Mallory: Cincinnati Will Have Streetcars

While members of Cincinnati City Council's finance committee are taking their two weeks before their next meeting to think about the proposed $102 million streetcar plan, Mayor Mark Mallory is confident the streetcars will happen here.

He said at his weekly press briefing Tuesday that he's "always been clear" that the route would go to Uptown once money was raised to pay for it. A city proposal suggests building a loop from downtown through Over-the-Rhine as an initial phase, but a majority of council members last week signed a motion by Roxanne Qualls that says the city shouldn't proceed with construction until it can build the route all the way to Uptown.

Part of the confusion among council members, he said, is that they have conflicting definitions of words like "phase" and "plan."

"We're going to do it," the mayor said. "It's going to take resources. It's going to take commitment. But the energy is there."