City officials are looking for proposals to use Cincinnati's long-abandoned subway tunnels, but not for transit; they already tried that.
In the 1920s, the city of Cincinnati abandoned construction of its subway with only 2 miles of twin tracks laid. Today, nearly a century years later, “the subway tunnel not only sits empty but costs city taxpayers money to maintain,” writes Sharon Coolidge in a recent article for the Cincinnati Enquirer. Now the city has issued a request for proposals for ways to repurpose the tunnel, for commercial or other purposes, reports Coolidge.
The city manager called the tunnel a “unique, underutilized, asset” and told the Enquirer they’re looking for “creative, fresh ideas on what could be done with the space, if anything.” When news hit social media, user after user on X — formerly Twitter — jokingly suggested the city use the tunnel, which sits below Central Parkway in downtown Cincinnati, for its original, much-needed purpose: a subway. But according to another Cincinnati Enquirer article from a few years ago, the city proposed using the tunnels for a light-rail system in 2002, but it was rejected by voters.
FULL STORY: Cincinnati exploring options to use never-completed subway tunnel
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