This blog is about the state of Cincinnati's transportation system. For those of you who live in the Cincinnati area, you know that if you have a car you can be anywhere in the city in 15 minutes and anywhere in Hamilton County in half an hour (except during rush hour of course). Cincinnati's expressway and highway system is relatively excellent, and the city is well served by the interstates and state routes.
Of course, the metro system is severely lacking. Cincinnati, Hamilton County, and Northern Kentucky are served only by a bus system that is often off schedule and inconvenient for commuters. There are no rail options in the area, except for the train at the Cincinnati Zoo. Although the city is building a streetcar for Downtown and Over-The-Rhine, it will only serve those respective areas due to limited funding. If you do not have a car in this city, you essentially cannot get around without accounting for a few hours on the bus.
Like most Midwestern cities, Cincinnati was built around its freeway systems. 4 major interstates run through the city, I-71, I-75, I-74, and I-275, serving the center city as well as nearly all of the suburbs. As a result, the city of Cincinnati and the majority of Hamilton County is not very dense and is spread out with very few dense population centers. This makes creating mass transit options very difficult as well as expensive. How can a rail line service a large amount of people when they are located relatively far away but are mostly trying to commute downtown or to the medical hub in Clifton?
Many challenges stand in the way of alleviating traffic congestion and the needs of our citizens without a car, but it can be done. The new streetcar initiative is a step in the right direction but more needs to be done. In the 21st century, we can no longer rely on the transportation methods that have prevailed since the end of WW2, namely the personal automobile. Rising gas prices, oil supply uncertainty, higher populations, and a rapidly aging and crumbling infrastructure system threaten our commutes and way of life, so we must take preemptive action to counter these problems before we are left with no way get around.
Cincinnati needs better public transit.
