Cincinnati anti-rail ballot issue is "sad" and "disappointin

[Jim O'Bryan]

Cincinnati anti-rail ballot issue is "sad" and "disappointing"
Two talented board members are added in other board action

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ˜ Aug. 10, 2009
Contact: Ken Prendergast
All Aboard Ohio Executive Director
(216) 288-4883
<>kenprendergast@allaboardohio.org

At its regular meeting Aug. 8, All Aboard Ohio's Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution that put the nonprofit educational organization on record of opposing an as-yet un-numbered City Charter amendment to appear on the Nov. 3, 2009 ballot in the City of Cincinnati. The ballot issue, if passed, would require all expenditures by the City of Cincinnati for the construction or improvement of rail passenger service to be first subject to a public vote.

In its resolution, the association noted the high cost of owning a car, the large number of households in Cincinnati which do not have any cars, the inaccessibility of available jobs that are mostly in the suburbs, the region's high ozone pollution due primarily from an overdependence on cars and trucks, the impacts of mobile-source pollution on scaring away manufacturing jobs, and the superior ability of all types of passenger rail (streetcar, light-rail, commuter rail, and intercity rail) to address these issues. Specifically, the board resolved that:

"The board opposes the proposed City Charter amendment as it is punitive and discriminatory against a city-building mode of transport like passenger rail service while other modes of travel that siphoned jobs, residents and wealth from the city will continue to be funded by taxpayers in the City of Cincinnati."

All Aboard Ohio President Bill Hutchison said these facts should be noted by the Southwestern Ohio Green Party and the Cincinnati chapter of the NAACP which circulated petitions to place the City Charter amendment on the ballot.

"This is very sad to see this happening," Hutchison said. "They're really not thinking this through. Passenger rail has a strong record of bringing economic vitality and environmental quality to urban centers throughout the world. For groups who claim to want these characteristics for Cincinnati yet seek an anti-rail charter amendment is very disappointing."

The All Aboard Ohio board said passage of the charter amendment will create a barrier to investing in rail passenger and rail transit services that have brought billions of dollars in new investment, created jobs and enhanced livability in over three dozen cities and metropolitan areas across the United States in the past three decades.

The Board of Directors of All Aboard Ohio believes that "if the proposed amendment is approved at a time when federal and state of Ohio transportation policies and Amtrak are committed to improving and expanding the nation's intercity rail passenger network Cincinnati may be reducing its opportunity for growth of rail service and placing the present limited Amtrak service to the city at risk."

A copy of the resolution is available HERE:
<>http://members.cox.net/ohiohsr/Resolution%20-%20Cincinnati%20anti-rail.pdf

In other action, the Board of Directors of All Aboard Ohio voted unanimously to appoint two new board members: Judi Craig, vice president and area manager of Parsons Brinckerhoff in Cincinnati; and Ronald Sheck Ph.D., a retired transportation planner and public policy researcher living in Toledo.

Craig manages the Cincinnati-area operations of PB, a international engineering, planning, program and construction management organization. She is currently serving as Project Manager for the Ohio Rail Development Commission's Cleveland - Columbus - Cincinnati (3-C) Corridor "Quick Start" Environmental Assessment. Previously she served for 15 years with the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI), most recently as director of corridor studies where she oversaw the I-71 Light Rail Corridor study and the I-75 North South Transportation Initiative. She also established the Regional Ozone Coalition.

Among his many experiences, Sheck was urban rail program manager for the Washington State Department of Transportation, president of Transit Solutions in Seattle and in Tampa, Florida, research program director at the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida, director of Transportation Programs at the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department, and an associate professor of Geography at the Ohio State University as well at New Mexico State University.

"These are both extremely talented and experienced people to have on our board," Hutchison said. "I am thankful they have offered their skills and experiences to us, and I look forward to their contributions to All Aboard Ohio."

END