Those are the results of a five-month study to determine whether light rail is worth the public investment required to build it. Backers of light rail hope the study's results will convince local business and political leaders that light rail is a solid investment for Cincinnati. David Lewis, whose Ottawa-based consulting firm conducted the study, said his analysis shows Cincinnati would receive an 8.12 percent return on its light rail investment, roughly double what it could get from investing in bonds. Lewis' consulting firm, HLB Decision Economics Inc., developed a complex set of mathematical models for the Federal Transit Administration that calculate light rail's impact on a local economy.
Light rail means fewer cars on the highway.
That means fewer accidents, lower automobile maintenance costs, a reduction in costs associated with air pollution and less time spent in traffic, which impacts employee productivity. Lewis' study attaches dollar values to each of these items. Light rail brings a steady flow of people and reduces the need for parking lots. That encourages higher-density development, which translates into higher values for commercial properties, particularly in areas where the market is strong, land is available and government zoning and tax incentives support new development. Blue Ash City Manager Marvin Thompson said developers are embracing light rail as a way to bring office workers to their projects.