Thursday, March 25, 1999
Feds flunk light-rail plan
Flaws in financing, projected use mean no funding
BY PAUL BARTON
Enquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The proposed Interstate 71 light-rail project is flawed and does not deserve congressional funding, according to an analysis by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
The I-71 project is designed to relieve traffic congestion and improve air quality by linking the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport with Cincinnati's northeast suburbs.
But the FTA report says no firm plan exists for providing local funding. Estimates of the project's cost range from $600 million to $1.1 billion, with the money expected to come from a 50-50 match of federal and local funds.
The FTA also says the project would go largely through areas where housing and population densities are expected to decrease, not increase.
It further says that the environmental benefits would be minimal at best and that emissions of one key pollutant, carbon dioxide, would be greater under light rail than under other mass-transit alternatives calling for expanded bus use and other means.
“If we were asked at this very moment to fund the proj ect, we would not,” said Ron Fisher, a planning director with the FTA.
In last year's $219 billion transportation bill, Congress called on the FTA to annually evaluate more than 40 mass-transit projects listed in the bill.
The first report on the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky project came back with a grade of “not recommended” for budget year 2000 funding, which Congress is considering this year.
Jim Duane, executive director of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments, played down the significance of the analysis. “We are not surprised, nor are we upset,” he said.
Mr. Duane said he was confident the I-71 project would receive a more favorable rating when it is evaluated again next year.
Regardless, the document is likely to further inspire critics of the project at a time when local officials are trying to rally support for a tax increase to help pay for it. Area officials were considering asking area voters to approve some kind of financing proposal perhaps as early as 2001.
One of the projects' most ardent critics, U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati, said Wednesday the report seems to confirm his fears about the project. Mr. Chabot has opposed funding for the project in Congress.
“I hate seeing our tax dollars wasted,” he said. “The FTA analysis clearly echoes some of the concerns I have been raising for years now.”
Mr. Chabot added, “I think the public has been misled through this whole project.”
A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Rob Portman, R-Terrace Park, also expressed concern.
“It is a clear sign that we need to develop a local consensus on a fiscally responsible transportation option and a funding mechanism to pay for it. We have got to get our act together locally to find the best alternative to address our region's environmental and traffic congestion problems,” said Portman press aide Brian Besanceney.
Rep. Ken Lucas, D-Richwood, has not had a chance to view the report yet, his office said.
On project funding, the FTA said low scores reflected “an absence of a financial plan, an entity to build and operate the proposed new start project.” The analysis gave a “low” rating to the operating efficiencies of the project and a “medium” score on cost-effectiveness as measured through cost per passenger.
It rated the environmental benefits as “medium” but said that carbon dioxide would increase compared with the mix of options considered for meeting the region's needs.
Some of the most critical comments concerned how the project would serve land use and population patterns.
“While the metropolitan region as a whole is expected to grow, housing and population densities are projected to decrease for many of the areas along the proposed corridor, and absolute housing and population is forecast to increase for only five of the proposed (boarding) stations, primarily located near the northern (end) of the corridor.”
The report also said there has been a lack of planning of parking areas that potential riders could use. FTA officials said grades for the I-71 project could improve.
“That's not to say the project might not become more attractive over time,” Mr. Fisher said.
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