Friday, December 16, 2011

Streetcar to Run to the Banks

The Federal Government has come through again and has awarded another grant to fund the Streetcar to allow it to reach the Banks project, near Great American Ball Park.  The $10.9 Million grant was announced yesterday with a visit from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood to City Hall.

This really solidifies the Streetcar.  Not having the funding for the Banks was a setback that was going to require help and the Federal Government has come through for the people of Cincinnati and the entire region.

This grant also adds a little more salt to wounds of Streetcar foes who suffered big at the ballot box last month. I am not going to shed a tear if Tom Luken and COAST feel the sting a bit more.

We should see ground breaking by 1st quarter 2012 and the streetcars running in 2013.  The phase 2 portion, the connector to the Uptown area, still needs funding, so more work is still ahead and this should be from the State of Ohio.  We need to get the anti-Urban Republicans to start governing for everyone in the State, not just the Suburbanites.  That starts with voting and it starts with holding the Democratic Party's feet to the fire, something they need a the moment.

2 comments:

  1. It was very galling to hear opponents claiming the streetcar wouldn't work because it was too short, only going from Findlay Market to Fountain Square. Well, yeah, people! The governor yanked the federal funding earmarked for it for some highway expansion, forcing the route to be scaled back and you have the temerity to say the problem is that it's not long enough. It's almost Orwellian at time.

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  2. Joe, I heard Bill the Cunnig Ham say it was too long & too short in a matter of minutes.

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