Mallory on Streetcars

In his State of the City address, Mayor Mark Mallory called building a streetcar line a priority - from downtown to Uptown.

He clarified later that he didn't mean he doesn't support the rest of the proposed project, a loop through Over-the-Rhine. He considers them part of the same project and considers them separate phases only in the sense that funding is being pursued only for the OTR loop. But that's temporary, he said - funding eventually will be pursued for the rest of it too.

The streetcar proposal is scheduled for a hearing at council's finance committee Feb. 25 (1 p.m.) Committee chairman John Cranley sent out a nine-page list of questions about the proposal. He specifically said he would be able to support the streetcar idea much more readily if it connected downtown and Uptown, the city's two main job centers. Otherwise, he said, supporters may have a difficult time convincing him.

Cranley also asked for comparisons to rubber-tire trolley cars. But Mallory says no to the rubber tire kind.

"Those can go anywhere," he said. "You don't get the economic spinoff benefit. That's why it's got to be a dedicated line. Transportation done right is economic development."