Columbus 2015

Five years from now Columbus will be a vibrant metropolis replete with an improved mass transit system, a revitalized downtown and the same problems it had 10 years ago.

An initiative dubbed "Central Ohio: 2015" will have planning sessions to include insight from the central Ohio community on how Columbus will look, feel and live in five years. I love that the city is looking forward, but we have problems from our past that need to be fixed. They say hindsight is 20/20, so I guess we will have to wait 10 years for real change.

I have strolled downtown and have seen the changes that have transpired since the demolition of the old Lazarus building. The site's former moniker serves as a fitting cornerstone to the new urban developments that are now happening in the area.

Several new, cool things are being built. There is a new housing development, and Bicentennial Park is receiving an update that would make Ty Pennington of "Extreme Makeover" fame proud.

The new Main Street Bridge, whenever it is completed, will be a source of pride for the city for years to come. According to DowntownColumbus.com, "The Main Street Bridge is the first inclined, single-rib tied arch bridge in the whole United States. AND it's only the fifth inclined arch superstructure on the face of the planet." Awesome!

The Arena District, North Bank Park and beloved Short North areas offer the most entertainment in as many square acres as anyone in the city could ask for. Nothing beats walking down an arch-illuminated High Street on a snowy winter's night with a cup of hot chocolate and a friend surrounded by the plethora of artistic and culinary talent the city has to offer.

All of the planned construction and urban renewal initiatives sound great on paper and I hope they do work in they ways the city leadership has described — but as we have seen in America over the past year, hope is not enough.

I hope that the educational and financial problems of the Columbus City school system are fixed by this plan. I hope that the city can find a way to pay our Police and Fire departments. I also hope that voters will see fit to fund our city's library system, which was ranked No. 2 in the nation in 2009 and has been ranked in the top 3 perennially.

I hope all these things and more will be fixed, and soon, but I have yet to see any legislature to enact these changes.

As students of the Ohio State University and temporary, perhaps permanent, citizens of the city of Columbus I hope these issues are dear to you too. We are the future of this city and as you can see, Columbus has a bright future but only if we have the vision to fix the problems of the present and the past.