rhine, has yet to be nailed down.
The motion passed on a narrow 5-4 vote, with council members Seelbach, Yvette Simpson, P.G. Sittenfeld, David Mann and Wendell Young voting for the measure. Council members Charlie Winburn, Kevin Flynn, Amy Murray and Christopher Smitherman voted against having the city produce the study.
Seelbach said the idea was to gather information to make an informed decision about next steps.
“This motion doesn’t say we’re ready to study Phase 1B of the streetcar,” Seelbach said. “All it says is we want some facts on paper about opportunities we may even want to pass up. I think that’s a very fair conversation we want to have. But let’s at least get the facts on paper.”
Seelbach cited the availability of federal Transit Investment Generating Economic Growth, or TIGER, grants, $500 million of which have been made available for fiscal year 2015 to cities proposing transit projects that spur economic development.
But streetcar opponents, including Mayor John Cranley and Councilman Christopher Smitherman, said the focus now should be on the project’s beleaguered current phase. They pointed to a recent revelation that the Southern Ohio Regional Transit Authority projects revenues for the streetcar will be well under earlier expectations.
“Let’s make Phase 1 a success,” Cranley said. “Instead people want to write more checks and spend more money on Phase 2.”
Early estimates placed revenue from ridership and advertising sold on the streetcar at $1.35 million in the first year. But adjustments in the way passengers will pay fares (by time spent on the cars, not on a per-ride basis), factoring in subsidized rides for low-income riders and revised advertising revenue estimates mean the streetcar is likely to pull in just $781,000 in its first year, SORTA told council. Opponents like Cranley and Smitherman say the project’s first phase is a financial mess that will leave tax payers holding the bag.
Originally, the streetcar was intended to run from The Banks to a location uptown. However, after Gov. John Kasich eliminated more than $50 million in federal funding administered through the state, it was scaled back.
The route now ends near Findlay Market. Supporters, however, including many who pushed the streetcar through a contentious three-week pause in 2013, haven’t given up hope that the second leg can be completed into the area around the University of Cincinnati and the area’s major hospitals.
This article appears in Apr 22-28, 2015.