What follows is the explanation for why the city does not support the Tiger 2 application of the Hamilton County Transportation Improvement District for the Eastern Corridor.
The City’s position on the Hamilton County Transportation Improvement District’s (TID) unilateral Oasis Line application to the federal TIGER II program was expressed by Councilman Berding at the TID meeting on Monday, July 26. While the City of Cincinnati remains a committed and engaged partner in the Eastern Corridor project, the City does not support the TIGER II application at this time due to a variety of factors. These include the following:
1. The proposed project competes with the City’s clearly articulated priority, the Cincinnati Streetcar Project. Although Commissioner Portune has stated otherwise, any additional projects are competition for the limited grant resources of the program. ($600 Million is available nationwide, approximately $200 million of which is dedicated to administration, planning and rural projects.)
2. The proposed project is linked with a TID-proposed 3C Inter City Rail station in Fairfax, which is contrary to the City’s stated preference for a statin location ultimately at Union Terminal, and in the near term, in Bond Hill. City Council has clearly stated this in earlier Resolutions.
3. The project application commits the partners to a local match. While the city understands the Ohio Department of Transportation indicates a match source doesn’t have to be identified now, a match will have to identified if the application is successful, and allocating resources, now or in the near future, to this match is not a priority for the City.
4. The project application is premature. The design effort for the Oasis Line commuter rail is currently underway, as evidenced by HDR’s presentation at the Hamilton County TID meeting. TIGER II requires additional environmental work and an intensive Benefit Cost Analysis (BCA) for the grant application (this work is not currently in HDR’s contract). There is grant construction obligation date of 2012 (the project must be bid and awarded), and, in all likelihood, right-of-way must be acquired according to federal process for the project. The Oasis project has not advanced sufficiently to meet these metrics. An application for construction will not be competitive and only serves to “muddy the water” as to our priorities.
The Eastern Corridor is a significant project for the City, Hamilton County and the region; however, the city has clearly and routinely articulated its transportation priorities. As we all know, resources for governments remain scarce and we all must prioritize our political and financial resources. As such, advancement of the Oasis Line beyond the current scope of work is not a priority for the City.
