Streetcar Facts, Figures and Fights Mirror Other Cities

Streetcar.

Few words can spark a debate in Cincinnati better than a mention of the proposed Cincinnati Streetcar. Whether the issue is funding, the proposed route or the projected benefits - or argued lack thereof - of a streetcar line in the city, this is a contentious issue and an often-hyped political football.  But it's not all that unique.



Cincinnati is one of many American cities - more than 80, according to a May 3 city report - that is considering, planning or building a streetcar line. And many of the issues faced in Cincinnati are shared concerns - or shared challenges - that the other cities face as they consider this revitalized form of public transit.

Wars of words

"I don't think the debate is particularly unique to Cincinnati," said Chris Eilerman, assistant to the city manager and Cincinnati streetcar project manager. "If you look at articles from other newspapers of communities doing these projects, the comments are quite similar to what we see here."

A little research suggests he's right. Atlanta's streetcar project, for example, has faced a contentious debate over funding and the length of its 2.6 initial route, which was cut down from a more ambitious plan that covered Peachtree Street, a major Atlanta thoroughfare. Like the proposed first phase of the Cincinnati streetcar line, Atlanta's shorter route has drawn fire from critics who said it would not reach enough functional destinations.

The streetcar line planned for Salt Lake City has faced similar criticism, and even the decade-old Portland streetcar, a project hailed by many supporters for causing a $3.5 billion boost to that city's real estate market, still takes fire from critics who argue that the line's funding would be better spent on projects such as road improvements.

"I think there's always some resistance to new ideas," said Mark Donaghy, president of the Ohio Public Transit Association and executive director of the Greater Dayton RTA. "People in Dayton thought the Wright brothers were crazy, and you see where that ended up."

Eilerman agrees.

"I think the notion of a streetcar conjures up images of something old, or antique," he said. "It's really not the case anymore." He said City of Cincinnati officials worked to counter negative or incorrect impressions early, with publicly noted feasibility studies and an ongoing media push through the city's website. "We've spent a lot of effort and time trying to get information about the project out," he says.

Scope, and money matters

The social aspect of the streetcar debate may spill across city and state lines, but what about more concrete matters? How does Cincinnati's plan compare to those of other cities? In the case of size and scope, the Queen City's plans fall in the middle of the pack.

The first phase of Cincinnati's streetcar line consists of a proposed 4-mile loop connecting Government Square and Fountain Square downtown with Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine. By comparison, Salt Lake City is planning a two-mile connector, which links its historic Sugar House neighborhood to passenger rail access. Portland's vaunted streetcar began with a 4-mile loop and is currently being expanded with an additional 3.3-mile loop. And a plan to build a streetcar in New York City's Red Hook neighborhood called for a relatively ambitious 6.8 miles of rail, before it was scrapped in the wake of an unfavorable feasibility report.

The projects' prices typically run the gamut as well. The Salt Lake City project is projected to cost $55.5 million, while the Atlanta streetcar and Portland extensions each have price tags in the mid-$70 millions. The $95 million City of Cincinnati officials expect to spend on the first phase of the streetcar may seem high by comparison, but remember that it is a longer system - twice as long in the case of Salt Lake City - and that Red Hook's longer line carried an expected price tag of $176 million.

Compare the projects in terms of price-per-mile, though, and costs are relatively even. Cincinnati comes in at about $23.7 million per mile, almost in line with Portland's $23.3 million-per-mile. Salt Lake faces a cost of roughly $27.7 million per mile, higher than the $25.8 million-per-mile that was deemed too expensive for the Red Hook plan to be feasible.

Given that many of the nation's streetcar projects are funded in part by Federal grants from programs such as the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, it's not surprising that projected costs per mile are similar. Government mandates such as environmental impact surveys and "buy American" requirements mean that government-funded projects - and their price tags - often look alike. Cincinnati did not win funding through either of two rounds of the TIGER program, but did earn $25 million from the Federal Transit Administration's Urban Circulator Systems program, so logic suggests it would fall in line with other projects that include Federal dollars in their budgets.

An outside perspective

Jeffrey Wood is social media coordinator and chief cartographer for Reconnecting America, a nonprofit advocacy group that works on transit issues across the country. The group's been watching Cincinnati's unfolding streetcar saga, and he says what he sees in the Queen City is similar to the push for streetcars - and pushback against them - in other cities.

For one thing, he said Cincinnati Streetcar supporters shouldn't feel alone as they face vocal opposition to the proposed project.

"In every city, that comes up," Wood said. "I think it's probably because any major, major project is going to cost money, and people are concerned, as they should be." He added, though, that whether opposition groups are concerned about protecting road repairs, police funding or other issues, the issue of whether a project is the best use of public funds arises in most projects of this nature. But that common ground seems to help advocates - rather than the opposition - gain resources to improve their projects and see them through, he said.

"I think it's something amazing," he said as he took a brief break from a national transit conference in Madison, Wisconsin. "All of these advocates can access people around the country and look at what they can do."

Working together

It's probably not surprising that officials from cities across the nation, as well as advocates, are working together, both to lower costs and improve support for public transit on the Federal level. 

"I think all of the cities doing these projects wrestle with the same questions," Eilerman says.

But they also learn from each other, he noted. Charlotte, for example, has studied Cincinnati's approach to addressing utilities in the streetcar right-of-way to develop ideas for its own, similar issues. Likewise, many cities are exploring group purchase proposals for essential components such as the streetcars themselves. And Eilerman notes that, while Cincinnati switched preferred rail design to a style that's available stateside, other cities are working together to convince a domestic producer to make a type of streetcar rail that is typically only found overseas, to best meet their unique needs while fulfilling "buy American" grant requirements.

"It's a new kind of technology for a lot of cities, and I think we're learning together in many respects," he adds.

But along with that learning, he notes, comes something else: support, and validation for these long-term, often contentious projects.

"Our work has really been informed by other cities," he said. "Looking at the success of their projects really confirms our belief that this is a benefit to the city. I think if you look at that, it's hard to deny."

Photography by Scott Beseler.

Graphic by Matt Cunningham