Waiting on a Columbus train

One of the high points for me in Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman’s recent State of the City Address is an initiative to link downtown Columbus and Port Columbus airport with a rail line – New Task Force will Explore Airport-Downtown Rail Connection.  I’m a big fan of rail transportation – one of two reasons I love Europe (the other is cafes) – so I’m glad to see this moving forward.  This is a low-hanging fruit since a rail corridor already exists between the Columbus Convention Center and Port Columbus.  (In fact, the Columbus Convention Center was the site of the old Union Station – back to the future!).  This link may also be the first step in Columbus-Chicago high speed rail.

I moved recently from Salt Lake City.  SLC built an extensive light rail system over the past 15 years, and there are some contrasts and cautions worth noting.

A contrast: Columbus is starting with an airport link while SLC ended with this link.  This was due to political reasons: the Utah state legislature forced the Utah Transit Authority to make an airport link the last to be built so that the elitist business people and tourists in SLC would not be favored – despite the fact that tourism is one of the biggest industries in Utah.  In contrast, Columbus is using tourism as the motivator – more specifically, conventions, and even more specifically, Columbus’ attempt to attract both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in 2016.

A caution: while I’m a big fan of rail, I am not a fan of rail at any cost.  I think SLC overbuilt their light rail system too quickly, forcing UTA to cover its operating expenses by: i) having the most expensive public transit fares in the US; ii) running the light rail system on a circumscribed schedule (last train at 11pm; limited service on Sundays and holidays); and, iii) cutting back on bus service (e.g., after light rail, the last bus in our SLC neighborhood was at 8pm; and we did not live that far from the city center).

Despite the lack of rail, Columbus actually has good mobility options within the city core.  Bus service along the High Street corridor between downtown and Ohio State is pretty good – they even run a “night owl” bus on the weekends until 3am (after the bars close; what a concept!), and we are getting a downtown circulator bus.  CoGo (bike share) and Car2Go (car share) systems are available, taxis are plentiful, Uber is here and walking is an option given the density of activities in the Columbus core.

While I am a fan of rail, I do not necessarily advocate overbuilding a light rail system in Columbus.  Light rail along corridors such as downtown-airport-Easton Town Centre (the Rodeo Drive of the Midwest) make sense.  A light rail line from downtown to Dublin (a suburban center that is densifying as well) also makes sense.  But light rail everywhere does not make sense.   Bus rapid transit may be a good option in some places (such as along Cleveland Avenue and perhaps east-west along Broad Street).

Given the remarkable amount of in-fill development and densification that is happening in the Columbus city center, I would like to see transit options that enhance inner city living.  To me, a good start would be a trolley system along High Street between German Village and and Clintonville (of course I am biased since I live near the Short North).  Trolleys are not the same as light rail: light rail is about moving suburbanites to/from the city center.  Trolleys are about circulation within the inner city – as Jarrett Walker points out, trolleys are pedestrian enhancers.

Overall, I am pleased with what I see in inner city Columbus – the back to the city trend here is very strong, and Mayor Coleman has been farsighted in his focus on inner city development and investment in bike infrastructure.  So, yay downtown-airport rail!  And yay high speed train to Chicago!  But let’s not put all of our eggs into the light rail basket – let’s put the appropriate mobility technologies where they belong.

2 thoughts on “Waiting on a Columbus train

  1. I agree entirely that there should be some form of trolly or light rail line that connects German Village to Clintonville (possibly even to Worthington). However I would propose to take this trolly concept a few steps further. As Columbus continues to embark on infill projects and minimize surface parking spaces within the urban core, I believe vehicle access should be limited on the primary pedestrian thoroughfare. In your post you said referenced trollys as a ‘Pedestrian’ enhancer; so why not build off that model and eliminated vehicle traffic within the short north and campus area, convert street parking to full bicycle lanes, and build a trolly line in the center of the street.

    The street shall be a gathering place once again!

    I don’t think that a plan this drastic would be able to extend all the way into downtown, simple because the pedestrian foot traffic and residential lifestyle are not up to comparable levels with the Short North.

  2. I think they need to connect the big cities of Ohio, how great would it be to live on one side of Ohio, and work on the other side, job possibilities.

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