"Real Reasons for Rail" -Gene Krebs speaks at the Columbus Metropolitan Club

Check out RetropolitanBlog, "Crap or get off the Crapper" for a Summary of the Event

"Real Reasons for Rail"

Gene Krebs, Greater Ohio, Bill Habig, Transportation Matters and moderated by Chester Jourdan, MORPC.

Read Gene Krebs' speech below.

Thank you for inviting me to participate here today. CMC does a wonderful service not just for Central Ohio but for all of Ohio.

Before I begin I do want to explain that much of Greater Ohio’s thinking on the issue of transportation is shaped by the ODOT Task Force report but also by the work we are doing with the Brookings Institution and our Restoring Prosperity to Ohio Initiative.

Ohio’s land use patterns are not economically sustainable, and are not environmentally sustainable.

Combined with untenable growth patterns that necessitate car-dependent lifestyles, high transportation costs are cutting into Ohioan’s pocketbooks. In 2008, the range of the percent income spent on transportation in Columbus was between 21% and 45%. In 2000, even with cheap gas, it ranged between 19% and 37%. This is also making Ohio non-competitive in attracting jobs due to spatial mismatch.

Ohio citizens are feeling the impact of these and other challenging trends, but the moment is right to reverse this path.

The Restoring Prosperity to Ohio Initiative is a multi-year research, policy and stakeholder organization effort, by Greater Ohio, aimed at state reform to revitalize Ohio’s core communities & metropolitan areas.

In order to promote its assets and alleviate its challenges, Ohio needs a “Competitive Communities” Strategy that strives to leverage the potential of core cities by: taking stock of communities’ assets; developing measurable goals to drive change; leveraging assets driving prosperity; encouraging “right-sizing;” and targeting state resources strategically. Greater Ohio’s primary focus is a place-based revitalization of the cities and towns that concentrate the assets that drive prosperity: Innovation, Workforce, Quality of Place, and Infrastructure.

Today’s panel is about one of the four assets that drive prosperity: Infrastructure, and Investing to Promote a 21^st Century Transportation System. Ohio must change the way it funds transportation and offer more options than highways and cars. Greater Ohio supports transit and other alternatives to highways and the creation of a Transportation Investment Bank. A change in transportation programming will also support regional economic growth and prosperity.

In public policy we talk a lot about mission creep; that is where the policy has lost sight of its original intent and is now just serving its own needs - a Golem of sorts. People forget the policy was a means to an end and the policy becomes an end by itself. Transportation is guilty of that mistake. I am not referring to classic freight movement, but rather that, currently transportation in Ohio is about moving cars, and not people. We have forgotten the core mission; it should be about moving people, not cars. Cars are the means, not the end. The recent Task Force report, in its first three quarters, worked hard to bring back a people- centered transportation system to Ohio. We applaud those efforts. The last quarter, which focused on funding, is not economically sustainable.

A recent poll by the National Association of Realtors and Transportation for America (T4America) concluded that an overwhelming 80 percent of Americans want the federal economic stimulus package to emphasize road and bridge repair and transit, not new road construction. At least 40 percent of overall transportation infrastructure spending should be targeted towards transit and intercity rail investments that will begin to build a green transportation network. Rail also has the lowest mechanical energy requirement of land movement, and according to a new study by Dr. Chris Nelson at Utah, transit generates by far and away the most jobs of all transportation projects, a third more than new highway construction, 17,784 jobs per billion dollars spent.

History seldom repeats but it often rhymes. If you go to the Statehouse and stand in the middle of the Rotunda, and look straight up, you will see the state seal that existed when the Capitol building was erected. Floating at the bottom of the seal is a canal boat, thought to be the highest technology for transportation at that time.

In summation, the cars we drive today are the canal boats of the future, it is not economically sustainable and we should be about moving people, not cars, and not canal boats.

Once again, thank you.

The Euclid Corridor in Cleveland & Transportation Priorities for a Changing World

What would a Euclid Corridor type project look like, if it were implemented in your community?

Transportation Initiatives in Ohio

Euclid Corridor

The Euclid Corridor project in Cleveland – now called the RTA Health Line – is an example of a transit investment that has stimulated urban reinvestment in a high-density corridor. It has good place-making attributes, and it supports the innovation of the University Circle “eds & meds” district. This district has several anchor institutions, including two universities, two medical centers, and a host of businesses and cultural institutions. It also provides a strong physical and aesthetic link between two important economic engines in the region - downtown and University Circle.

Euclid Avenue used to be an eyesore with potholes, cracked paving and sunken sidewalks – now you can ride on custom designed bus rapid transit (or BRT), powered by a hybrid diesel-electric engine. BRT affords the dedicated right-of-way of light rail but the versatility of a bus. The new public art, bicycle paths, landscape designs, sidewalks and passenger stations are an excellent example of “complete streets.” Complete Streets is a growing movement in the U.S. based on the idea that a complete street – sidewalks, bike paths, median islands, curb extensions and more - balances safety and convenience for everyone using the road. (Read more about the Euclid Corridor.)

The new bus stations designed by Robert Madison International of Cleveland for the new Euclid Avenue Health Line add to the city's urban landscape.

Invest in a New Direction

Euclid Corridor is now a national model that shows how smart investments in transit and public space can help struggling cities turn themselves around. It’s also an investment that is expected to help the community reduce its expenses and save money, ultimately freeing it from oil dependency and creating clean, green long-term jobs. We advocate similar priority investments that offer multiple pay-offs.

A recent poll by the National Association of Realtors and Transportation for America (T4America) concluded that an overwhelming 80 percent of Americans want the federal economic stimulus package to emphasize road and bridge repair and transit, not new road construction. Transportation and development go hand in hand. Our nation can no longer afford to sink money into highway lanes or transit that become overwhelmed or undermined by poorly planned development. We need a more efficient system that rewards communities for developing in smarter, more sustainable ways, reducing energy use and carbon emissions while ensuring the availability of housing affordable to families of all incomes, near job centers and public transit. (Read more at http://t4america.org/blog)

An earthwork was created at University Circle as part of Cleveland's new bus rapid transit line on Euclid Avenue.

Also in Greater Ohio's February E-newsletter

Greater Ohio applauds the bold initiative that the state is launching to plan for transportation in our changing world, as laid out in the Ohio’s 21 st Century Transportation Priorities report recently released by Governor Strickland’s Task Force on which Greater Ohio co-director, Gene Krebs, served as a governor-appointed member. Greater Ohio encourages policy recommendations that call for transformative infrastructure investments and align with our Restoring Prosperity to Ohio Initiative policy agenda, such as: aligning the policies and practices of state agencies; launching a Making Regions Matter initiative; expanding the use of alternative fuel technologies; and supporting “smart growth” solutions and public transit. (View the entire Ohio’s 21 st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force report here.)

Make Transformative Infrastructure Investments

But the federal economic stimulus package provides an unprecedented opportunity for Ohio to go beyond these recommendations and undertake truly transformative infrastructure investment projects -- investments that drive economic development when led in a way that directs funding to projects with the highest return for the future. Ohio’s projects must build off President Obama's plan to advance a stimulus package that ignites short-term economic growth but also puts the nation on the path to long-term prosperity, including a shift into the green economy.

New Mexico's Rail Runner opened for service from Albuquerque to Santa Fe in December 2008 with peak ridership.

Therefore, in Ohio we call for: (1) identifying "green" investments that will reduce vehicle miles traveled or carbon emissions in general, such as transit-oriented development; (2) upgrading existing urban and suburban roads -- including state routes that run through our cities (“fix it first”). At least 40 percent of overall transportation infrastructure spending should be targeted towards transit and intercity rail investments that will begin to build a green transportation network; and (3) requiring greater accountability and transparency by attaching performance criteria to infrastructure investments, so they are truly transformative in meeting economic, social, and environment/energy goals. Ohio’s plan must embody a new approach to funding transportation projects that aligns with that suggested here and the emerging federal perspective.

Learn more at the Feb. 18 Columbus Metropolitan Club Forum

Learn more about transformative infrastructure investments at the February 18 Columbus Metropolitan Club Forum, “Real Reasons for Rail,” featuring Gene Krebs, Chester Jourdan of MORPC, and Bill Habig of Transportation Matters. Register at www.columbusmetroclub.org.

Is the 3C-Corridor a possibility in the near future?

There has been much talk in Ohio about the construction of passenger rail along the 3-C Corridor. However, it seems as if we constantly hear about the proposed project but never see any action to make it a reality. The talk may finally turn into action however, as state policy makers become determined to implement the project by 2010. Xing Columbus highlights the the actions underway and what the route may look like as the project moves forward.

However, it is likely that the feasibility of this project relies on the outcome of the federal stimulus package and how much money is given to states.

Gee urges clean-energy push that creates jobs

Gee urges clean-energy push that creates jobs

Tuesday,  February 10, 2009 3:01 AM

By Jack Torry and Aofie Connors

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

WASHINGTON -- Declaring that "our nation's future is at issue," Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee said yesterday that government, industry and universities must develop cleaner-burning fuels, or "our nation will sputter to a halt."

In a speech at a Washington conference sponsored by the Brookings Institution, a research center, Gee endorsed a new Brookings report that calls for a major increase in federal spending to develop commercially viable clean energy that will not produce the greenhouse gases thought to cause global warming.

"We now have a groundswell of agreement: America's utter dependence on fossil fuels weakens us in critical ways," Gee said. "As supplies dwindle and our environment suffers potentially irreversible damage, we cannot sit idly by.

"I am fully determined that we will help reinvigorate our region's Rust Belt towns with green-collar jobs. American universities must apply our enormous resources leading this new industrial revolution."

The report was drafted under the supervision of James Duderstadt, former president of the University of Michigan. In addition to calling for more federal dollars, the report urges scientists at America's universities, industry and the federal government to pool efforts to develop the new technologies needed to produce clean energy.

Gee said a number of universities are working on clean-energy projects, but he said that "too much is occurring in isolation. Silo thinking will not pull us out of this crisis."

Instead, Gee said, America's universities "must capitalize on areas of mutual interest and greatest potential. Regional partnerships -- those proposed in this report -- make absolute sense."

President Barack Obama has called for more federal assistance for clean energy in his proposed plan to stimulate the nation's economy. The economic stimulus that the Senate probably will approve today includes $40 billion for energy programs, including $8.5 billion to subsidize loans for alternative-energy projects.

The conference was attended by Gee; Duderstadt; Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; and Jeffrey Wadsworth, president and chief executive officer of Battelle in Columbus.

Brown reiterated a theme he has used since his campaign for the Senate in 2006: that cleaning the environment can produce tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs.

"Every commercial-scale wind turbine built uses the equivalent amount of steel as 225 midsize cars," Brown said. "Every time you turn on a light bulb powered by solar panels, you use enough glass to replace your car windshield."

jtorry@dispatch.com

Curious about Governor Strickland's proposed Budget Plan?

Check out these links to learn more about Governor Strickland budget plan for Ohio and what that would mean for you. Proposed Ohio Budger has winners, losers

Gov. Ted Strickland's budget proposal would add transportation tolls, increase fees

Ohioans to pay more fees under proposed budget

Are you happy with your location?

The Pew Research Center recently published a study that found "For Nearly Half of America, The Grass is Greener Somewhere Else." "This latest report explores a range of attitudes related to where Americans live, where they would like to live and why. It finds that most city dwellers think the grass would be greener in a suburb, small town or rural area. But urbanites aren't alone in feeling mismatched with their surroundings. More than four-in-ten residents of suburbs, small towns and rural areas also report they would prefer to live in a different type of community."

Not only did the study examine why some people are dissatisfied with their location, finding that political views can play a factor in this,  it also ranked cities that were deemed more livable than others. According to the study, most Americans prefer to live in the West or in the South while Midwestern cities such as Cincinnati, Cleveland and Detroit were voted the least popular.

This poses a large problem for cities in Ohio as we continuously see our youth and entrepreneurs leave for more climate friendly cities. It is vital that we change of our image and the way we do business in order to show the world that Ohio offer a multitude of lifestyles that fit their politcal, economic and cultural needs.

What will a federal stimulus package mean for Ohio?

The Hannah News Service, Inc. released an article,White House: Ohio to Gain or Save More Than 140,000 Jobs from Stimulus, on February 5, 2009 which outlined the status of the Federal Stimulus package, it was passed in the House and is currently delayed by skeptical Republicans, and the benefits of the package for Ohio.

"For Ohio, that analysis predicts the creation or saving of 141,700 jobs over the next two years in a range of industries from clean energy to health care, with more than 90 percent in the private sector.

More than 4.5 million workers would receive a pay tax cut of up to $1,000, and 666,000 out-of-work Ohioans would get an additional $100 a month in unemployment insurance benefits.

Other benefits, according to President Barack Obama’s administration, include:

- 128,000 families would be eligible for a new $2,500 partially refundable tax credit for four years of college.

- At least 369 schools would receive money to help modernize facilities. "

Both U.S. Senator Brown and Gov. Ted Strickland are urging for the passage of the stimulus package.

The full document released by the White House is available at www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/White_House_Releases_Additional_State1.pdf

For more news on the Stimulus package check out the article Estimates of Ohio's benefits from stimulus plan vary widely.

Cities are not the only ones suffering: A look into American Suburbs

The Restoring Prosperity to Ohio initiative is a place-based effort which advocates targeted investment in Ohio's assets in order to fully leverage their economic potential. Some people mistakingly believe that the focus of this initiative is on the city centers. While it is important to reviltalize Ohio's cities, the Restoring Prosperity initiative also realizes that many of Ohio's suburbs are facing similar issues. In order to better understand the problems and opportunities in America's suburbs check out the Newsweek article, The Suburban Challenge, by the Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley of the Metropolitan Policy Program, Brookings.

Smart Growth: What does it look like?

Greater Ohio talks about Smart Growth and land use planning. However, for people unfamiliar with the term, it is hard to conceptualize. Well no more. The Natural Resource Defense Council has completed a case study, Picturing Smart Growth, that shows what cities could look like if smart growth principles were applied. Basically, it uses Photoshop to apply smart growth principles to existing sites. It is a great resource to show people how some place (similar to their environments) could transform over time into more friendly environments.  Check it out!