"...Covington is a community ripe for implementation of a modern streetcar."

That statement appears very early in River Route Streetcar Study: A Plan for Connecting Covington and Cincinnati, a project conducted by transit activist and graduate student Nick Emenhiser as part of his final work at Ohio State University.

"We were tasked with creating a graphically-produced plan for this practicum and I wanted to do something that would further a concrete transit plan somewhere in this region and I sensed that Northern Kentucky just started down the path of planning," Emenhiser told The River City News in an interview.

The Northern Kentucky Streetcar Committee formed in January and recently completed a trip to Washington, D.C. to evaluate opportunities for connecting Covington and Newport to the forthcoming Cincinnati Streetcar system, set to open this fall. That system will offer a loop from the riverfront through the Central Business District to Over-the-Rhine. A delayed second phase would connect the system to the Uptown area around the University of Cincinnati.

"I have some real concerns about taking away the Uptown extension," Emenhiser said. "It's going to inhibit ridership." That's why Northern Kentucky's connection to the system could be important - for transportation in Covington and Newport, and also for the system itself.

"The timing is right as this year, 2016, marks the inception of the Cincinnati Streetcar. This $148 million modern streetcar serves the revitalized core of Cincinnati, spanning from The Banks, through Downtown, and through Over-the-Rhine. A planned Uptown extension will connect the region’s largest educational and healthcare institutions," Emenhiser writes in his plan. "Located across the river in Kentucky, Covington brings to the table resources and policy support from another state. This region has always profited from multi-state cooperation in building a comprehensive transportation network, including the I-275 loop, Ohio River bridges, and the airport. It should turn toward regional, multi-state partnerships once again toward the goal of building a comprehensive streetcar network that serves the region."

"The analysis conducted through GIS, using American Community Survey data, shows that non-motorized commuting is currently highest in neighborhoods flanking MLK Blvd., specifically the Seminary Square and Eastside neighborhoods. Considering streetcar’s unique ability to create new ridership demand, the dense Madison Avenue corridor and Riverfront are also worth connecting. It may also be that the concentration of commercial and institutional land uses in the northern end of Covington explains lower (but still significant) rates of non-motorized commuting. Beyond providing mere transit service, a crucial community service in and of its own right, this streetcar plan presents unique opportunities for further revitalizing Covington and Newport. With streetcar station design, transit-oriented development, and more vibrant streets and sidewalks - this plan offers intrinsic value that justify its roughly $200 million cost to implement."

And how would the region come up with that money? Emenhiser says there are many ways, namely incorporating the plan into the estimated $2.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge corridor project - which would include the construction of a new span west of the current bridge, which would remain. "You don't necessarily need one funding source to cover the whole project cost but if there is a way to get a quarter of the streetcar project or have a streetcar track built into the Brent Spence Bridge, which may be the most cost-effective way to cross the river. That could bridge a gap," he said. Projects in Oklahoma City and Cleveland used similar strategies - creating alternative transportation options through funding for larger transportation projects, he said.

Emenhiser's proposed route would bring the Cincinnati Streetcar to Kentucky by way of the Taylor Southgate Bridge in Newport, a similar idea as the one presented by the Northern Kentucky Streetcar Committee. Emenhiser's plan would send the streetcar south via Monmouth Street to 11th Street in Newport and then across the Licking River to 12th Street/Martin Luther King Boulevard in Covington, then north on Holman Avenue then east to Pike Street where it splits at Washington Street, then north on Madison Avenue before returning eastward to Newport via the Fourth Street Bridge.

The 5.3-mile streetcar route could be a development boon for Covington and Newport, too, Emenhiser argues.

"TOD, or transit-oriented development, is a strategy to develop land with immediate access to transit corridors and/or stations," he writes. "Usually developed in the form of mixed-use nodes that market apartments, retail, and offices that benefit from transit access - often with reduced parking footprints - and with the deliberate goal of increasing transit ridership. TOD offers strategic benefits for both developers and transit operators. Cities that have successfully implemented streetcar systems, such as Portland, often augment their transit investment with publicprivate partnership strategies for transitoriented development. These strategies often include development bond financing, station-area improvements, value-capture mechanisms such as TIF, and land acquisition assistance. Covington could implement such a strategy by identifying target sites for TOD."

"There has never been an instance where they implemented a streetcar and it didn't get higher readership than the transit system it was replacing," he told RCN.

Emenhiser further explains his research in a post on his blog and also has his entire presentation online for public viewing.

Written by Michael Monks, editor & publisher

NOTE: The author is a member of the Northern Kentucky Streetcar Committee and is co-chairing the Covington subcommittee