"Streetcars in Columbus" The Columbus Dispatch

Link: Streetcars in Columbus
Kevin Wood, Presdient, Downtown Residents' Assoication of Columbus
Web-only letters to the editor
The Columbus Dispatch
April 23, 2008

I have heard and read many comments regarding the proposed streetcar from Downtown to OSU. Some say this is a bad idea because it will compete with existing cars and buses on the streets, or because it doesn't serve a large enough area. I was a member of Mayor Coleman's Streetcar Work Group that traveled to Portland and I saw for myself how a modern streetcar functions. These cars are very quiet and fit within existing urban traffic patterns without a hitch. I saw cars, bikes and pedestrians sharing the right-of-way with an attractive streetcar system that has spurred development all along its path.

Ridership on the streetcar line was significantly higher than that on the bus which ran along the same route. Why? People can see where the tracks go, and they feel that this is a permanent form of public transportation...