NBC 4 Pushes For Details On Light-Rail Proposal
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Mayor Michael Coleman is requesting $334.5 million from President-Elect Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package.
More than half of that federal funding would go towards building a 13-mile light rail system that travels from downtown Columbus to the Delaware County line, NBC 4‘s Mikaela Hunt reported.
Many Central Ohio residents and nbc4i.com readers wrote in support of the project, while others disagreed with the initiative.
NBC 4 took the comments and approached Coleman to talk about the vision, but instead ended up getting answers from the agency that knows the most about the request.
NBC 4 wrote several e-mails, telling City Hall that Central Ohioans wanted to hear from the mayor personally. When we were told he wouldn’t be able to sit down with us, we called his office. But a spokesperson said his scheduled Friday was full taking care of the city’s latest budget deficit numbers and that the Central Ohio Transportation Authority could answer viewer questions.
“Is it difficult to ask for this money in these economic times?“ Hunt asked.
“Is it difficult? No. Not if you put in perspective that what the federal government is trying to stimulate the economy,“ said Bill Lhota, COTA President and CEO.
Lhota said the agency saw a 10 percent passenger increase when gas prices increased.
Environmentally, electric light rail would reduce Central Ohio’s carbon footprint.
In this recession, Lhota said the project would bring jobs and would be just the start of a system that links the 3-C corridor of Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.
“We have always said we support a regional transportation system. We did not support just going downtown to OSU in a streetcar,“ Lhota said.
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Reader Reactions
Coleman is a coward!!! He can go ask for $200 million for the “Coleman Folly Light Rail System” but he hides from the media when questions needs to be answered. Columbus this is what we elected to be our leader so the next time you go to the polls, remember the waste, underfunded police, firemen and EMT’s, the 108 murders in 2008, closed rec. centers, neighborhoods with abandoned “crack houses” and on and on and on. Waste not, want not.
Read the Saturday Columbus Dispatch article: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/01/10/MoneyTrain.ART_ART_01-10-09_B1_2NCGE6I.html?sid=101
The Federal $200M represents maybe 1/3rd of what would be needed to finance light rail in Columbus. The rest must come from the State and local sources. Something Mayor Coleman forgot to mention?
Although,we may be in some uncertain times we must still invest in our future. It takes money to to make money! Columbus is a eight hour city, It goes to sleep in central Ohio after 6pm. We need to give the residents of Columbus, The state of Ohio, and the rest of the Country reason to come and invest,live,and entertain here. And furthermore, we need to invest in our infrastructure to improve on own quality of live. Build it and the will come. And the more ways to get to point A to B or even to C is a added benefit to all.
Another Mike Coleman boondoggle. Maybe the maintenance facility for the light rail system could be in the City Center Mall. It’s empty now, isn’t it? Like the buses I see everyday.
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