With voters passing property tax levies for Columbus City Schools, Columbus Metropolitan Library and others in Franklin County communities, the Central Ohio Transit Authority is now looking to next November when it expects to ask county voters to double its portion of the county sales tax from 0.5 to 1%.
The additional money will be needed, in part, for the creation of LinkUS − urban transportation super-corridors comprised of high-capacity and rapid-transit systems along with improvements for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The corridors would have the feel of light rail, with platforms level to the buses for access, offboard fares by phone, dedicated bus lanes and wireless coordinated traffic signals for speed and efficiency.
Design planning is 60 % complete on the West Broad corridor; that will be followed by East Main Street (30% complete), and finally the Northwest Corridor which includes Olentangy River and Bethel roads.
The total prospectus once built out with matching federal and state funds is about $8 billion, $6 billion of which will come from the proposed half-percent sales tax hike.
At the request of Marlon Moore, COTA board president, there will be a presentation on LinkUS at a 9 a.m. public board meeting Wednesday at its McKinley Avenue Facility, 1600 McKinley Ave. (Room 1034).
"He wants the board to have full awareness of what we're sharing in the community," said Patrick Harris, COTA spokesman.
If approved, the additional taxes and pedestrian-focused transit will be a welcomed first steps toward an accessible and equitable public transit system for those who need it most, said Harvey Miller, an Ohio State University sociology professor and director of OSU's Center for Urban and Regional Analysis.
Miller advised a team of researchers whose data-driven analysis showed that many with mobility disabilities have difficulties simply getting to bus stops due to cracked or missing sidewalks or other impediments.
"There's a social equity issue going on here where people in wheelchairs who disproportionately rely on public transit are actually being segregated in the city because of these mobility restrictions," Miller said.
According to U.S. Census data, an estimated 5% of Columbus residents have "some sort of ambulatory difficulties," ranging from age, injury or incapacity, said Miller. "You're at risk of tripping and falling. And our sidewalks in this city are really in terrible condition. And a fall among older adults could be life-changing."
"It does affect older people, at least in some point in their lives," Miller said.
COTA's ambitions to create modern urban transit corridors includes "transit-supportive infrastructure" that Patrick Harris, COTA's vice-president of external relations calls the "connective tissue that helps public transit be the best that it can be." He said OSU's study "covers what we already know."
The half-percent additional sales tax would help build more than 500 miles of sidewalks, bike paths and greenways that would support LinkUS. It also would allow for new COTA on-demand vehicles for all of Franklin County giving users a trip on smaller COTA vehicles anywhere in the county for $3, just like Lyft and Uber. Pilot COTA/Plus programs are already running in South Columbus, Grove City and Westerville.
Miller and other advocates for smart transit and fewer cars are supportive, if the project is done right.
"The bus service can be wonderful. They can have ramps, ADA (Americans With Disabilities) compliant bus stops. But when the surrounding sidewalks are incomplete, have gaps or are in poor condition, that is the limiting factor," Miller said.
Former Columbus resident Steve Wright, a long-time advocate for those with mobility disabilities, decries the neglect of surrounding sidewalks and streets that he sees. He often "shames" officials by sending out examples of poorly designed streets or those in a wheelchair stranded on a sidewalk because a pole or obstacle restricts their passage.
"Columbus is a center of education and government and commerce," said Wright, now living in Miami, Fla., explaining that visitors here expect more and better access to public transit than they'll find.
As for critics who question the cost?- "I always like to say that human rights and dignity are not subject to a cost-benefit analysis," Wright said.
"A lot of the fixes are cheap, and whether it's the city of Columbus or Franklin County or the COTA system, if you make your boarding areas and sidewalks more comfortable and accessible, you've removed a tripping hazard. So your risk manager will sleep well at night. And it's not expensive. You've not just done a good thing for people with disabilities, you've probably reduced your liability."
Not doing so, only worsens a larger societal issue, he said.
The city of Columbus says the project will lift surrounding communities − and the region.
"It's really the growth strategy for the region as we become a region of 3 million people by 2050," said Randy Borntrager, spokesman for the city's public service department. "People need to get to their jobs and healthcare and other activities without having to rely solely on a vehicles."
At least $60 million a year in LinkUS funds will be used for communities to fill in the sidewalk gaps, create shared use paths and roadway improvements, Borntrager said, noting the funds "would really supercharge" what the city is already doing.
"We're adding a million more people. It's not sustainable to add another million cars."
dnarciso@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: COTA targets sales tax increase for $8 billion LinkUS super-corridors
