The Capital Line is an urban pathway through the heart of Downtown Columbus. This two-mile journey, exclusive to bike and pedestrian traffic, offers an intentional route to some of the city’s most vibrant attractions, connecting amenities, greenspaces, job centers, and residential neighborhoods within Downtown Columbus, catalyzing new economic investment along the route and enhancing the Downtown experience to put people first. 

The Capital Line will directly further the goals of the community to create a connected Downtown that puts people first, supports business growth, increases livability and inclusivity, and enhances the Downtown experience. 

This idea came from the community through the 2022 Downtown Strategic Plan. We heard about the desire for connection to assets that have already been built. We heard that protected bike paths are vital as we grow as a city. We heard that the journey is just as important as the destination. 

The Capital Line combines some of these best ideas. Connecting assets already in place. Providing alternative means to get around Downtown. Making the journey enjoyable and intentional. Creating economic development opportunities in the heart of our Downtown. 

We’ve seen other cities do this – from the Cultural Trail in Indianapolis, which generated $1 billion in economic impact along the trail, to the High Line in New York and the Beltline in Atlanta. All of them have an economic impact story to tell.  National precedents for this type of infrastructure investment also demonstrate a significant ROI for communities that create them – an average of $27 returned for every $1 invested. 

We’re too early in the process to pinpoint an exact total, but estimates based on similar projects, such as the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, The Underline in Miami and the Atlanta Beltline, suggest an approximate cost of $100 million for the full two-mile path. Funding will come from both private and public sources, as well as philanthropic investments.  

We envision this construction to occur in four phases. The initial phase will begin as part of a reimagination of Gay Street, with design occurring in 2024 and construction beginning in 2025. Future phases will follow a similar timeframe, with completion of the 2-mile loop in 2028. We have conceptual renderings but will work with an engineering team to go through a formal design process to determine what’s feasible.  

While design elements are in a conceptual and inspiration phase, the Capital Line will have specific pavers, landscaping, street furniture and other elements that will help distinguish it. You’ll know you’ve arrived on an intentional pathway guiding you through the City’s cultural, educational, architectural, and culinary highlights. 

The Capital Line is going to do what’s worked for Downtown Columbus for more than a decade, creating places for the community by reimagining underutilized space – from vacant department stores and malls to surface parking lots. Now we have our sights set on the overly wide urban streets.  

By repurposing part of the existing right of way, the benefits are two-fold. First, adding a safe protected space for pedestrians and bikers within the streetscape, prioritizing the ideal primary user of Downtown streets – people. Secondly, narrowing too-large streets to calm traffic in key corridors.  

It’s not a reduction, it’s a rightsizing. Downtown has evolved over the past decade from an employment center to an experience center. Workers join a growing residential and visitor population, and rethinking how our underutilized public rights-of-way can be put to work for pedestrians will make Downtown more resilient.