RIVERFRONT TRANSIT CENTER TOUR

Commonly referred to as Cincinnati's other abandoned subway, METRO held an open house during Ubahn Music Festival for the public to tour the Riverfront Transit Center and debunk the myth that the structure sits unused.

Located underneath the Second Street overpass between the stadiums, Riverfront Transit Center opened in 2003 for METRO and TANK buses, charter buses and school buses visiting the riverfront. The tunnel can accommodate over 500 buses and 20,000 passengers per hour. Originally, it was designed to include commuter rail transit, which was never implemented due to a failed referendum in 2002; just six months before the Riverfront Transit Center was to open.

Thus grew the legend that Cincinnati had abandoned another rail facility, much like the 2.2 miles of unused subway tunnels leftover from 1928. With street-level portals and underground entrances that resembled that of a subway system, one can certainly imagine what it would have been like to have rail Downtown.

 

Riverfront Transit Center is lined with beautiful tiled mosaics, each representing an activity of daily life: work, chores, food and leisure.

 

 

Though without rail, METRO, operator of the Riverfront Transit Center, continued to use the structure for its intended purpose. Currently, it serves as a parking facility for charter buses, school buses, and 12-passenger vans during all Reds and Bengals games for $30. Cars and small vehicles are not allowed in the RTC. It is also used as a layover destination for the new Metro*Plus buses. While solely used for wheel-and-axel vehicles, provisions have been made to accommodate commuter rail in the future.

CINCINNATI SUBWAY TOUR

Each year on the second Saturday in May, Cincinnati Heritage Programs spends a day giving tours of the city's abandoned subway system to 250 lucky participants. Tickets for the tour go on sale in late January and sell out within 48 hours. It's no secret - people are clambering to get down into the forgotten tunnels which have remained incomplete since 1928.

Cincinnati's subway is  located underneath Central Parkway, with the first station entrance positioned in the median at the intersection of Race Street. The original construction planned for a 13-mile loop that extended from Downtown through Northside to Norwood. Six stations were erected before construction halted; 2.2 miles of tunnels remain today.

So what caused the Cincinnati Subway project to fail? A combination of politics and money. Delays with the project led to increased expenses due to inflation. World War I also caused the prices of construction materials to skyrocket. A change in political leaders ultimately led to the subway's demise, as the new form of government did not want to support any project of the previous administration; it was viewed as an impediment to reform. Sound familiar?

If you missed the Cincinnati Subway Tour this year, check out the next best thing: the PBS documentary "Cincinnati's Abandoned Subway." It includes over 1,500 original construction photographs from the 1920s, interviews with eight local experts, as well as vivid present-day footage of the subway tunnels.

THE GREAT STREETCAR DEBATE

Inflation. A rising cost of supplies due to delays. A scaled-back design. Re-evaluations by transit experts. Changes in local politics.

A description of the current situation facing the Cincinnati Streetcar sounds a lot like the story of the Cincinnati Subway, a project that was left incomplete nearly 100 years ago. As a result, businesses moved away from the urban core, and eventually out of the Queen City. A river town which was once known as the Paris of America, Cincinnati fell behind the times as our glory fled to progressive cities like Chicago and St. Louis.

 The subway failed because it was a project of the previous city administration. When a new political party took office, they wanted to eliminate anything with prior relation as it was viewed as an impediment to reform. Just like today, it was a hot-button issue during an election year.

And yet, here we are again. The streetcar project is at a critical crossroads and it all boils down to money and politics. Do we find more funding and continue with the project, or do we let a transit project fail...again?

Cincinnati is already home to one abandoned rail project. What did the community gain from giving up? A car-dependent city. Struggles with economic development. The 2.2 miles of unfinished concrete tunnels which the city maintains as infrastructure that supports Central Parkway. Of course, we also have the honorable title of "America's Largest Unfinished Transit Project."


As a society, we have not had the opportunity to build something bigger than ourselves. Let's learn from our history. Build the Cincinnati Streetcar and watch our city thrive.