Connector (Cincinnati)

Context At the end of the 20th century, Over-the-Rhine, which is adjacent to downtown, was one of the most economically distressed areas in the United States. Over-the-Rhine's instability was preventing growth and investment in Downtown Cincinnati, the city's central business district; which was rejected when taken to a public vote. A "Phase 1B" was considered that would connect to the "uptown" neighborhoods that surround the University of Cincinnati. The fundamental goal of the streetcar proposal is to create transit-oriented development. According to the study, the city would gain between 1,200 and 3,400 additional residences, raise an additional $34 million in property taxes, and yield $17 million in retail activity per year from new residents. The study projected that a 2010 opening year would draw an estimated 4,600 riders of the downtown and Over-the-Rhine portion of the line each weekday. Both groups gathered signatures for a ballot initiative that would amend the city's charter and force a public vote on the streetcars. This would have affected more than just streetcars, forcing a public vote on any rail-based system including the proposed high-speed rail that connects Cincinnati to Columbus and Cleveland, and potentially even the "Safari Train" at the Cincinnati Zoo. Since the amendment is usually described as a vote on the streetcars, CityBeat has suggested the amendment is "deceptive" and an attempt to reverse "COAST's waning political influence" in the city. called the proposed amendment a "poison pill" that is "DECEPTIVE in its language and intent." A political action committee called Cincinnatians for Progress was formed to oppose the amendment proposed by COAST and the NAACP. According to Cincinnatians for Progress, the amendment would unnecessarily delay projects by 10 to 12 months while the city waits on a public vote, and put Cincinnati at a competitive disadvantage with other cities. 2011 referendum After losing at the ballot box in 2009, COAST and the local NAACP began collecting signatures in 2011 for a similar ballot initiative. This referendum, known as Issue 48, differed by banning any spending on rail until December 31, 2020, rather than requiring a citywide vote for spending. It would have banned spending, no matter the source of money (federal, state, privately financed, etc.). Critics believed the language of the amendment again applied to all forms of rail transit, including any plans for a streetcar, light rail, or commuter rail. The Cincinnati Enquirer endorsed a "No" vote on Issue 48, stating, "we vigorously oppose Issue 48 and urge voters to reject it. ... Issue 48 is a bad, bad, bad idea." According to "a majority of legal experts" interviewed by the Enquirer, Issue 48 "is written so broadly it could stop other rail projects in the city." Non-streetcar commuter rail projects that may have been affected included the county-backed Eastern Rail Corridor project, which plans to connect the eastern suburbs to downtown using an abandoned rail line. League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area, and former leaders of the local NAACP. Issue 48 was defeated 52% to 48% on November 8, 2011. This, along with Cincinnati electing a more progressive city council, allowed the streetcar project to proceed. The contract with Messer/Prus/Delta JV for the construction of the tracks, power system, and a maintenance facility was signed on July 15, 2013. Former Cincinnati mayor Mark Mallory, a supporter of the streetcars, acknowledged the possibility of reinstalling one or more inclines if the new proposal for streetcars is successful enough. The city still owns the rights-of-way where the inclines once sat. Still, five out of nine members voted to "pause" construction of the streetcar on December 4 to allow for an outside audit of the project. An independent audit confirmed Dietrich's estimates of the cost of canceling the project. However, Cranley and several council members expressed concern about the annual operating cost of the streetcar and the effect it would have on the city's operating budget. The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority offered to take responsibility for the streetcar's operating cost, but Cranley refused this offer and insisted that financial support must come from the private sector. Finally, after the Haile Foundation committed to providing $9 million in funding towards the project, City Council voted on December 19 to continue construction of the streetcar. Council Members Kevin Flynn and David Mann, who had supported the "pause", joined with four other Council members to vote in favor of the project. Since a supermajority of six Council members voted to resume the project, Cranley was unable to veto the ordinance. Operations The system opened to passengers at noon on September 9, 2016. The opening was celebrated with a weekend of free rides. It is operated under contract by Transdev. Following its opening, the streetcar fell short of ridership projections, averaging 2,012 riders per day during its first year. Large events such as the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day draw much larger crowds. Low ridership has been blamed on frequent track blockages by cars that contribute to delays as well as an anti-rail mayoral administration. In August 2018, Cincinnati Bell approached the City of Cincinnati about ending its sponsorship of the system, less than two years into the 10-year contract. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, service was suspended at the end of March 30, 2020, and resumed on September 2. The same day, Cincinnati City Council overrode Mayor John Cranley's veto to suspend fares, with the intention of making the streetcar line free of charge permanently. The streetcar line became free of charge permanently beginning November 1. Beginning in late 2021, ridership began to exceed pre-pandemic levels. For every month from November 2021 through September 2023, the system set record ridership for the respective month, except in the month of June 2022, during which service was suspended for three weeks due to the partial collapse of a nearby building. In 2022, the streetcar set an all-time annual ridership record of 846,622 passengers. The following year, it surpassed that record by more than 30 percent, setting a new all-time annual ridership record of 1,108,092 passengers in 2023. The streetcar set an all-time monthly ridership record of 119,357 passengers in July 2024. ==Route==

List of stops Loop between The Banks and Over-the-Rhine Possible extensions The 2007 feasibility study suggested the possibility of several extensions or future additions including a line through Cincinnati's "uptown" neighborhoods to the University of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Zoo, and to the neighborhood of Clifton. However, a council majority wanted to include the Uptown Connector in the first phase. Both Vine Street and West Clifton Avenue were studied as options for the Phase 1B connection from Over-the-Rhine to Uptown. West Clifton Avenue passes through Clifton Heights, which is one of the densest neighborhoods in the city due to its concentration of UC students. However, after further study it still suffered from many of the same issues as the originally proposed Vine Street route with major underground utility lines, narrow lanes with greater risk of accidents, and uncomfortable grades, which limit level boarding platforms for stops and hence economic development opportunities in the hillside areas. In 2015, an alternative plan of using two tunnels to get to Uptown has also been proposed. It includes extensions from Phase 1A northward up Main and Walnut to a southern tunnel portal under Mulberry Street at Main that daylights at-grade near Inwood Park for a station servicing Christ Hospital before returning underground until aligning with Jefferson Avenue near Daniels. Past studies have shown that Mount Auburn has suitable geology that is conducive to building a $100 million tunnel that would connect downtown to Clifton, however further study is needed to know the exact cost to implement this new plan. The additional cost of tunneling is believed to be justified in order to increase reliability and speed at the center of a regional light rail system that could be developed around this spine in the future through projects such as Wasson Way. Newport extension In 2009, the cities of Newport, Kentucky, and Covington, Kentucky, across the Ohio River officially supported Cincinnati's streetcar proposal, and would like to install a system that links with the Cincinnati system. A group called the Northern Kentucky Streetcar Committee is exploring ways to get a study funded to extend the route across the Taylor Southgate Bridge and into Newport. ==Cost and funding==

The Downtown/Over-the-Rhine line would cost $102 million. The full Downtown/Over-the-Rhine/University of Cincinnati/Uptown/Zoo line would cost $185 million. The money to fund the $102 million Downtown/Over-the-Rhine line would be attained from a variety of sources. (Duke Energy has promised to donate $3.5 million.) City officials have made several trips to Washington to lobby for federal money for the streetcar system. • $64 million in bonds by the City of Cincinnati • $2.6 million in local funds • $4 million from the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments After the Ohio Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) pulled its portion of funding for the project, the city postponed the Uptown Connector and moved forward with a slightly shortened Downtown/Over-the-Rhine route. After receiving an additional Urban Circulator grant from the United States Department of Transportation, the route was extended to reach Henry Street to the north and 2nd Street to the south. In 2011 Governor John Kasich took away $52 million in state money that had been awarded to the streetcar by the previous administration. Despite being the Ohio Department of Transportation's top rated project, the money was redirected to projects in other areas of the state. In 2012, Congressman Steve Chabot added an amendment to the annual transportation spending bill that prohibits any federal money going to the streetcar. The final budget upon project completion in 2016 was $. ==Possible benefits and drawbacks==

There may be some benefits associated with building the streetcar system. The projections of the 2007 streetcar study indicated that the streetcars would have a 14:1 benefit-cost ratio over the next decade. Forty-six cities either have streetcars, or are trying to develop them. However, opponents say that a streetcar may not be as effective, or effective at all, at economic development in Cincinnati as streetcars seem to have been in certain other cities. That is, economic development is contextual and historically contingent. The NAACP, for example, has suggested improving existing utilities and economic sectors rather than building the streetcar system. In addition, the streetcar is designed to be symbolic transit, rather than being planned as an essentially functional part of the transit system—or to serve primarily as transportation as such—because Over-the-Rhine is already developing very rapidly without the streetcar. Other opponents say that the streetcar serves as a political cover for the easing of development restrictions and that much or all development will be due to the easing of restrictions that would have otherwise been left in place, rather than a streetcar itself. ==Rolling stock==

Five low-floor CAF Urbos 3 streetcars were ordered from Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) of Beasain, Spain, with an original delivery date of July 2014. The first streetcar vehicle arrived on October 30, 2015. ==Ridership==

Italics indicate each month's ridership record. ==Commemorative beers==

On October 23, 2015, Brad Thomas, a member of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, announced that the five different brewers that line the streetcars route had each agreed to brew a new specialty beer to honor the delivery of the first five vehicles. ==See also==