Friday, March 28, 2008

Streetcar Funding Source

Columbus has come up with a rather innovative funding initiative for their streetcar line. They are going to put a surcharge on event tickets. So whenever you go to a hockey game you'll pay a few extra dollars on your ticket. But it won't be for naught. If you have a ticket, you get a free ride on the transit line. Sounds like a great plan.

Coleman plans to send a proposal to the city council before the end of the year in which the city would add a 4 percent surcharge on tickets to most concerts and sporting events within six blocks of the streetcar route.

Another 4 percent surcharge would affect people parking in lots and garages along the line from Downtown to Ohio State University, and parking-meter rates in area would rise an average of 75 cents per hour.

“I'm so convinced this is the right thing,” Coleman told an audience of streetcar supporters last night at City Hall, referring both to the idea he first raised in 2006 and the new plan to pay for it.

Here is the line map courtesy of Xing Columbus, the local transport blog.

2 comments:

Adron said...

Ugh. I don't even have the time to go into this mess.

I'll be surprised if Ohio gets any streetcars anytime soon.

Portland did come up with its city wide plan recently. Looks like it will take far more cash than is even reasonably logical. But its a "neat" idea at least.

I am at a point where I'd rather more directions and frequency on our light rail than another slow ass streetcar. It is nice to have, but I'd much rather get to other parts of the city in a reasonable time span that only light rail can deliver.

FLUBBER said...

it's just too bad that the "Great Streetcar Scandal" had to happen 40 years ago, or else these cities wouldn't have to be forking over all of this money to build these systems!