It all began last Wednesday afternoon at the Columbus Athletic Club. The Columbus Metropolitan Club hosted a luncheon forum debate about the Downtown Streetcar Plan. There was a panel of professionals speaking both for and against the Streetcar, and while many things were said during the hour-long debate (which can be watched online here), one line from one person really grabbed the attention of the local Columbus blogosphere:
Developer Robert Weiler, who is a COTA board member, made a very anti mass-transit comment that “Columbus already has a fabulous rapid-transit system. It’s called the freeway.”
All hell broke loose pretty quickly on Columbus Underground and the conversation grew into a big 24-page discussion, much of it centered around Weiler’s comment. Some folks were calling for the removal of Weiler from the COTA board, and several others wrote letters complaining to The Dispatch, COTA, and the Mayor’s Office, as Weiler is an appointee to the COTA board by Mayor Michael Coleman to represent the interests of Columbus.
A post popped up on XING Columbus soon after that sparked some additional discussion, and a post on The Alive’s City Limits Blog followed shortly afterwards. I’ve heard through the grapevine that there have been some other rumblings about Weiler’s comments coming from the powers that be with the city.
Personally, I think Weiler’s comment may have been meant in jest, but this type of anti-mass-transit sentiment should not have even crossed the mind of someone who serves in an appointed leadership role at shaping the future of mass transit in Central Ohio. If Weiler was speaking on behalf of himself (which he said he was), then that’s fine. But his affiliation with COTA was highlighted multiple times, and that’s when the conflict of interest starts to make things a bit more complicated.
I don’t know what the answer here is, and I’m not going to be so extreme to call for his removal myself, but I do think this issue should be investigated further. We need leaders with a creative vision and a strong passion to help steer COTA into the next decade and beyond.
Update (July 23rd): There’s a letter to the editor in today’s Dispatch. You can read it online here.
Heresy! Heresy, I say! How dare he question the value of certain forms of mass-transit?
The sad thing here is that people missed some of the other things he said. In particular, I’m thinking of when he suggested that they make COTA free. Talk about a mass-transit friendly proposal. You add a free circulator route downtown on top of the existing routes and you would have a great sales point for downtown businesses, young professionals, and possibly tourists.
I understand people’s unhappiness with his opposition to streetcars, but I don’t think that should mean he can no longer serve on the COTA board.
I’d love to see a free circulator downtown as well. I was looking forward to a summer trip (that got canceled) to Chattanooga where they run a free electric bus shuttle around their downtown area. I’d love to see how that works for them.
Anyway, I don’t think people are upset about his stance on Streetcars. I think they’re upset about his comment that “freeways” are a valid form of “rapid transit”. The promotion of car-based transit over bus-based transit is what I think is concerning to most people.
So, freeways are not a valid form of rapid transit? Well, of course not in the technical sense that transportation engineers generally use “rapid transit.” Then again, bus rapid transit is growing in popularity, and it (often) relies on freeways. As someone who lives in a suburban “downtown area” but works in downtown Columbus, bus rapid transit is something I would like to see.
I don’t think that Robert Weiler was promoting cars over buses, just recognizing that currently they are the 800-pound gorilla of transportation.
Well it sounds like he should have had a bit more tact with how he phrased things because it obviously upset a lot of people.
Update: There’s a letter to the editor in today’s Dispatch. You can read it online here.
The letter to the editor is absurd. Andrew Hall chides Weiler for:
1) Disparaging mass transit
2) Offering highways as a fine solution
3) Making public comments after identifying himself as a COTA board member, but saying that he is speaking on his own behalf only
These are foolish criticisms. First, Weiler did not disparage mass transit generally. He opposed streetcars particularly while arguing for buses.
Second, how could one disagree with highways being a key part of our transportation future (at least over the next few decades)? Most central Ohio residents drive on highways weekly, if not daily. These Franklin County taxpayers, as Hall calls himself, would find it very difficult to get to work without highways.
Third, what does Hall expect? Should Weiler have refused to speak at the forum? Should Weiler have done so without saying he served on the COTA board? I don’t get it. Besides, the moderator introduced Weiler as a COTA board member.
I don’t think Hall is asking for the demolition of our highways.
…which is good, since I didn’t suggest that Hall wanted to demolish highways.
I didn’t say that you were suggesting that. It was more of an FYI. If you really want to know what Mr. Hall expected, you need to talk to him.