Next November, Columbus voters may be asked to approve a 0.5% sales tax increase to generate $6 billion of the estimated $8 billion cost the massive long-term transit improvement project known as LinkUS.

LinkUS promises to better connect parts of Columbus though significant transit improvements that include new bus rapid transit (BRT) lines and infrastructure improvements for pedestrians that include new trails and sidewalks. BRT is a mass transit alternative that can deliver some of the amenities associated with light rail – dedicated lanes, easy boarding at stations, fast and frequent service – without the higher cost and longer construction time of rail projects.

Three new LinkUS transit corridors are now on the horizon – a West Broad Corridor from Prairie Township to Downtown Columbus, an East Main Corridor from Downtown to past Reynoldsburg close to Etna, and a Northwest Corridor from downtown Columbus along Highway 315 to Bethel Road on a route that includes The Ohio State University and major employers. If voters approve, work would begin on the West Broad Corridor as early as 2025, and it could be operational as soon as 2028.

Will Columbus voters see the value of investing in these corridors to finally give Columbus commuters new mobility options that could serve as models for the entire region?

Featuring introductory remarks by Andrew J. Ginther, Mayor, City of Columbus

With panelists:

Shannon Hardin, President, Columbus City Council

William Murdock, Executive Director, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission

Stevie Pasamonte, Chair, Transit Columbus

Monica Tellez-Fowler, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, COTA

The host is Curtis Jackson, Evening Anchor, Spectrum News 1

The sponsors of this forum were COTA, The Robert Weiler Company, and HNTB.

This forum was supported by The Ellis.

The livestream presenting sponsor was The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation. The livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch.

This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus, Ohio's historic Italian Village on March 6, 2024.