Local, regional and federal transportation leaders are meeting Thursday to talk about the future of light rail in the Tri-state.
Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune says the goal is to look at the region's opportunities and build momentum, "to present a vision of a regional rail plan as a part of a multi-modal transportation system and begin to generate some momentum and excitement about accomplishing that."
Portune says the all-day summit will be recorded and available online afterward. He expects a community survey on local transportation needs is also forthcoming.
Agenda:
Agenda – Integrated Passenger and Freight Regional Rail Transportation Summit
9:30am – 10:30am – Regional Rail Plan & Rail Events to Date
- Welcoming Remarks - Commissioner Todd Portune – Hamilton County, OH
- Welcoming Remarks - Mayor John Cranley – Cincinnati, OH
- Karen Hedlund – Deputy Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration
- Commissioner Todd Portune – Hamilton County, OH
10:30am – 10:45am – Rail Trends Study
- Richard Dial – Senior Transportation Planner, HDR Engineering, Inc.
11:00am – 12:30pm – Multi-modal Integration: Freight, Transit and Passenger (Panel)
This panel will discuss efforts to improve the region’s transit rail systems, its seamless integration with freight rail delivery system and other transportation modes, and how the existing rail network can be successfully integrated with the Cincinnati streetcar system and other transportation projects.
Moderator: Commissioner Todd Portune – Hamilton County, OH
Panelists: Paul Grether – Manager, Rail Services, Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority
Laura Brunner – President & CEO, Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority
Tom Ewing – Senior Legislative & Policy Analyst, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce
Richard Dial – Senior Transportation Planner, HDR Engineering, Inc.
Mark Policinski – Executive Director, Ohio Kentucky Regional Council of Governments
12:45pm – 1:45pm – Innovation & Non-Traditional Financing (Lunch and Keynote)
Introduction: Lewis Adkins, Jr. – Partner and Public Law Group Lead, Roetzel & Andress, LLP
Keynote: Jay Williams – Director, Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers, US Department of Labor
2:00pm – 3:30pm – Innovative Financing for Regional Rail & Transit Requirements (Panel)
This panel focuses on the underutilized or unique methods of financing available to meet the needs of the region’s rail, transit and transportation plans. Additionally, the panel will discuss whether current transit rider estimations are accurate, and whether the assumptions made from those accurately project required revenues and funding.
Moderator: Mary Stagaman – VP of Regional Initiatives and Executive Director of Agenda 360, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber
Panelists: Karen Hedlund – Deputy Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration
Bob Koehler – Deputy Director, Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments
Terry Garcia Crews – CEO & General Manager, Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority
Mark Polston – Deputy Director of the TIFIA Credit Program, US Department of Transportation
Rusty Schuermann – Director, Kegler, Brown, Hill & Ritter
Ohio Department of Transportation
Richard Dial – Senior Transportation Planner, HDR Engineering, Inc.
3:30pm – 4:30pm – Path Forward Discussion
- Do We Agree?
- Commissioner Todd Portune – Hamilton County, OH
- Mayor John Cranley – Cincinnati, OH
