Programs

COTA's Vision 2020 Plan

Imagine, if you will, that it’s the year 2020 and you are:

• Being whisked into Downtown Columbus from the suburbs or from The Ohio State University area on one of eight light rail transit lines.
  
• Utilizing one or more of the Central Ohio Transportation Authority’s (COTA’s) 17 Transit Centers.
  
• Taking advantage of expanded city bus service or riding a neighborhood circulator that takes you from suburb to suburb without going into the downtown area or having to transfer from bus to bus to reach your destination.
  
• Utilizing the latest technology that keeps you informed about bus schedules as well as provides additional travel information and commuting services such as daycare.

If you can imagine such, you are right in line with COTA’s Vision 2020 Plan, a comprehensive blueprint for public transportation that’s designed to prevent future vehicle gridlock, help revitalize the Downtown, and keep commuting Central Ohioans smiling as they travel back and forth to jobs, shopping, entertainment venues, educational opportunities, and for numerous other personal needs and services.  Road rage has become a thing of the past.

Ronald L. Barnes, COTA president and chief executive officer, offered this glimpse of the future to members of the Central Ohio IFMA Chapter at its April 9 meeting at the Fawcett Center at Ohio State, stating everyone has a stake in seeing this plan become reality.

Barnes said each day 55 people with 48 automobiles move into Columbus.  By 2020 another 400,000 people will live within the city limits and 100,000 will be added to the suburban population. 
To prepare for this growth, Barnes said,  “We have to provide customer focused mobility solutions. We want to help you figure out how to get people to your facilities.”

He also said COTA and the City of Columbus have a vested interest in a viable Downtown and are committed to its revitalization.  In February, Max Moore of the Columbus Downtown Development Corp., told chapter members that Mayor Michael Coleman is determined to bring life back to the city and transform the Downtown into “everyone’s neighborhood.”

To emphasize this commitment, Barnes said, “Downtown is our largest market servicing 20,000 people every day with 55,000 rides.  COTA plans to spend $500,000 to upgrade our shelters along High Street, and we are the largest contributor to the Special Improvement District (clean-up program) with $204,000.”

While assuring IFMA members that light rail transportation is only part of the overall plan, he said COTA is well on its way of bringing light rail to central Ohio.  If developments progress according to a “best case timeline,” a 13-mile line from Lazelle Rd. to Mound St. could be operative by late 2008.  This would include 19 light rail vehicles and a projected daily ridership of 17,600.  There would be 14 stops or stations along the route with Park and Ride lots at five.

Barnes said this system would eventually be available to the 40,000 people who will be in the Polaris area in southern Delaware County, another 70,000 at Ohio State, and the 100,000 working in the Downtown.  The hub or depot for this system and its eventual feeder routes would be a “Union Station” facility in the Arena District which could also contain shops, restaurants, and ticket and transportation information for other people carriers.  Barnes said the benefits of light rail are significant and well documented. For example:

• Dallas has experienced $9.2 billion in development along its rail lines, Portland $2.9 billion, and Salt Lake City is showing heavy pedestrian traffic in its downtown malls.
  
• Property values of single-family homes near rail sites in Boston increased by 7 percent, 10 percent in Portland, and 25 percent in Dallas.
  
• Traffic congestion has been reduced.  St. Louis eliminated 20,000 parking spaces and Portland reduced the need for six 42-story parking garages.
  
• Rail provides for a fast, convenient large-scale movement of people.
  
• Rail is preferable over bus transportation because it can operate on exclusive rights-of-way and is not as vulnerable to traffic conditions or poor weather.

Two of the planned transit centers are already in operation at Easton and in the Linden area.  The Linden Transit Center at Cleveland and 11th Avenues was completed in 2000.  The 16,689-square-foot, two-story building was built with financial assistance from the Federal Transportation Authority’s “Livable Communities” program.  It contains an enclosed waiting area with attendant’s booth and staff area, mechanical room, and handicapped-accessible restrooms.  The first floor also has a Fifth Third satellite bank office and a Mother’s Helper daycare facility.  On the second floor, Children’s Hospital has a satellite medical office.  Also on the second floor are Columbus Health and St. Steven’s Community Homes.

The Easton Transit Center at Stelzer Rd. and Transit Dr. is on 2.6 acres donated by The Limited.  The 1,360-square-foot enclosed facility has a waiting area, attendant’s booth, staff area, mechanical room and a unisex handicapped-accessible restroom.  An 8,000-10,000-square-foot daycare facility is being built just south of the center and is expected to be in operation later this year.

Barnes said buses will not be ignored during this march to the future, but they may not be the 30-foot or 40-foot vehicles that ply city and suburban streets today.  The new vehicles could be smaller and specifically designed to travel the narrow streets of most residential areas.

Twenty-seven members and six guests attended the presentation with Dave Bongivengo, senior territory manager for Haworth, Inc., winning an IFMA golf shirt in the Membership Committee’s monthly drawing.

Mike Milenovic, Program Committee co-chair, reported that the next monthly program will be a tour of the newly constructed Discover Card Financial Services building in New Albany.  The event will be May 14 with continental breakfast and networking at 7:30 a.m. and the tour at 8.