MetroMoves Plan (2002)
The MetroMoves plan was a regional rail transit plan developed by SORTA and OKI which came to a vote as a tax levy and failed to pass in November, 2002. The MetroMoves Plan was actually originally developed as a bus system improvement plan, but quickly grew to include a network of streetcars, light rail, and commuter rail lines. The plan is essentially the closest the region has come to officially planning for and building regional rail transit in recent history. This section is concerned with the plan itself and how it interacts with Kentucky in particular. For more information on the politics and background of the plan, please see the Past Efforts to Create Rail Transit section.
The plan called for a seven line rail system to be built over 30 years, with a line connecting downtown to Blue Ash along I-71 (the green line in the plan below) to be built first (Pilcher 2002a). The system's commuter line had national connectivity aspirations, looking to connect Cincinnati to Dayton, Columbus, and Cleveland in the north and Indianapolis and Chicago in the north-west. The regional portion of the commuter line connected Lawrenceberg to Milford through downtown Cincinnati; the north-south component of the line connected Sharonville to downtown. The MetroMoves plan's other six lines are delineated in the schematic system plan below.
The plan called for a seven line rail system to be built over 30 years, with a line connecting downtown to Blue Ash along I-71 (the green line in the plan below) to be built first (Pilcher 2002a). The system's commuter line had national connectivity aspirations, looking to connect Cincinnati to Dayton, Columbus, and Cleveland in the north and Indianapolis and Chicago in the north-west. The regional portion of the commuter line connected Lawrenceberg to Milford through downtown Cincinnati; the north-south component of the line connected Sharonville to downtown. The MetroMoves plan's other six lines are delineated in the schematic system plan below.
How This Plan Moves Through Kentucky
Because the MetroMoves plan is the most recent attempt by a governmental agency with regulatory power to introduce regional rail transit to the Tri-State area (in this case, SORTA), it has been very influential on the speculative planning of other organizations, students, and enthusiasts that followed it.
To this end, MetroMoves set the basic template for how regional rail transit would interface with Northern Kentucky, with three light rail lines terminating at the CVG Airport, Florence, and a bus/rail transfer station just beyond Northern Kentucky University and Cold Springs and with a streetcar line that would connect Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport.
Metromove's Green Line (in the above diagram) runs from Florence to Kings Mill, Ohio through downtown Cincinnati and the city's Eastside. The Red Line runs from the Airport to Westchester through downtown Cincinnati. Both the Green and Red Lines share a lot of the same track in Kentucky and Ohio and both use Interstate 75's right-of-way in Kentucky. The system's blue line runs from just beyond NKU and Cold Springs to Eastgate, Ohio through downtown.
Again, MetroMoves also features a streetcar line that connects Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport, running through Uptown and terminating at Xavier University.
Although the other plans examined on this website vary somewhat from the MetroMoves plan (for example Cole's Metro Cincinnati plan provides for more intensive streetcar use and the Alliance for Regional Transit plan does away with the Florence light rail spur), the three light rail lines and streetcar line planned in MetroMoves by SORTA proved to be an enduring model for how rail transit could be implemented intensively in Kentucky.
To this end, MetroMoves set the basic template for how regional rail transit would interface with Northern Kentucky, with three light rail lines terminating at the CVG Airport, Florence, and a bus/rail transfer station just beyond Northern Kentucky University and Cold Springs and with a streetcar line that would connect Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport.
Metromove's Green Line (in the above diagram) runs from Florence to Kings Mill, Ohio through downtown Cincinnati and the city's Eastside. The Red Line runs from the Airport to Westchester through downtown Cincinnati. Both the Green and Red Lines share a lot of the same track in Kentucky and Ohio and both use Interstate 75's right-of-way in Kentucky. The system's blue line runs from just beyond NKU and Cold Springs to Eastgate, Ohio through downtown.
Again, MetroMoves also features a streetcar line that connects Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport, running through Uptown and terminating at Xavier University.
Although the other plans examined on this website vary somewhat from the MetroMoves plan (for example Cole's Metro Cincinnati plan provides for more intensive streetcar use and the Alliance for Regional Transit plan does away with the Florence light rail spur), the three light rail lines and streetcar line planned in MetroMoves by SORTA proved to be an enduring model for how rail transit could be implemented intensively in Kentucky.