Priorities & Campaigns

LinkUs and BikePlus implementation that meets the highest standards of safety for vulnerable road users.

LinkUs and BikePlus are two city/regional programs that have the potential to massively improve and reshape transit options in the Columbus region through Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), more sidewalks and pedestrian infrastructure, and a network of safe bicycle infrastructure.

Key Priorities

  • Dedicated right-of-way (ROW) for bus rapid transit (BRT) routes throughout LinkUs corridors, without exception.

  • Dedicated funding for BikePlus plan projects and implementation of BikePlus policies

  • True protection for bike infrastructure created as a part of LinkUs and BikePlus Initiatives - paint and plastic are not protection

  • Increased funding opportunities at the statehouse level through flex funds

  • These are two transformative projects that will reshape our streets to be safer to travel regardless of your method of transportation.

    LinkUS will increase COTA service by 45% over 2019 levels, plus add hundreds of miles of new sidewalks, bikeways, and shared used paths.

    BikePlus aims to create a network of bike infrastructure across the central Ohio region, including protected lanes, bike boulevards, and greenways.

  • Now that the LinkUs COTA levy has passed and the BikePlus plan has been adopted, our focus will shift to implementation of these projects to ensure that Central Ohio residents will see the improvements we were promised as they were promised to us.

  • We know that large scale projects can get watered down by competing interests and bureaucratic processes. Our goal is to hold area leadership accountable to deliver:

    • Fast, frequent, reliable, and accessible bus service

    • BRT with fully dedicated bus lanes

    • Truly protected bike lanes

    • Adequate funding and staff resources for project implementation

    • Fair wages and benefits for transportation workers

Short and long term policy and infrastructure improvements that reduce traffic deaths and severe injuries by 60% in 2030 and 100% in 2035.

The city of Columbus aims to reduce traffic deaths to zero by 2035. This must be done through infrastructure improvements that center the safety of all road users, including and especially those not cars.

Key Priorities

  • Adoption of the best complete streets policy in the country by City of Columbus Department of Public Service (DPS) as measured by the standards set forth by Smart Growth America.

  • Increase dedicated multi-modal project funding at the local level to $25m up from $6m

  • Easy public access to information on Department of Public Service (DPS) projects early in planning stages

  • Increased funding opportunities at the statehouse level through flex funds

  • A complete streets policy is a framework adopted by a city or planning organization that provides requirements and guidance for how streets are designed and built. It’s purpose is to to focus on the safety of all road users—including pedestrians and bicyclists, regardless of age or ability—and prioritize the needs of ALL transportation methods, not just cars.

    A robust complete streets policy is critical to meeting the city’s stated goal of zero traffic fatalities by 2035; however, such policies are only effective if they are actionable, measurable, and backed by the appropriate funding mechanisms to make implementation possible. 

  • Through comparison with peer cities, consultation with planners and civil engineers, and evaluation with the complete streets policy evaluation tool provided by Smart Growth America, we will urge DPS to adopt the highest standards of safety in the country.

    We will also advocate for sufficient funding and staff for DPS to ensure that they have capacity to take on these projects and have access to the tools, training, and resources that they need to implement these changes.

Zero Fare COTA Service.

Payment is a huge hurdle to many transit riders. Removing the barriers of cost and technology not only makes it easier for people to use public transit options, but it increases the speed of boarding, takes pressure off of operators to collect fares, and removes systemic barriers for folks otherwise seeking lower fares.

Key Priorities

  • A short term roadmap to zero-fares, starting with easily identifiable populations like students, veterans, disabled persons, and low income residents.

  • A long term roadmap to zero-fare COTA service by and beyond 2028.

  • Identification of short and long term funding streams to achieve zero-fare public transit without reductions in service.

  • Supportive policies in collaboration with TWU Local 208 to ensure the safety of transit operators in a zero-fare environment.

  • Fares make up only a small percentage of COTA’s annual revenue - and removing fares would reduce or eliminate the technology and administrative costs associated with fare collection.

    To make zero-fare service feasible without negatively affecting service, other cities and municipalities have worked with elected officials to find alternate sources of funding to adequately replace the amount of revenue generated by fares.

  • We will work with COTA to determine a feasibile process for going fare-free, but we must also advocate with elected officials at the city and county level to find a permanent source of replacement revenue to fill in the gap left by fare revenue.

Passenger Rail Service for Central Ohio.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) identified four projects in Ohio for further study. We will work with community partners to advocate for these projects to increase fast, affordable inter-city travel opportunities.

Key Components

  • The reintroduction of Ohio to the The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission (MIPRC)

  • Approval of federal funding to Ohio passenger rail projects, in particular the “3C+D” line and the “Midwest Connect” line, which would both service central Ohio.

  • We are partnering with All Aboard Ohio to put pressure on the statehouse to provide the funding necessary to design and build the projects identified by the FRA.

  • We hope to see all four projects fully funded and built out, including two routes that pass through Columbus: The "3C+D" route (Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton) and the Midwest Connect (Pittsburgh to Chicago via Columbus and Ft Wayne.)

Green social housing.

Transit and housing are inextricably tied. Housing choices are limited by affordability, but also by access to reliable transit and mobility options.

While there is plenty of focus on increasing housing stock through zoning updates and development incentives, we know that market-driven mechanisms continue to ignore affordability for those most in need, resulting in housing instability, displacement, and modern-day redlining.

Key Priorities

  • Policies, plans, and funding to create and incentivize green social housing - publicly or communally owned and maintained housing that is mixed income and contains deeply and permanently affordable units for long-term residence. 

  • Such housing should be built with lasting, quality materials; provide adequate green space; and be designed such that it can reduce energy costs/consumption and be resilient to the extreme weather conditions that we are already experiencing and will continue to see in the coming years and decades.

  • Decommodified housing options like public housing are important and necessary to keep people housed safely, comfortably, affordably, and with dignity. Historically, public housing projects have resulted in slums, which were poorly maintained and resulted in negative health effects, high levels of stigma, and limited resources.

    Social housing is designed to be mixed-income, long-term, and community focused.

  • Transit-oriented development necessarily includes housing. Since the city, the county, and other decision makers are focused on incentivizing and building housing along new transit corridors, we have the opportunity to advocate for social housing as a part of this process.