Can anyone tell me how much money $2,500,000,000 actually is? How many briefcases would it take to hold all that cash in $100’s? I don’t even think it would be possible for me to spend that much money in a single year. Thankfully ODOT (Ohio Department of Highways) will have no trouble at all.
I have a car. Well, it’s a single shared car in my household of 2.5 people, but it is pretty essential for us. Our taxed gasoline purchases are contributing to the funds for these highway projects year after year, but we really only use a small fraction of the roads that we pay for in this State. Would it sound silly or selfish for me to argue that I only want to pay for roads that are near my house and not for the ones that I don’t plan on using?
Because I think it sounds silly and selfish when people don’t want to pay for rail transit if they don’t think they’re going to use it. Our city is currently proposing a funding system to build a Streetcar line that will mostly be paid for by those in closest proximity to the line. How did it come to that? Why would someone in suburban Columbus be perfectly ok with paying to build a new highway off-ramp in Youngstown that they’re never going to use, but they don’t want to have anything to do with rail transit downtown where it could actually have a positive impact upon their community through economic development and less congested roadways?
The Streetcar line is going to cost $11.4 million per year for 25 years to get it built and maintained. That’s less than one half of one percent (0.456% to be exact) of ODOT’s annual operating budget. Next time I put $2.50 worth of gas in my car (yes, I usually buy my gas a half a gallon at a time), I’m going to stop and consider what else we could have in our city if I spent one half cent less on gas. And I encourage others to do the same.
Thank you for bringing up this point Walker. I was surprised to hear that the mayor’s plans for funding the streetcar line would be paid for, in part, by those in closest proximity to the line. At first glance it sounds reasonable, but the fact is, decongesting any street with the addition of public transit benefits everyone.
When, for example, High Street is being used by fewer cars following an event at Nationwide Arena, those who have traveled by car will find the streets easier to navigate and will save time and money because the traffic is moving more quickly. Deliveries via UPS and FedEx will be more efficient because of less traffic. Insurance companies benefit with fewer accidents.
As the streetcar lines expand to include other areas of Columbus, the benefits expand as well. Fewer individual drivers on the road equate to less pollution, and when public transit in Columbus becomes a viable option for more and more users, the overall quality of life improves for everyone. Look at it this way; if the average commuter eliminated 50% of their fuel consumption, they would have enough money for an annual vacation in Europe.
As public transit expands, our youth have greater resources for getting to and from their new jobs, eliminating the high percentage of their income that would normally go for automobile ownership. Their ability to save that money can get them into home ownership earlier, and thus help solidify neighborhoods.
I’ll agree that one streetcar line won’t have an impact on the entire metro area, but a far reaching streetcar system cannot be built all at once. What I think is missing from the general discussion is how the system will be expanded over time, and how that expansion will be the catalyst for an improved quality of life, even for those who choose not to use it.