File:Columbus monorail 01.jpg

English: "Photographic renderings, architectural drawings, and a route description of a proposed downtown monorail system in Columbus. The initial proposal in May 1987 envisioned a scenario where the elevated track would link the Ohio Center, the Ohio Penitentiary, Central High School, Columbus City Center, and possibly the Ohio State Fairgrounds. The initial proposal by Von Roll Habegger, the Swiss manufacturer stated they could build the monorail by 1992 if they received a contract by 1988. A four mile system would cost $40 million dollars and it would cost $2 million dollars a year to operate. On July 13, 1987 Von Roll Habegger made a "very loose" proposal to city politicians and 1992 commission members. The proposed first stage would be an elevated loop on 3rd and High Streets linking the Ohio Center complex and county offices at Mound Street. A report suggested a possible loop extension to the south serving German Village and the brewery district. Two other loops would have possibly gone from the Ohio Center west across the Scioto River to link the Ohio Pen, Veterans Memorial, and Central High School. The initial cost for this rout was between $40-$50 million. Von Roll presented a 40 page study of Columbus' transportation needs but the report did not discuss costs. The original capacity of the system was estimated to be between 4,000-8,000 passengers per hour and the train could travel at a maximum 30 mph. The cars were to have rubber tires that rolled on a welded steel box girder. COTA officials saw a similar Von Roll monorail system in Vancouver, British Columbia. A follow up article on the system on July 15, 1987 indicated the cost to be $27 million dollars for the downtown loop not including the cost of passenger stations. Von Roll Habegger said the stations would be paid for by property owners who would benefit from the pedestrian traffic generated. Upper Arlington mayor Priscilla Mead was appointed to head a committee to review the proposal. In November of 1987 the committee did not endorse the Von Roll monorail proposal but instead recommended an automated people mover downtown like the automated guideway systems in Detroit and Miami. That proposed system was predicted to cost $60-$80 million dollars to build and would have operating deficits of $1.6 million-$4 million per year. It predicted that such system with 50 cent fare would have daily ridership of 6,000-8,000 people. That transportation was also never implemented."