Saturday, July 17, 1999
Futuristic Sky Loop transit would complement light rail
BY KRISTINA GOETZ
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — The cars look like tiny capsules from a Jetson's cartoon. But a group that supports a “personal rapid transit system” called Sky Loop says the technology is not light years away.
It may be as close as six years and could land in Greater Cincinnati.
“We want the Jetsons and not the Flintstones,” said John Vissman, vice president of Forward Quest, a nonprofit Northern Kentucky Development group that's trying to plan for growth through 2020.
The Sky Loop project would implement an advanced transit system that would link the downtown and riverfront areas of Cincinnati, Covington and Newport, supporters say.
“It does not exist anywhere in the world,” said Chip Tappan, chairman of the Sky Loop committee. “Yet.”
Each electrically powered car, which would ride on an elevated rail, would carry up to three people directly to their destination. With the swipe of a card, riders would tell the computer exactly where they want to go.
“This is not your mother's monorail,” Mr. Tappan said. “It has a lot to do with solving problems. It will complement the light rail.”
Light rail is a long-haul system that's being considered for the Greater Cincinnati area. If implemented, it would eventually run from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to Paramount's Kings Island.
“Once you would get off the light rail, you would get onto the Sky Loop system,” Mr. Tappan said.
A year ago, Forward Quest presented a seminar on Sky Loop. On Friday, a year later, members of the Northern Kentucky City and County Management Association were updated on the plan.
The committee is working to secure funding for a study that would identify whether the system would work. The group is waiting for various parties to sign off on $500,000 in grant money from the federal government and $125,000 from a combination of the state and private corporations.
The study is scheduled to begin Sept. 1 and should be finished within a year.
“As this year goes along, we've got to find a way to fund the prototype,” Mr. Tappan said.
The prototype, which would cost $20 million, would include a complete station and an oval track about one-third of a mile.
“It's going to be all private investors,” he said. “It's going to be investment packages. ... (It's) going to be a matter of generating enough interest.”
If the prototype is successful, the entire system, which would be anywhere from 9to 15 miles, could be built and ready for passengers to use in a few years.
The cost for the system would be about $10 million per mile.
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