WALNUT HILLS - Cincinnati could become an island detached from statewide and national passenger rail systems unless voters reject Issue 9 next month, current and former state legislators warned Friday.
At a news conference at a Walnut Hills cafe, two former Republican state Senate presidents and a Democratic state representative from Hamilton County said that Issue 9's requirement of public votes on the proposed Cincinnati streetcar system and other rail plans could cause state and federal officials to simply bypass the city when planning future transportation networks.
If Issue 9 is approved, former state Sen. President Stanley Aronoff said, officials in Columbus and Washington, hoping to sidestep entanglement in local politics and potentially costly delays, may begin excluding Cincinnati from future major rail plans.
"This would almost make an island of Cincinnati, where everything goes around Cincinnati," Aronoff said.
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