Remember when Kings Island could've been connected to downtown Cincinnati by a metro rail line?

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

I was doing some research today and I discovered this plan from several years ago. Apparently Cincinnati wanted to put in a large metro rail system with multiple lines that would've connected all sides of Cincinnati. One of the lines would've ended in Mason right near Kings Island and would've connected the park to the CVG airport. Obviously it got voted down by voters for reasons, but I was thinking how this would've affected the park if it got built. 

https://metro-cincinnati.info/?page_id=128

 

Pic of proposed map:

[BoddaH1994]

Probably would have been as well-run as the street car. 

[Buckeye Brad]

I can’t speak for the logistics of making this happen successfully, but a well run public transit like this would be amazing.

I lived in Germany for a year at age 16, in a typical suburb. I loved the freedom of being able to get anywhere in the city, and country, via an easy-on easy-off rail trip. 

If anything, a rail system like this would help attract workers and guests to KI from all over town. As a teen season pass holder I would have loved taking the train to KI. 

I can’t imagine the logistics and displacements of trying to shoehorn a rail system like this today, and as Bodda mentioned, running it properly would be another monumental challenge.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

1 hour ago, Buckeye Brad said:

I can’t speak for the logistics of making this happen successfully, but a well run public transit like this would be amazing.

I lived in Germany for a year at age 16, in a typical suburb. I loved the freedom of being able to get anywhere in the city, and country, via an easy-on easy-off rail trip. 

If anything, a rail system like this would help attract workers and guests to KI from all over town. As a teen season pass holder I would have loved taking the train to KI. 

I can’t imagine the logistics and displacements of trying to shoehorn a rail system like this today, and as Bodda mentioned, running it properly would be another monumental challenge.

Yeah especially since Cincinnati doesn't have a good track record with public transportation proposals. A big example is the abandoned Subway lines from the 1920s that the city is still paying for. I believe I read that this plan would've utilized the subway tunnels, but don't quote me on that. There is also the Riverfront Transit Center by the stadiums that is mainly used for parking and special events now. And of course the underused street car system that took years to get done and people are still complaining about it. 

[disco2000]

Does anyone remember when Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters compared riding on a streetcar into Over-the-Rhine to Jurassic Park and said who would willingly ride it....

[DegenRider]

16 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Probably would have been as well-run as the street car. 

You know what's sad when you go to a city with a really well run Metro System like Chicago or London and you can get completely around sans car. Cincinnati could of been that but in Ohio we are afraid of trains for passengers for some reason? Would be really nice to come into town, Take a day at KI, Then ride a line down to a Reds game or the zoo. 

[Gordon Bombay]

A quick clarification to point out: that map is actually by a very talented man named David Cole. His “Metro Cincinnati” concept (and the associated website) were part of a thesis project he did where he (in great detail) envisioned a full fledged regional transit system for the area. 

As for the actual plan (known as “Metro Moves”) in 2002—it would’ve differed quite a bit from the map above. Cole’s plan envisioned heavy rail and infrastructure based on the Washington D.C. metro system. Metro Moves would’ve been light rail and while it was ambitious and could’ve served the whole region—the original proposed funding mechanism would’ve been focused solely on Hamilton County. I.E. Had it passed and been implemented to full vision—there likely would’ve been other political hurdles in order to have trains running out of Hamilton County into places like Warren to serve Kings Island (which most likely would’ve served the Kings Mills highway exit area rather than the park directly). 

It’s also important to note that this plan called for expanded “hub and spoke” bus service. I.E. The idea was that instead of the downtown-transfer centric bus system we have currently, buses would connect to regional nodes (imagine going from West Chester to Kings Island without going all the way Downtown first). Some of those ideas have been carried over to the “Reinventing Metro” plan currently in planning.. 

I could go on for days and days about the history of this whole project, but I’ll end on this fun fact:

In the original vision for Metro Moves, the first line to be built would’ve been a downtown circulating streetcar that would share tracks with light rail vehicles bound for the nearby neighborhoods and suburbs. What’s today known as the “Cincinnati Bell Connector” modern streetcar is based heavily off of the original Metro Moves plan (with some changes made to accommodate how Downtown/OTR grew compared to how folks thought they would grow in 2002). The Connector actually uses light rail vehicles currently and its existing tracks could accommodate future light rail transit if a plan were to come about. 

[BeeastFarmer]

I have lived in towns and cities without mass transport for my entire life.  It's not something for me to get excited about.

I caught the tail end of light rail when I lived in the Phoenix area.  The passed a tax that funds freeway expansion and in the 20 year "re-up" they added in light rail, which was fairly controversial.  It started in east Tempe and ended in downtown Phoenix.  I believe the impetus was a connector between ASU and their new campus in downtown Phoenix, with eventual expansion plans to the ASU West campus in Glendale.  I moved away right as construction commenced.

I have travelled the light rail when I have visited and used it a few times.  It seems wildly inefficient and bungled.  It does take cars off roads to an extent, but unless you live close to a station, you still have to take a car or bus to the station, pay to park (or bus fare) and pay rail fare.  Because it is light rail, it has many stops due to intersections and drop offs.  It took about a half an hour longer to get from Tempe to downtown sports arenas than driving and parking did from when I lived there.  I saw three fights, graffiti and several folks passed out, most having wet themselves and smelling of alcohol and urine.  

It was nice to be able to just sit back and ride to Diamondback games though.  And the last time I was there, they were talking about linking the airport.  That would be cool to Uber to the light rail and get to the airport without having to burden the host.

[BoddaH1994]

4 hours ago, DegenRider said:

You know what's sad when you go to a city with a really well run Metro System like Chicago or London and you can get completely around sans car. Cincinnati could of been that but in Ohio we are afraid of trains for passengers for some reason? Would be really nice to come into town, Take a day at KI, Then ride a line down to a Reds game or the zoo. 

Agreed. But as it stands now it’s not a viable method of transportation, and my understanding is that it would cost millions for a traffic study that might possibly kind of sort of fix the problems. 
 

As it stands now, it seems like if you aren’t into craft beer then there’s very little reason to ride it. It’s not on time because it doesn’t have right-of-way and the fact that it goes from downtown to OTR really kind of leaves a lot to be desired. I could see an argument that you could park a little further north and take the street car to the stadiums, but at that point you might as well walk. 

[MisterSG1]

As I’m a transit/road enthusiast and a student of civil engineering, there’s a few things I must say off The Bat.

This kind of system is a commuter rail, it is not a subway/metro system as I think the OP was trying to make it sound. That is, if someone was using the Chicago example, this would be comparable to the Metra service there.

In Toronto, we don’t have two way all day service on the majority of our commuter rail lines, that is service which runs both directions throughout the day. On my line, during the middle of the day, the trains are scheduled an hour apart.

Now compare transit usage in Toronto to Cincy, Toronto isn’t exactly busting with great rapid transit despite its size. But still, when we compare say associates to Wonderland to Kings Island, the vast majority of Wonderland’s associates take the bus into work in some form, while I’m very well sure the vast majority of Kings Island associates drive.

To expect at the very least, two way all day service (even an hour apart) on these rail lines is being very optimistic. But suppose it did, if you wanted to get to the western terminus of the green line after a day at KI, you’d first have to wait for your train to come to take you to another transfer point where you’d most likely have to wait a significant amount of time for a second train. You can see how this wouldn’t be practical even if the system existed.

When KI has very low bus service already, again, this whole concept is wishful thinking and wouldn’t work in a place like Cincy.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

Resurrecting this thread as there is an interesting development regarding the old Cincinnati Subway tunnels. Obviously it likely could become nothing (like in the past), but I thought I'd share. Apparently the city of Cincinnati is looking for proposals to repurpose the old subway tunnels. As much as I would love to see the subway resurrected or even the old Metro moves plan (that I posted this thread about originally), I think the most likely scenario is some type of underground brewery/entertainment area like in other cities. Obviously this will be interesting to watch and I would definitely not rule anything out as we did recently see the old power factory down by KI repurposed after many years sitting abandoned. 

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/city-seeking-ideas-for-rehabbing-abandoned-subway-tunnel

[Snowball]

It’s times like these that I wish I was wealthy. I’d love to build a haunt in those tunnels.

[IceePirate]

Honestly, with Metro building the 2 BRT lines in their pilot program, I could see the subway becoming incorporated into the BRT system as an express method should it prove to be successful. Of course, I think MetroMoves would be best if it would get implemented fully, but that may be wishful thinking. Would just need to expand the tunnel down to 9th/Walnut, Govt Square, and the Riverfront Transit Center to better flesh it out but I wouldn't think that'd be terribly expensive since I don't believe there's any underground tunnels under Walnut to dodge outside of what you'd normally expect for city utilities and I-71, of course. Even expanding to the Covington Transit Center if Kentucky wants in on it too.