The Cincinnati Beacon
Tire Trolley Neighborhood Circuits
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
Next summer, I think Cincinnati should experiment with three-day weekend tire trolley neighborhood circuits. These would be free or low-cost public transportation solutions designed to increase foot traffic in neighborhoods by linking key areas to one another in an attempt to foster pride and local economy.
Consider neighborhoods that are next to one another that have unique things to offer.
The first example that comes to my mind is the relatively easy loop one could drive connecting Mt. Airy, College Hill, and Northside—Colerain, Hamilton, and North Bend.
How many people from College Hill and Mt. Airy, for example, might head down to Northside to grab lunch at a place like Melt, if only there were something like a tire trolley service designed to promote that kind of activity? Would more people from Northside or College Hill be interested in spending an afternoon at Mt. Airy forest, if only they could step on the trolley for a free or low-cost ride? Would anyone be inclined to head up to the College Hill Coffee Shop, just because they knew a unique travel option existed to make the connection?
Maybe places like Pleasant Ridge, Oakley, and Hyde Park might also like to be similarly linked with a tire trolley loop. A family could, without using the car, easily go from Everybody’s Records to Graeter’s at Hyde Park Square, and then back again.
Just something to think about.
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