Visualization Project Sheds New Light
on City's Light Rail Proposal

University of Cincinnati planning faculty are using advanced technology as a crystal ball to show community leaders and local residents the expected impact of light rail along I-71.

The project, led at UC by Kiril Stanilov, assistant professor of planning, and Xinhao Wang, associate professor of planning, uses colorful animations to forecast Cincinnati's future - with and without light rail - in terms of pollution and congestion. "Eventually, we hope that the project will allow a user to say, 'Here's my house. How will light rail affect me?'" explained Stanilov.

Currently, the visualization program shows the I-71 corridor, and a user can view predictions about pollution represented as a haze over the city. Predictions about levels of congestion are currently represented by varying colors, with red marking areas most likely to suffer congestion. Eventually, the model will show virtual cars speeding down a highway or trapped by snarled traffic.

A UC visualization of I-71 from Covington to Blue Ash will be complete by the end of June. It will then be used by the project's sponsor, the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional (OKI) Council of Governments, as a tool at public presentations and on board the "Trail Blazer," a mobile education center that OKI uses at regional festivals and other venues, said Jim Duane, OKI executive director.

It's likely the visualization project will continue on track even after that June date. Stanilov and Wang, working with six graduate students, will extend the current visualization project to encompass the Greater Cincinnati airport and the suburb of Mason.

Later, the entire project might be upgraded so that a user could travel at his or her own pace up and down I-71, exploring specific streets and neighborhoods instead of following the pre-set path and pace of the current version. Both Stanilov and Duane also hope the current animation and virtual reality program will be placed on the Web.

According to Stanilov, the research data - some provided by OKI and some culled from the research literature of other cities - shows that urban ills are eased (or at least don't worsen) when light rail is in place as a transportation option. Without light rail, congestion, pollution and noise only worsen. "This project is a straightforward way for people to experience, with today's tools, tomorrow's transportation realities," said Stanilov, who admitted he's a proponent of light rail, but maintains that the visualization is an objective presentation of existing research data.

That data shows that light rail would remove about 2,000 vehicles from I-71 and adjacent streets during peak travel times. This is the equivalent of one lane of traffic in each direction. OKI data also indicates that light rail in Cincinnati would reduce auto travel by 25 million miles per year and cut annual hydrocarbon emissions by 11 tons and annual nitrogen oxide emissions by 17 tons. The UC project is funded by $100,000 from OKI.