PX column: Cincinnati streetcar needs to be shutdown. For now, anyway

Jason Williams | Cincinnati Enquirer

Show Caption Hide Caption Grand opening of the streetcar Passengers filled the Cincinnati Bell Connector for its grand opening on Friday, September 9.

Cincinnati's streetcar is now a slow-moving Petri dish after mold was found in the ventilation system last week. Great, the city is running a mold mobile.

That's it. This high-maintenance jalopy needs to be shutdown indefinitely. The city's so-called leaders then need to take some time and seriously evaluate whether Cincinnati wants to continue to have a streetcar.

Geesh, at least try to do better or don't do it at all.

Praying to the streetcar gods isn't working anymore. Actually, it never has. We can't do streetcar schizophrenia for another 23 years, the time left on the federal government's clock. We already have the Bengals occupying Cincinnati's black hole of embarrassment.

City Hall needs to fix Cincinnati's bus system. It needs to seriously tackle poverty and gentrification. It needs to fix the 911 system. It needs to bring a new convention hotel.

More: Splitting up? Why SORTA should try hard to divorce the streetcar

We know the streetcars have trouble running. Now this, @hksparling explains. Cincinnati Bell Connector: Mold found in ventilation systems https://t.co/u7i3cw9TmR — Sharon Coolidge (@SharonCoolidge) August 6, 2018

Politics Extra fears as long as the streetcar is sucking up so much time and energy, more important priorities and projects will continue to toil. It's not doing anyone any good to continue to let the problems mount, neither the true believers nor the haters.

Each streetcar malfunction only divides this city more. The constant social media vitriol is toxic and tiresome. It'll be two years next month since the streetcar opened under a cloud of controversy.

It can celebrate its second birthday in the garage.

Mayor John Cranley, City Council members and city administrators need time to throw all options on the table. No finger pointing. No talking about the past. We should've done this (never started the project) or we should've done that (pulled the plug in 2013). Streetcar workers still get paid during the stoppage.

The city needs to resolve this thing, once and for all. That includes calling Washington and asking the feds to cut the city a break if pulling the plug is the final decision.

Yeah, yeah, PX knows Washington required this lemon to run for at least a quarter-century. That was the deal when the feds gave $40 million to help build the Downtown and Over-the-Rhine system. If the city pulls the plug on the streetcar before the 25-year period ends, it has to pay all that money back.

But the deal was struck with the streetcar-friendly Obama administration. Cranley and acting City Manager Patrick Duhaney could at least ask Trump's transportation officials if they'd be willing to have a conversation about cutting Cincinnati a break.

You never know, maybe the feds will bring back the cash for clunkers program for Cincinnati's streetcar. What does it hurt to ask?

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Ridership is horrendous on weekdays. Streetcar vehicles are getting into fender benders when they're not in the shop being repaired. The on-board heating and cooling system is an ongoing problem. Overhead electric wires freeze occasionally. Mold tests are expected back soon. That's just a sampling of the litany of problems.

The streetcar provides little actual transportation value, beyond being great for bar-hopping on weekends. Cincinnati's narrow streets aren't suited for streetcars. Why should something that few people ride get its own dedicated lane in an already congested maze of one-way streets?

The streetcar is sucking up about $4 million a year for operations. My UC math tells me the city has to spend at least $92 million more over the rest of the streetcar's so-far miserable life. The city is paying off debt for the $148 million construction project.

Calling the Trump administration is a simple suggestion. Nonetheless, that'll draw social media ire from streetcar fans. Have you ever seen a group of people take criticism of an inanimate object so personal? True believers will say it'd be an epic embarrassment for the city's reputation to permanently derail the streetcar.

News flash: It's already a major embarrassment. Why not rip the Band-Aid and be done with this Ford Edsel (look it up, kids)? If the city can, of course.

Even if Washington were open to Cincinnati killing the streetcar, the votes aren't there on City Council to go forward with it.

The likely more realistic solution would be to fix the leadership structure and just run the streetcar on the weekends and during special events. It's believed City Hall would need the feds' permission to drastically reduce hours.

The city can take over operations of its streetcar from SORTA, which can focus solely on fixing the bus system. City Hall seems to be heading in that direction, having posted a job for a buck-stops-here streetcar czar.

Good luck to whoever gets the job.

Follow Enquirer political columnist Jason Williams on Twitter @jwilliamscincy. Send email: jwilliams@enquirer.com