Could a new public passenger rail line be in the city of Akron’s future?
The Akron Metro Regional Transit Authority is embarking on a study to investigate the feasibility of developing rail service from the Merriman Valley to downtown Akron to the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. headquarters to points south.
That study, by the engineering firm of New York-based Parsons Brinckerhoff, probably will get under way early next year, said Robert Pfaff, executive director/secretary-treasurer of the Akron-based transit authority.
His agency has a $270,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to study the feasibility of passenger rail service along the eight-mile corridor. The grant requires a 20 percent local share, or $67,500, that Akron Metro RTA is providing.
The project has strong support from the city of Akron.
It is not known how long it will take to complete what’s called an alternative analysis, Pfaff said. It also is far too soon to say when such service could start or how much it might cost to develop rail service, he said.
It is possible that self-propelled rail cars — basically buses on rails — could begin running in perhaps two to three years, Pfaff said, but it is more likely it would take five to 10 years, depending on what improvements might be needed.
“We’ll be looking at a broad range of alternatives,” he said. “It’s so early in this process. We’re at the very first step.”
At present, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad uses the line to run trains from Akron’s Northside Station north to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and south to Canton.
The National Park Service owns and maintains the rail line north of Northside Station. Akron Metro RTA owns and operates the line between Northside Station and Canton.
Operating passenger rail service on the park-owned rail line would require federal approval. Such a rail line could provide a transportation alternative in the Akron area, Pfaff said.
“We own much of the right-of-way and thought this might be a solid alternative,” he said.
The project, as envisioned, seemed to be “the most logical way to improve transportation along the corridor,” he said.
It could serve the busy Merriman Valley with its apartments, houses, offices and stores and could boost access to the 33,000-acre federal park north of Akron, Pfaff said. It also could provide a means to get to downtown Akron and to the Goodyear/Lockheed Martin complex in East Akron.
Goodyear could be a major producer of passengers if such a rail project does get developed, he said.
It is not clear where the southern terminus of the rail service might be, Pfaff said. There are heavy concentrations of residential developments in Green and neighboring Lake Township that could be served by such a rail service extended south of U.S. 224, he said.
A preliminary map Akron Metro RTA provided shows four new Akron rail stops plus Northside Station along the eight-mile route.
Pfaff said the proposed service should not be called “commuter rail” because the service might be totally within the Akron city limits or perhaps extended a little bit outside those limits, he said.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.