There are several reasons why the Anti-Passenger Rail Amendment should not be called the “Streetcar Amendment”:

  1. The plain language of the Anti-Passenger Rail Amendment clearly indicates is applies to all passenger rail as it applies to “construction of improvements for passenger rail transportation.” The full language of the petition is here.
  2. The first project that will be affected by the Anti-Passenger Rail Amendment will most likely not be the Streetcar, it will be Inter-City Rail connecting Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. Cincinnatians for Progress has more on their blog.
  3. The intent of the Amendment is to stop all passenger rail. The Anti-Passenger Rail Amendment was written by a member of COAST and is strongly supported by COAST—an organization with a history of opposing passenger rail.  Their website lists one of their most notable accomplishments as “joined a coalition called ALRT to defeat a 1 ¢ sales tax increase for a light rail transit system.” When asked about the defeat of the light rail proposal in 2002 Chris Finney responded: “I hope this drives a stake through its heart,’’ said Chris Finney, treasurer of the anti- tax group Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes . “It should.’’[1].  Chris Finney is the author of the Anti-Passenger Rail Amendment. Another COAST member and Chairman of the We-Demand-a-Vote Coalition, Mark Miller, wrote on David Pepper’s blog about the Anti-Passenger Rail Amendment: “You’re right. This is about much more than a stupid streetcar.”
  4. The Anti-Passenger Rail Amendment includes the following phrase: “The City, and its various Boards and Commissions, may not spend any monies for right of- way acquisition.” Streetcars run in existing rights of way.  The Cincinnati Streetcar would not require any right of way acquisition so if this amendment were truly about streetcars, that phrase would be extraneous.  By placing the bolded phrase above in the amendment, the author of the Amendment is clearly trying to prevent any long range preservation of corridors for light rail or expansion of passenger rail.

If any news outlet is improperly reporting on this issue as a “Streetcar Amendment” instead of an “Anti-Passenger Rail Amendment” please contact them to set the record straight.

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[1] VOTERS SAY NO TO HIGHER TAXES – PROPOSED LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM LOSES BIG | Cincinnati Post.  Wednesday, November 6, 2002.  h/t Cincinnati Beacon