Bringing back a fixed rail system similar to the Dinkey could create a more unified Ames.

The Dinkey was a steam trolley that connected downtown Ames and the ISU campus from 1890 to 1929 which made it possible for Ames residents to travel between downtown and campus.

Tony Borich, senior in community and regional planning, did an independent study last fall that looked into the practical aspect of putting in a fixed rail system.

Economic development, environmental effects and bringing together Ames residents could be some of the positive outcomes of putting in such a rail system, he said.

Gloria Betcher, spokeswoman for the One Community Committee, said bringing back a form of the Dinkey would create a closer community.

“The Dinkey fits into the scheme of things as that of a physical link but also as a visible representation of one community,” she said.

Betcher said the physical link would be valuable in making downtown accessible by students and Campustown accessible by long-term residents.

“If it was a loop that runs through more of Ames, you would have even greater opportunities to connect the community,” she said.

Bob Bourne, director of CyRide, said the project would have an impact on the environment because it would take the emissions of several buses out of the air and replace it with an electric source of energy.

Ron Iwen, Operations Supervisor for Kenosha Transit in Kenosha, Wis., said the city has a similar fixed rail system in place.

He said the city of approximately 95,000 people has benefited from the tourism the streetcar system has brought in.

“The economic impact would be from tourism. We have people coming from all over the world,” Iwen said.

A feasibility study of the costs is being looked into by city officials.

Borich said the professional study would help determine all the various costs that are associated with a fixed rail system.

“It’s a feasibility study that will look at a range of alternatives looking into transit with fixed rail technology,” he said. “The purpose of the study is to find answers to a lot of the questions nobody has answers to at this point.”

The study would narrow multiple route choices to three to five choices, Bourne said, that would be voted on by the community.

Bourne said the study would cost about $300,000 to bring in professional consultants. Federal funds would need to be secured before this project went any further, he said.

Borich said the Government of the Student Body has already indicated a willingness to help out with funding, although university and city funds would have to be secured.

Bourne said retrieving federal funds is the biggest issue at this point.

“We more or less have the commitment for the local match money, and now we have to get the federal money,” he said. “Hopefully, we can have that arranged by October, and if we don’t get the federal money this year, then we will have to wait another year for it. If we get the federal money, I am confident the local money will be available.”

Bourne said if the federal money is obtained it would cover 80 percent of the cost of the survey and ultimately the project itself.

The Federal Transit Administration would be the supplier of the money, he said, if several things happen.

“It depends on the transportation bill in front of Congress right now,” Bourne said.

The bill, if passed by Congress, would create a program for small cities to receive money for transportation projects, he said. The bill is scheduled to be voted on in October.

“It will either happen or it won’t happen, that’s all you really need to know,” Bourne said. “There is a lot of potential stop points, but any big project has potential stop points.”

If the bill passes, Ames would have to request a federal grant to help with the study, he said.

Betcher said more people would ride the rail system because it is a fixed form of transportation that goes from point A to point B. People tend not to use buses because it is hard to understand the bus routes.

Bourne said the next step in this project is waiting until October to see if federal funds could be retrieved to go ahead with the project.