Bike paths would also make me happy. I would like to be able to get from Clintonville to Downtown on a path where I wouldn't have to see cars...

I'm not the most confidant bike rider...

I heard an interview with someone from a think tank recently (how do you get a job at a think tank? what do you do all day?), perhaps Cato Institute.

While governments tout the success of their streetcar system, the streetcar system doesn't bring development. It might be one piece that brings business to the area, but what brings the development is tax abatements and other subsidies from gov't.

I think this is a boondoggle idea and an unreal waste of $$. It will cost $100+ million dollars for 2.8 miles and if they do expand it, it will cost hundreds of millions more. Meanwhile people will keep streaming out of Columbus to get out of a shitty school district, away from higher crime, and neighborhoods full of trashed, foreclosed homes.

The Short North/Arena District is a nicely developed area that I spend a lot of time in. When I go there, I can park close enough that I don't mind walking however many blocks/miles to get to my destination. If I choose to go to the Gateway, I drive and park near there too. I can't see any need for me to use a streetcar except for the novelty of it.

Columbus is the chain restaurant capital of the nation (or so appears) and I doubt that they can do any development along High Street that doesn't already exist that will bring suburbanites flocking downtown. Especially when they have to pay higher parking fees and what amounts to a streetcar tax on event tickets.

If Coleman is insistent on pushing the street cars then charge a fee to ride the streetcars that covers the cost. If it happens to be $4 per ride, then so be it. Charging concert-goers and others who come to the "benefit" area is lame. It is easy to increase the parking fee since it will more greatly impact suburbanites who aren't in Coleman's voting constituency.

I agree, push more bike paths, and other forms of pedestrian friendly transportation. Get people walking and moving.

How do I access said trail?

I think you can get on at the Park of Roses or on Broadway depending on where you live in Clintonville. The trail used to get pretty hairy by tuttle park.

1. Studies: There are more than 20 cities who have done a streetcar, starterline conept in the last X number of years. Each one has a feasibility study available from before it was done and a report card available after. I've read probably 15 of those. While yes, you can't determine absolute causality for streetcar=development, I can say that when all those pre-build studies forecast X amount of development...and all those post build report cards show that much or more...it tends to provide as strong a link as you're going to find, IMO.

2. 2.5% GDP growth in 2007
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/sto ... 8&ana=e_du
And no, Franklin County saw a population increase in 2007, as well as surrounding counties. In fact, Franklin County's was the most significant in number.

3. The reason I'm touting tourism, is that part of the Danter study this project is based on forecasts 90,000 additional visitors to the city per year, resulting in the need for 300 additional hotel rooms, and generation of 3000 jobs. Even if you simply consider the streetcar one additional amenity for convention business, I think it's a large enough amenity to generate a 3% increase easily...which is 90,000 visitors.

4. Again, this is a starter line. Just like the starter lines in all the other cities that have seen exactly that kind of corporate commitment follow their building of their lines. I don't claim to be an executive determining where to place a large headquarters, I simply know that in every other case...when they built the line, the corporate development followed.

5. COTA is actually getting a huge cash influx this month that will enable them to almost double their operational hours among other things. I don't see COTA as horribly mismanaged, personally, I just see the bus in Columbus as somewhat stigmatized and believe part of that is inherent fear in learning schedules, transfers, etc. You don't seem to have that with a rail system, at least this is what other cities have seen. As far as the costs being obfuscated in other fees, I think it's actually the smart way to go. A 4% increase in admissions over 10.00 isn't going to stop anyone from attending anything, IMO, and a marginal increase in parking meters won't either. Again, those are opinions, but I find it very hard to believe that someone is going to pass on attending a 50.00 concert because the tickets cost 2.00 more and parking an extra 75 cents or a dollar.

Jawbreaker vs Pinheadfesival in the ultimate civic debate. Let the sourcing war begin!

Can we just rename the 2.8 mile stretch of High Street as "Michael Coleman Memorial Highway" then he can feed his ego without sticking us with a $100,000,000 starter line.

Pinhead - do you work for Mayor Michael Coleman or in any way with the streetcar plan? Your posting history would seem to indicate that it is a possibility.

the only way I'm gettin on this is if it's called the INDIE-RAIL.