People in Columbus love to talk about transportation. As a fairly car-centric American city, we often yearn for the trains and streetcar systems of yesteryear while also looking to the future of Amtrak, BRT and bike lanes. But there’s also a lot that’s changing right now that you can get involved in, if you’re the civically engaged type.
In the first episode of our new series “The Columbus Underground Show”, we dive deep into the past, present and future of transportation in Columbus, interviewing local historian Doug Motz, Transit Columbus Board Chair Stevie Pasamonte, and MORPC Transportation Study Director Maria Schaper.
Motz shared with us the long history of transportation in the city of Columbus — from covered wagons and canals to electrified streetcar lines, to the rise and fall of passenger rail that carried residents to New York, Chicago and beyond…