Planners are pushing for a downtown streetcar, but detractors say Columbus already has a fabulous rapid transit system: 'It's called the freeway.'
"While city officials retool their proposal for a Downtown streetcar line, the debate over whether the city needs one continued yesterday. But the discussion at a Metropolitan Club luncheon at the Athletic Club of Columbus didn't come any closer to resolving the question.
With rising energy costs, the time is right for a $103 million, 2.8-mile streetcar line on High Street from Downtown to the Ohio State University campus area, proponents said. And it would boost development along and near that corridor, they say.
"We need a more balanced and diversified transportation system for this region to grow," said Chester Jourdan, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission executive director, one of two proponents on a panel.
Developer Robert Weiler, a COTA board member who said he was speaking on his own behalf, not on behalf of COTA, led the debate against a streetcar, saying Columbus already has a fabulous rapid-transit system.
"It's called the freeway," Weiler said."
FULL STORY: Does Columbus desire streetcars?
Mass Transit and Manure: New York’s Lost Era of Horse-Drawn Streetcars
For all the problems we have with today's mass transit system, at least we no longer have to deal with the smell and literal waste of the modern bus and light rail systems' predecessors: horse-drawn streetcars.
A History of Public Transit Disinvestment in the US
The Union of Concerned Scientists takes us on a “trip down memory ‘train,’” examining the history of public transit, including its chronic disinvestment and perpetuation of racism, from the 1800s to today.
Atlanta’s Transit Past, Present, and Future
The city once had an extensive streetcar system. Can it revive public transit once again?
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?
The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.
San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.
Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.
Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions