The Public Transportation System
While Youngstown has a key position from being in the middle of the distance between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, there isn’t much being done to capitalize upon this geographic advantage. The Mahoning and Shenango Valley could benefit from a light-rail transportation system that connects the two valleys’ main cities and suburbs. This is low-cost public transportation (as far as fare is concerned) and would be much more efficient than buses. Far more efficient in buses in that there are no carbon emissions. Another way to look at it is that a train affords less travel time, since the stopping at lights and congested roads is not an issue like it is for buses. With a rail system there is also less space occupied because not only are trains set on a single track (taking into consideration a 2-rail track in a bi-directional system), but it is not a grid system as are roads and streets — thus it doesn’t contribute to a collection of vehicles which transport 4-5 people max (often just one person).
Buses also need to have more vehicles along the same route, separated by distance and time intervals. An area the size (population-wise) of the Mahoning Valley, wouldn’t initially need the installation of several trains running on the same line as say New York City, Chicago, or Los Angeles, and would be well-served by just one or two 3-5 car trains running per line. With a capacity of 25-50 people per train car, a single train would offer far more efficient transportation than just one city bus. This isn’t to say that a light rail system in Youngstown should replace the bus system, presently operated by WRTA, but the two systems (if not one and the same) could and should operate together. Public passenger rail systems are not going to be able to reach every nook and cranny of where people need to travel to, like buses are able to via road and streets. However, trains are ideal for transporting people from one general area to another where they can then catch a bus to their final destination (or closer to it), continue their journey more specifically in a car (ride-share, taxi, or a friend/family member), or even walk a short distance to wherever it is that they’re going.
The precise scheduling that a rail system offers is better achieved because, again — trains do not have to contend with the rest of the traffic on the road like a does. This will provide the residents a better way to travel throughout the area and not just within the city, but all around the Mahoning Valley and into the Shenango Valley, as well as New Castle. It’s important to note that the areas acrss the border in Pennsylvania need to be considered nd included in these economic ideations, as they are also part of the metro-area and residents of both contribute to each other’s economy and social set up. Indeed, the economies and social structures of both are enhanced when the economics are planned for symbiotic operation. Having said that, and to reiterate, the light rail system affords residents to be able to move around the area with greater ease and affordability, with less stress on the environment as it relates to carbon emissions, traffic congestion, noise level, and even regarding the cost to people who would use it.
This of course will also open the doors to better employment opportunities for job-seekers and allows the talent pool to be wider and deeper to employers — since more people will be able to reach their business with a light-rail system in operation in the Mahoning Valley. We often lament the food-desert state of Youngstown regarding the city, but it needs to be pointed out that the entire Mahoning Valley is also what can be considered as a transportation desert. Reliable transportation is an issue for many of the Valleys’ (both Mahoning and Shenango) residents. With the absence of a functional commercial airport in the Youngstown area, the rail system could actually be expanded to not only service travel in the Youngstown-Warren-Sharon-New Castle area, but also be able to continue to the Cleveland Hopkins Airport and down to the Pittsburgh International Airport. This not only makes it easier to get to those much needed destinations, but also would be able to bring people to (and from) cities and towns along the way. Governments and municipal administrations are then added to the conversation regarding the light rail system (which turns into more than just light rail at that point) as everyone is then standing to gain.
Economic Impact Of A Light Rail System In The Mahoning Valley
Establishing a rail system for the area is also a way to develop jobs that would be available to local residents because of the need to plan, design, build and install a system. Imagine the jobs that would be created in each of these aspects of the development, and think about the influx of people that it would bring to the area to fill these jobs. The jobs would undoubtedly be well paying blue-collar at the entry-level, along the likes of which Youngstown saw at during the heights of the steel industry, and high-level civil engineering at the other end of the spectrum — adding tens of millions (if not more) dollars of income circulating through the area.
As is the case with a functioning airport for commercial air travel to and from Youngstown, and with the redesigning of the freeway system, this means business development as well. Businesses will now have justification for setting up at new locations, as train stops bring foot-traffic (much of it attached to bodies of hungry people) to patronize restaurants. Other shops are able to spring up as well, as newsstands and book stores are popular among light-rail stations where customers are waiting for their trains to arrive. This opens up the door to new opportunities for the advertising industry as well, both within Youngstown and the rest of the area to capitalize upon the new space, as well as for agencies from outside of the area to pour money into the system by buying ad space within the rail system. As you can see, revenue to a passenger rail system in Youngstown doesn’t just come from ticket fares, but through monetization of space and even audio/visual systems in the train cars, waiting stations, and along the tracks themselves.
In many cases, mini-malls and station squares — small plazas like Shaker Square in Cleveland — often spring up around heavily trafficked train stops and are the homes of many small shops and businesses. Many of these businesses are family-owned endeavors and thus contribute greatly to the economic growth of the area, benefitting residents directly as opposed to just speculating big-box stores or corporations from outside of the area with no real vested interest in the Youngstown area.
Areas Of Service For A Light Rail System In The Youngstown Area
Obviously, the rail system would be built along major arteries within the city, such as Market Street, Belmont Avenue, Wirt Street, Wick Avenue, Albert Street, McGuffey Road, Oak Street/McCartney Road, Mahoning Avenue, Meridian Road, Wilson Street/Poland Avenue, Boardman-Canfield Road, South Avenue, Glenwood Avenue, Racoon Road, and perhaps even New Road, and Shields Road. For servicing of Trumbull County cities and towns, a light-rail passenger train would most certainly run along 422 (Youngstown-Warren Road) to service Girard, McDonald, Niles, and into Warren along 422 until reaching downtown Warren. From there, the train system could continue westward along Market Street to service the west side of Warren into Leavittsburg.
Since Lordstown is usually a major location for employment not only for Youngstowners, but around the entire valley, the station at Niles could then offer a second line that diverges from the Youngstown-Warren Line and proceeds westward to Lordstown. Not only can this line go west to Lordstown, but also can be the line that connects the Mahoning Valley to the Shenango Valley by running east into Hubbard, and continuing northeast through Masury into downtown Sharon. At a downtown Sharon location, it would make sense to connect the city with New Castle by running a line there from the downtown Sharon station. From New Castle there a line running back to the main and central terminal (which would be in downtown Youngstown, naturally) would be in order, and which would not only service Lowellville and Struthers and be along the Poland Avenue/Wilson Street line, but be the point where another line that would be the 224 (Boardman-Canfield Road) line that takes passengers into Canfield. From there, a line going along 46 would connect Canfield to Howland Center, both which are economic centers and sensible points of connection for passengers.
The Costs Of Establishing A Metro Rail System For The Youngstown Area
Quantifying the cost of building a novel and elaborate public transportation system for the Mahoning and Shenango Valley is beyond the scope of this article. However, when doing so it will be incumbent upon any organization planning this endeavor to estimate the dollar-cost-to-benefit ratio. That is, for every dollar that is spent to develop and maintain such a system, there is a way to figure out how much benefit it would produce economically, in a dollar amount. While the cost of building a passenger rail system connecting the main cities between Youngstown, Warren, Sharon, and New Castle will undoubtedly be in the billions of dollars, it will produce that much and more by way of enabling movement of people in an unprecedented way in this area. Additionally, the amount of jobs that this will create (elaborated upon above) will be of much needed and of course welcomed benefit.
The cost will certainly be covered by state, Federal, private, funding as well as local treasury and local tax sources, but there can be other creative ways to fund the project. Being that an infrastructure endeavor of this magnitude will take several years perhaps a decade or longer, there will be many ways of funding the passenger rail system that will present themselves. Creative ways that are evident now are partial stakeholder funding, specifically an added income tax upon the workers who bring the system to fruition from their labor and planning contribution. There can also be some pre-sales of licensing of businesses that plan to set up and operate along the system’s geographic location. A lot of ways exist to generate revenue for the system to come to fruition, and since so many municipalities and locales will benefit, it’s a cost that should be willingly shared among them.
Anyone who’s traveled around the nation (and world even) will tell you that a public passenger rail system is not a new idea, nor is it a rare thing. Cities as close to us as Cleveland have long had the RTA, of course we’re all familiar with the subway system in NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, but cities such as Dallas (the entire Dallas-Ft Worth area actually), Phoenix and others (albeit much larger than the Youngstown-Warren area) can attribute their exponential growth to the development of passenger rail systems that carry people all throughout their respective metropolitan areas. It’s time for Youngstown (and the Mahoning Valley) to stop immediately jumping to the refrained statement of “there’s no demand for it” when presented with novel ideas to improve the economic condition of Youngstown (or save the area from it, actually). It’s time for new and far-out ideas to be not only discussed or entertained, but to also be set into motion, or at least steps taken to begin the process. It can be done, and it should be done. There’s really nowhere to go but up…and outward, as a public light rail passenger system for the Mahoning and Shenango Valley would take its inhabitants — and the economy.
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