Noblesville to Indianapolis Light Rail Boondoggle Appears Dead According to WISH-TV Report

If the report on WISH-TV's Jim Shella's blog is accurate, it would appear that the proposal constituting half the cost of the proposed upgraded mass transit plan, a light rail line from Noblesville through Fishers to downtown Indianapolis, is dead.  Perhaps, in light of the Halloween season, a golden stake should be driven through its heart to make sure it stays dead. Shella reports:

The ongoing mass transit debate at the Statehouse will lead to a new proposal that will concentrate on improved bus service.  Visions of light rail service to Hamilton County are evaporating quickly.

A video on the Indy Connect website (indyconnect.org) spells out the hopes of transportation planners in Central Indiana.  They would still like to seek a light rail line from downtown Indianapolis to Noblesville.

But there’s a different message being delivered in a study committee formed by the General Assembly and transportation planner Ron Gifford of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership gets it.  When asked if light rail is out of the question, he responded quickly by saying simply, “Sounds like it.”

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But the $1.3 billion price tag for light rail service is hard to sell.  “Part of our job,” said Sen. Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville,) “is to say what can we afford in this arena?”

The alternative is already there on the website.  It’s a concept known as bus rapid transit, buses that resemble trains operating on designated lines.

“We’re going to see that bus rapid transit is the most economical option for that corridor,” says Gifford, “and that will be the recommendation at the local level anyway.”

Now perhaps we can move forward with a realistic plan to upgrade mass transit that isn't about putting money in the pockets of developers but instead about putting provide a cost-effective service to the public.