Federal Passenger Rail Funding Bill

I received the following e-mail about federal passenger rail funding. I think the most important part from Columbus’ perspective is the $345 Million per year available for “Amtrak to finance facilities and infrastructure improvements” if the state can come up with 20% matching funds. I also like the attempt to leverage private investment from the freight railroads. Hat tip to Noozer, who posted this story on Columbus Underground yesterday.

Dear Supporters and Members,

House Resolution H.R. 6003, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, was unveiled May 8 by members of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, with a press conference demonstrating bipartisan support of Amtrak intercity passenger rail service.

The $14 billion, five-year reauthorization includes about $1.34 billion per year for Amtrak’s capital needs, along with $606 million per year for operations. Amtrak’s fiscal year 2008 capital budget was $565 million.

Bicentennial Bikeways Master Plan

The final master plan has been unveiled in the form of a gargantuan 27 MB PDF report.

Here’s the LINK.

I haven’t had much time to really dig into it yet, but there appears to be a lot to like. It also looks like a few suggestions have been picked up, because I notice much better connectivity on the south side of downtown.

COTA Ridership Surges 17.5%

Use of COTA, carpooling increases as price of gasoline soars
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 3:15 AM

As gas prices rise, so does bus ridership and carpooling.

From January through May 4, COTA recorded about 5.2 million rides, up 7.2 percent compared with the same period last year. Ridership in April was up 17.5 percent over the same month in 2007.

“That is big,” said Marty Stutz, Central Ohio Transit Authority spokesman. “We had 1.4 million rides in April.”

COTA added buses May 5 to busy routes.

The authority began receiving money this year from a tax levy that voters approved in 2006, which is helping finance the service changes, Stutz said.

The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission said it has received 15 to 20 calls a day since mid-April from people interested in its carpooling program.

“We have matched 180 participants in the last month,” said Lynn Robinson, MORPC’s RideSolutions program. “I would say that is at least a 30 percent increase in what we normally do.”

Pickerington resident Jean Drummond, her husband, Jim, and a co-worker who lives in Canal Winchester started carpooling weeks ago after a gallon of regular hit $3.69.

“We had all sort of said, ‘We need to start doing this,’ ” said Drummond, 54.

They meet at a parking lot off I-70, then drop Jim at work Downtown at Abbott Nutrition. Mrs. Drummond and the co-worker head to the Polaris area, where they work at RelayHealth.

“It has worked out great,” Mrs. Drummond said. “The only unknown part is we are unsure of where to park our car when we meet in the morning.”

That problem should be resolved by the city of Pickerington’s rideshare program, to begin next week. People signing up for the program will park at designated locations in the city and share rides.

tdoulin@dispatch.com

Bicycle Boulevards Part Of Path Plan

NBC4 has a video and article about the growing importance of bicycling and Columbus’ plans for improved bicycle facilities. This follows up nicely on The Other Paper story that we covered here.

Bicycle Boulevards Part Of Path Plan
Monday, May 12, 2008 - 01:32 PM Updated: 02:57 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Columbus’ Mayor Mike Coleman wants to make the city a much more bike-friendly place.

Bikes are becoming less of a recreational device and more of a necessity as gas prices skyrocket, NBC 4’s Mike Bowersock reported.

And if bikes are becoming more of a necessity, so goes the city’s bike paths.

With that in mind, city announced new transportation plans Monday, which marked the start of Ride Your Bike To Work Week.

More Transportation Funding Needed to Attract New Jobs

Friday, May 9, 2008
Central Ohio’s logistics dreams may be derailed by fiscal reality
Business First of Columbus - by Adrian Burns Business First

Amid the listing economic ship that is Ohio, business and government in Columbus think they’ve found in logistics the jobs-creation potential to stabilize the center of the state.

There is little debating that the logistics trade may well hold such economic promise, but the industry’s growth will depend on something Ohio has precious little of - money.

Tight government coffers raise problems for Central Ohio because experts say an overburdened, undercapitalized transportation network threatens to undermine other benefits the region offers - crippling the job-creation potential many see as significant.

…”We’ve estimated that roughly $500 million in highway infrastructure improvements will be needed to properly service the Rickenbacker area,” said Robert Lawler, transportation director for the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. In the next breath he acknowledged: “We’re having trouble raising money just to do the studies to determine how much money we’d need.”

Funding for infrastructure projects traditionally comes primarily from public sources. But Ohio’s transportation budget, and even the federal government’s, are at the breaking point. Municipal and county governments have stepped in to underwrite some infrastructure improvements, but with a list of projects from around the state costing tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars, it’s unlikely any other area government agency will be able to shoulder the changes.

“We’re obviously going to need to find resources,” said Robert Milbourne, president of the Columbus Partnership, a consortium of area top executives.

READ FULL ARTICLE

COTA’s new service upgrades rolled out in May

The Alive
In transit-ion
By John Ross
May 8, 2008

If you’re a regular bus rider in Franklin County, you might’ve noticed small improvements instituted on Monday by the Central Ohio Transit Authority.

One of three yearly service upgrades, COTA’s May changes included a number of small-scale modifications to scheduling, frequency and service hours resulting from an ongoing analysis of the county’s transportation needs, spokesman Dan Liggett said.

“We look at ridership on the different routes and listen to customer concerns and comments,” he said, noting that total rides in April increased more than 14 percent over the same month last year. “We also take a look at the changing market conditions out there.”

READ MORE

Can Columbus Become a Cycling City?

Well, not in a week, but I optimistically think the answer is, “Yes.” In my opinion, the best way to institutionalize planning for bicycles and pedestrians may be to implement a Complete Streets policy.  As noted in the story below this one, multi-modal transportation planning is looking more feasible than ever before in Ohio.

Cycling city?
Bicyclists disagree on whether Columbus’s first Bike to Work Week will have a lasting impact
by RICHARD ADES / May 8, 2008
THE OTHER PAPER

Just what will it take to turn Columbus into a real cycling town?

A flat, easily ridable terrain? It’s got it.

Bike racks on buses for trips that can’t be completed on two wheels? It’s got them.

Gas prices in the $4 range? It’ll have them soon enough.

The city also is promising more bike lanes, more bike trails and even Downtown shower facilities as part of its Bicentennial Bikeways Plan.

But all it really takes to turn Columbus into a cycling town, some bike advocates say, is more cyclists. And—oh, yes—drivers who know how to share the road with those cyclists.

ODOT Director Supports a Multi-Modal Ohio

This story made my day. In my opinion, multi-modal transportation is exactly what Ohio needs to provide affordable transportation, healthier communities, attract an educated, creative work force, and create economic development. Okay, maybe as a transportation engineer/planner I’m being a little too idealistic about what transportation can do, but I really think it’s critical to creating a bright future for Ohio.

Transportation-policy group sees trains, bikes, boats in Ohio’s future
Thursday, May 8, 2008 3:12 AM
By James Nash
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Cars still may be king in Ohio, but James Beasley says that needs to change.

Beasley, the director of the Ohio Department of Transportation since March 2007, outlined a vision of a less car-centric state at a summit yesterday to plan Ohio’s transportation future.

Trains could carry more passengers and freight. Rivers aren’t used to their potential as conduits of goods. Even bikes ought to be seen as a means to commute rather than simply as recreation.

Those points were raised during the first meeting of the Ohio 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force, a 62-member panel that’s supposed to sketch the future of transportation in the state.

The buzzword was “multimodal” — a seamless web of roads, airports, rail lines, bus and bike routes, and even boats.

Streetcar Engineering Study Delayed

Request for streetcar design is shelved
Coleman says residents need more information; $2 million left available
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 3:26 AM
By Robert Vitale
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

In a public-works budget approved last night by Columbus City Council, streetcars are now known only as “miscellaneous economic development.”

Bowing to criticism from council members who’ve complained about being left out of the debate and responding to concerns of residents and businesses, Mayor Michael B. Coleman removed a request to begin design of a High Street route and acknowledged he has more selling to do.

In a memo to Council President Michael C. Mentel pitching his $103 million idea as a catalyst for economic development, Coleman said, “While these issues are clear to me, our public needs more information.”

Council kept $2 million in the 2008 capital-spending plan that Coleman had requested for design and engineering of a 2.8-mile streetcar line from Downtown to Ohio State University. But it took the streetcar label off the money at the mayor’s request.

“Frankly, we are not ready to spend these resources,” Coleman said in a memo that acknowledged “an obligation to further educate the public.”

Spokesman Mike Brown said legislation to move forward on streetcar engineering will wait until a financing package is finalized. Coleman unveiled a plan in late March that would include new taxes on off-street parking and tickets to sporting events and concerts, but he has said repeatedly that it’s subject to change.

“Over time, we think we can win a lot of hearts over,” Brown said. “We’re going to do more outreach now.”

Councilman Kevin L. Boyce said last night’s decision to remove streetcar references from the $1.1 billion capital budget shouldn’t be interpreted as a rejection of the mayor’s plan. Leaving in $2 million without an earmark shouldn’t be interpreted as an endorsement, either, he said.

READ FULL ARTICLE

Streetcar Workshops

I received the text below in an e-mail from the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU). The fourth of four streetcar-related workshops is being held in LA on May 22nd. I don’t expect you to go, but if you have time, and you’re interested in the experiences of other cities, you might want to check out the links to over 50 presentations from the first three workshops in Portland, Denver, and Charlotte and the CNU annual congress in Austin.

Incidentally, you can see just about all the presentations from CNU XVI in some format (audio, video, or slideshow) here.

Street Smart: Streetcars and Cities in the 21st Century, May 22 in LA

Imagine a public-private partnership that leverages tremendous value for property owners and local businesses, helps market new high-rise residential development, mixed-use and a “green” lifestyle, and helps achieve public goals like affordability, sustainability, parks, and high-quality public spaces. Streetcars can be the catalyst for these goals — in downtowns and in urban and suburban neighborhoods.