Blog — Vote No on Issue 9 |
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Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Charter Amendment About More than StreetcarsToday's Enquirer article about the Cincinnati Streetcar and the Anti-Progress Amendment did not adequately explain the that the Anti-Progress Charter Amendment being pushed by the NAACP and COAST affects much more than just the Streetcar. If their proposal passes, Cincinnati’s Charter would require that before the City spends “any monies for right-of-way, acquisition or construction of improvements for passenger rail transportation” there must first be a public vote.Notice the words "for passenger rail transportation" - it does not specify the streetcar. Even the Treasurer for COAST admits that the Charter Amendment is “about much more than a stupid street car.” The amendment would require an election before any City expenditure on any passenger rail project. This would block President Obama's plan to connect Cincinnati with Chicago and Cleveland via high speed rail (the 3C Corridor), paid for almost completely with federal transportation dollars. Cincinnati would be required to contibute local funding, but if the Anti-Progress Charter Amendment passes, this train would become the Cleveland to Sharonville line. It would also block other projects long on the local drawing board waiting for federal funding, like the “eastern corridor” rail link along the Ohio River, designed to reduce auto traffic from our eastern suburbs into downtown (which has already received stimulus funding), or a rail link between downtown and our airport, like those in other major cities like Cleveland, Chicago or Boston. Cincinnati is competing with hundreds of other communities around the nation for federal transportation funds. An electoral roadblock will take Cincinnati off the funding list on the first cut. Cincinnati voters need to consider this amendment in light of the fact that it will put a roadblock in the way of ALL passenger rail, not just the Streetcar.
posted by Cincinnatians For Progress at
10:47 AM
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