Streetcar higher math

Now that consultants for Cincinnati are studying how much it would cost to build a three or four-mile streetcar loop downtown, the focus is on the numbers, but which numbers matter most to you?

Advocates say the streetcar line can repopulate downtown and Over-the-Rhine. They say it will make the numbers work for developers who won't need to include as many parking spaces per unit of housing, and that buyers who then can do without a car or two can use those extra discretionary dollars to buy downtown.

Metro CEO Michael Setzer says you can't charge high fares for short streetcar trips so to justify subsided fares you got to put the lines where they deliver the biggest development bang for the buck.

But will developers who save on parking costs soon have to pay more for inner-city land? Portland's super-successful streetcars and light-rail sent housing and land costs soaring.

Cincinnati Councilman Chris Bortz says if streetcars help grow the numbers of higher-end market-rate housing, that will also give the city added resources to subsidize more affordable housing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't it sound like there's a number in this streetcar mix to appeal to just about everyone?

Read more about it on the editorial page and join the conversation on this idea either here or on our public bulletin board.