As a board member of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA), I got to participate in a bus tour of Hamilton, Butler, and Warren counties a few weeks ago to learn about the future public transportation needs for our region.  The presenters from each county seemed to have very differing views on the need for public transit in their communities.  As a disclaimer, the following is my opinion and does not at all reflect the views of SORTA.

As we toured Hamilton County, representatives from the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County pointed out the development opportunities that might bring a need for bus service and even light rail.  And while admitting the limited effectiveness that traditional public transportation modes might offer, the Warren County representatives remained positive that public transit could eventually play a more prominent role for the growing county.  But Butler County seemed resistant to the idea of increased public transportation, even as the county reported large population growth and increases in all types of development.

As Cincinnati continues to develop the concepts of a streetcar system, high-speed rail, and complete streets; Butler County continues to describe transportation solely by counting the number of cars that travel a given road per day.  While I understand why non-urban counties might be single-minded in describing how we move from place to place, I think this outlook compromises the future needs of the residents and visitors of such a community.

Every month I spend about $1,000 on automobile transportation when you consider car payment, fuel, insurance, and maintenance.  Depending on the length of your commute or the cost of your car, this monthly amount could be much higher.  Of course this monthly amount does not account for the taxes that most of us pay to build and sustain the roads that we drive our expensive automobiles on every day.  So why does anyone want to build communities in which we are completely reliant on such a costly and inefficient form of transportation?  Probably because the issue hasn't been given the consideration it deserves.

It's time we all start giving transportation more attention.  It can cost as much or more as your housing.  And with the rising cost of fuel, we can no longer afford to assume that anyone will benefit from developing communities where public transportation is not a fully integrated component.

Where is the outrage?  Have you heard?  The government will spend over three billion dollars in our region on transportation projects without any citizen vote. 

I mean don't we live in Cincinnati, where COAST and other groups felt it necessary to put a ridiculous issue 9 on the ballot in 2009 to "protect" Cincinnatians right to vote on transportation projects?  But we all remember how that turned out.  Despite all the grandstanding by Mark Miller, Chris Finney, and Chris Smitherman; the voters proved that a large silent majority in this city wants to see progress in our transportation options.

Consider the following recent and future transportation projects that have received little or no opposition from citizens, including COAST and the Cincinnati Enquirer:

• $632 million to add one lane to I-75,
• $200 million to improve Red Bank Road,
• $140 Million to widen I-275 in Tri-county,
• $120 million to replace the Western Hills Viaduct,
• $80 million to widen I-71,
• $65 million to widen eastern I-275, and
• $ 2 billion to replace the Brent Spence Bridge.

The streetcar project, which was targeted by issue 9 supporters, would only cost around $128 million.  And the money spent on the streetcar would yield a double digit return on investment that would be the largest catalyst for economic development our city has seen in years.  On the other hand, road projects yield returns much lower than the streetcar.  But still certain citizens, along with our region's largest newspaper, continue to scream - without ever listening - about fabricated concerns about the streetcar.

I urge the citizens of Cincinnati to learn the truth about the streetcar and question who they are getting their information from about this issue.  The Cincinnati Enquirer has and continues to be out of touch and it's important that we do not accept their baseless conclusions.

Transportation is important.  Transportation is also expensive.  We cannot continue to allow a few uninformed and misguided sources to control the debate over transportation.  The fact is the Cincinnati Enquirer and Issue 9 supporters believe that transportation dollars should only be spent on road projects.  And since the streetcar doesn't fit that mold, they are opposed.  But our city deserves better, and it's time we all stood up and demanded more.