Light/Commuter Rail in Columbus

Light Rail in Columbus
Back in November, th0m posted the map above on the Columbus Underground site as a demonstration of what a light rail map for the Columbus area could look like if regional planners were to try to take on such an ambitious project.

As th0m notes, there are no routes to the northeast side of the metro leaving Westerville and New Albany out of the plan.

I also wonder, whether you like Easton or not, if it should be included in any rail plan solely on its growth not only as a retail hub but because of the number of corporate offices located there -- and given the Disney feel that you get from Easton, maybe a Disney-like Monorail is more appropriate. Probably running a branch from CMH would do the trick.


Commuter Rail In Columbus
To carry the idea further, Transportation Engineer John Wirtz proposed another map today on the Xing Columbus site that extends rail transportation into more a Commuter Rail system stretching out to Delaware in the north, Newark in the east, London to the west, and Athens to the southeast.

Being a suburbanite that drives to OSU every day, I would gladly trade the freedom of a car for the convenience and cost savings that would occur from a rail commute into Columbus.

For the most part, these maps utilize existing tracks that make the reality of this concept something within reason - albeit a significant community investment.

Put a coffee shop by the rail station in Powell and it would mean a painless and much more productive trip into the city each day.

It's now been several years and $2.00 more per gallon of gas that these ideas were first discussed and discarded. However, now, at this moment, there seems to be a growing need to renew the conversation on this issue with the combination of growing congestion on the freeways and the cost of filling up a tank of gas.

Streetcars Are The First Step
The first step seems to be to develop a Streetcar line that will initially run from the OSU campus down High Street to the Courthouse just north the 70/71. Mayor Coleman will detail the financing plan for the Streetcars at a meeting in the City Council Chambers on Thursday, March 27th at 6:00 pm.

Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman has been strong advocating for this idea for quite some time and spoke about it extensively at his State of the City speech earlier this month as well on WOSU 820's Open Line with Fred Andrle on Friday.

Hat tip to Walker for his strong advocacy and aggregation of information regarding this critical transportation issue.

Statement of Special Counsel

Patrick Fitzgerald was born into a working-class Irish American-Catholic family in Brooklyn in 1960 and grew up in the Flatbush neighborhood. His father (also named Patrick Fitzgerald) worked as a doorman in Manhattan. Fitzgerald attended Holy Cross grammar school, Our Lady Help of Christians grammar school, Regis High School, a prestigious Jesuit Catholic school in Manhattan, and received degrees in economics and mathematics from Amherst College before receiving his JD from Harvard Law School in 1985.

After practicing civil law, Fitzgerald became an Assistant United States Attorney in New York City in 1988. He handled drug-trafficking cases and in 1993 assisted in the prosecution of Mafia figure John Gotti, the boss of the Gambino crime family. In 1994, Fitzgerald became the prosecutor in the case against Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and 11 others charged in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

In 1996, Fitzgerald became the National Security Coordinator for the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. There, he served on a team of prosecutors investigating Osama bin Laden. He also served as chief counsel in prosecutions related to the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.

On September 1, 2001, Fitzgerald was nominated for the position of U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois on the recommendation of U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald (no relation), a Republican from Illinois. On October 24, 2001, the nomination was confirmed by the Senate.

STATEMENT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL

Statement of Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald regarding today's decision by President Bush to commute the 30-month prison sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby:

"We fully recognize that the Constitution provides that commutation decisions are a matter of presidential prerogative and we do not comment on the exercise of that prerogative.

We comment only on the statement in which the President termed the sentence imposed by the judge as "excessive." The sentence in this case was imposed pursuant to the laws governing sentencings which occur every day throughout this country. In this case, an experienced federal judge considered extensive argument from the parties and then imposed a sentence consistent with the applicable laws. It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals. That principle guided the judge during both the trial and the sentencing.

Although the President's decision eliminates Mr. Libby's sentence of imprisonment, Mr. Libby remains convicted by a jury of serious felonies, and we will continue to seek to preserve those convictions through the appeals process."

From the Federal Pardon Guidelines:

Sec. 1.3 Eligibility for filing petition for commutation of sentence.

No petition for commutation of sentence, including remission of fine, should be filed if other forms of judicial or administrative relief are available, except upon a showing of exceptional circumstances.