However, both of the anti-rail ballot initiatives were rejected by voters, and a pro-streetcar majority was elected to City Council in 2011, allowing the project to move forward.

[8] Over-the-Rhine's instability was preventing growth and investment in Downtown Cincinnati, the city's central business district;[8] this, in turn, has been affecting the health of the entire region.

[12] On May 31, 2007, Omaha-based HDR Engineers completed a feasibility study that focused on a 3.9-mile (6.3 km) loop from The Banks, through downtown and Over-the-Rhine.

[13] The study estimated the cost to be around $100 million and concluded that the benefit-cost ratio of the downtown and Over-the-Rhine line would be 15.2 to 1, which means for every dollar Cincinnati spends it will receive $15.20 in return.

[13] The University of Cincinnati "checked the math" of the study and found that the "projections of the benefits of ridership and economic development" are "credible.

"[14] The study projected that a 2010 opening year would draw an estimated 4,600 riders of the downtown and Over-the-Rhine portion of the line each weekday.

[15] Both groups gathered signatures[16] for a ballot initiative that would amend the city's charter and force a public vote on the streetcars.

[17] However, the amendment would have prohibited the city "from spending any monies for right-of-way acquisition or construction of improvements for passenger rail transportation.

"[19]) The Cincinnati Enquirer, who wrote that the city is not ready for streetcars,[21] called the proposed amendment a "poison pill" that is "DECEPTIVE in its language and intent.

"[22] A political action committee called Cincinnatians for Progress was formed to oppose the amendment proposed by COAST and the NAACP.

"[27] According to "a majority of legal experts" interviewed by the Enquirer, Issue 48 "is written so broadly it could stop other rail projects in the city.

By the time the election was held, contracts had been signed, utility relocation had been ongoing for months, and nearly a half mile of track had been installed on Elm Street.

Finally, after the Haile Foundation committed to providing $9 million in funding towards the project, City Council voted on December 19 to continue construction of the streetcar.

Low ridership has been blamed on frequent track blockages by cars that contribute to delays as well as an anti-rail mayoral administration.

The same day, Cincinnati City Council overrode Mayor John Cranley's veto to suspend fares, with the intention of making the streetcar line free of charge permanently.

[13] On April 23, 2008, Cincinnati City Council voted 6–2 in favor of building the lines that link downtown, Over-the-Rhine, and uptown.

[12] Soon after taking office in 2011, the anti-rail Republican, Governor John Kasich, pulled all $52 million in state money for the streetcar project, and plans for the Uptown route were scrapped as a result.

[52] Studies considered whether or not West Clifton Avenue is too steep for streetcar travel,[51][52] and which path could tap into more federal funding.

The lack of political will to advance plans for an extension has given advocates more time to study and reconsider the best way to take the streetcar to Uptown.

[53] However, after further study it still suffered from many of the same issues as the originally proposed Vine Street route with major underground utility lines, narrow lanes with greater risk of accidents, and uncomfortable grades, which limit level boarding platforms for stops and hence economic development opportunities in the hillside areas.

The additional cost of tunneling is believed to be justified in order to increase reliability and speed at the center of a regional light rail system that could be developed around this spine in the future through projects such as Wasson Way.

[58] A group called the Northern Kentucky Streetcar Committee is exploring ways to get a study funded to extend the route across the Taylor Southgate Bridge and into Newport.

[11] However, after city council approved the streetcar plan they decided to look for an additional $35 million to "get up the hill" to the University of Cincinnati.

[61] According to City Council member Chris Bortz, the remaining operating cost could be covered by a variety of means, the most likely being revenue from advertisements inside and/or outside the streetcar—similar to how ads are done with Cincinnati's bus system.

[12] Due to the severe economic downturn of 2008 and 2009 the city has had trouble raising the full $35 million needed from private sources.

After the Ohio Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) pulled its portion of funding for the project, the city postponed the Uptown Connector and moved forward with a slightly shortened Downtown/Over-the-Rhine route.

[67] In 2012, Congressman Steve Chabot added an amendment to the annual transportation spending bill that prohibits any federal money going to the streetcar.

Rookwood Pottery moved from Glendora Avenue in Corryville to Race Street in Over-the-Rhine, near Findlay Market, so that it would be on the streetcar line.

[80] [81] On October 23, 2015, Brad Thomas, a member of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, announced that the five different brewers that line the streetcars route had each agreed to brew a new specialty beer to honor the delivery of the first five vehicles.