More love for the Cincinnati Streetcar plan

The Director of the Economics Center for Education and Research at the University of Cincinnati recently worked to provide testing to support the positive outcome of the Cincinnati Streetcar feasibility study presented in 2007. In a nutshell, George Vredeveld’s work says:

Cincinnati is on the right track in considering a streetcar system, according to Vredeveld. The likely average net economic payoff of $315.8 million, as estimated by HDR over a 35-year period, is sound, as is HDR’s most conservative net economic payoff estimate of $186.8 million over 35 years. Even if this most conservative payoff comes to pass, “the proposed streetcar system is economically worthwhile,” said Vredeveld.
From the UC News online.

This week’s guest blogger on Soapbox Cincinnati is Councilman Chris Bortz. His first entry is a piece with more information supporting the Streetcar initiative. Here are his concluding remarks:

Why build it? You’ve heard the arguments. We need more money to keep the pressure on crime, close the health gap, improve workforce development, and combat blight. We need more residents and more jobs. A streetcar, according to the experts, will help create those jobs and attract those residents and generate those new dollars as well as position our city in a competitive, global economy, create walkable neighborhoods, attract young professionals, stimulate residential development, energize retail, reduce parking pressures and alleviate traffic congestion. But my favorite reason to do this? To tie together all the investments we have already made or are making. We can physically connect them.
From Cincinnati Soapbox.

These are convincing arguments for a small leg of city mass transit, and all without specifically mentioning gas prices or the environment. That’s a good indicator of the right thing to do - when it makes sense economically, socially, and environmentally. Remember the triple bottom line: people, the planet, and profits working together to create sustainability.