by Alex Marshall, Editor, Spotlight on the Region
Those getting on in years and those who dip themselves in urban history will know that the picturesque streetcar used to run on virtually every major street in every small, medium or large city in the Tri-state area.
These old lines, although long gone, have left their mark on streets in big and small ways. For example, most local shopping streets tend to be where the old trolley lines ran. That's because commerce tends to congregate around transportation lines. Those shopping streets are still there, even though the streetcar lines are not.
Another marker is in names, which, as in shopping streets, tend to persist after the original impetus is gone. The Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, formerly of Brooklyn, derives its name from the hundreds of streetcars that used to roll down the streets of this New York City borough, and the "trolley dodgers" that had to jump out of their way.
While the Dodgers may be gone from the region, trolleys may be coming back. A streetcar renaissance is poised to happen, say many observers, or is even already underway. Dozens of cities have built, or are building, new streetcar lines. They include Portland, Kenosha, Charlotte, Little Rock, Lowell, Memphis, Tampa, San Diego and Charlotte. Some of them are installing vintage or antique cars; some are installing brand new ones. They join cities like New Orleans, Toronto, Melbourne and San Francisco that kept or revived existing lines.
There are various reasons for this renaissance. As people rediscover the joys or urban living, urban planners are taking a second look at the humble streetcar that used to be so ubiquitous. What they are finding is a mode of transportation that is relatively inexpensive, blends well with cars, bicycles and other means of traveling, and can be installed relatively quickly and, perhaps most importantly, more seamlessly into the urban fabric.
In general, streetcars can provide cities with a lower-cost way to get into the track transit game. As the streetcar companies of yore knew, they are relatively easy to build. Strip away a layer of street, install some tracks, relay the asphalt, and you're good to go. Once you buy some cars, of course.
Streetcars are better than buses, which are the usual lower cost alternative, because they provide a smoother ride, even while traveling at higher speeds, and are more beloved by customers. One study showed that streetcars travel faster than buses, because drivers tend to defer to a train-like vehicle and get out of their way. As significantly, they tend to attract more private development because rails in the street have a permanence that inspires confidence in commercial and residential developers.
The other natural competitor to streetcars is light rail lines. Interestingly, there is no clear distinction between a light rail line and a streetcar line, although there are general ones. Light rail lines tend to have dedicated and separate right of way, tend to travel out of town rather than within town, tend to have longer trains, and tend to have fewer stops. And most significantly, tend to cost a lot, lot more to build, often three times as much per mile.
Do streetcars have any place in the Tri-state region? Well, interestingly enough, Stamford solicited proposals just last week to examine the potential for a new four-mile line that would connect major nodes within the city. Whether this would qualify as a streetcar or a light rail line might be a matter of semantics.
I could see streetcars playing a substantial role within many cities in the region, even in New York City. With its incredible density, Manhattan would have fewer spots for streetcars, because customers would simply overwhelm them. But even there, there are opportunities, if the trolleys supplement, rather than replace, heavier rail systems like subways. RPA's Third Regional Plan recommended a Midtown light rail loop. The Vision42 group has been pushing a streetcar, although they too call it "light rail," along 42nd street for years as part of enhancing its pedestrian spaces.
A good place to start looking at the possibilities of streetcar revival is Street Smart: Streetcars and Cities in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Gloria Ohland and Shelley Poticha of Reconnecting America. In a series of separately authored articles, it provides a range of both broad overview and technical analysis of the options involved. They look at vintage cars, new lines, even things like the "rapid streetcar," that blends the best of both the streetcar and light rail styles.
To be sure, streetcars are a tiny amount of overall transportation in this country, and probably always will be. When present, streetcars in most cities fill niche markets of tourism and travel, although I think that's changing. When combined with good land use policy and good urban design, streetcars can be once again a vital port of an urban transportation system.
Streetcars are an example of what the management gurus used to call low hanging fruit. Relatively cheap, they can be installed on the streets where they used to run, and be a part of re-orienting city streets at least away from just cars and back to people. That's a trend I can jump on board with.
Those getting on in years and those who dip themselves in urban history will know that the picturesque streetcar used to run on virtually every major street in every small, medium or large city in the Tri-state area.
These old lines, although long gone, have left their mark on streets in big and small ways. For example, most local shopping streets tend to be where the old trolley lines ran. That's because commerce tends to congregate around transportation lines. Those shopping streets are still there, even though the streetcar lines are not.
Another marker is in names, which, as in shopping streets, tend to persist after the original impetus is gone. The Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, formerly of Brooklyn, derives its name from the hundreds of streetcars that used to roll down the streets of this New York City borough, and the "trolley dodgers" that had to jump out of their way.
While the Dodgers may be gone from the region, trolleys may be coming back. A streetcar renaissance is poised to happen, say many observers, or is even already underway. Dozens of cities have built, or are building, new streetcar lines. They include Portland, Kenosha, Charlotte, Little Rock, Lowell, Memphis, Tampa, San Diego and Charlotte. Some of them are installing vintage or antique cars; some are installing brand new ones. They join cities like New Orleans, Toronto, Melbourne and San Francisco that kept or revived existing lines.
There are various reasons for this renaissance. As people rediscover the joys or urban living, urban planners are taking a second look at the humble streetcar that used to be so ubiquitous. What they are finding is a mode of transportation that is relatively inexpensive, blends well with cars, bicycles and other means of traveling, and can be installed relatively quickly and, perhaps most importantly, more seamlessly into the urban fabric.
In general, streetcars can provide cities with a lower-cost way to get into the track transit game. As the streetcar companies of yore knew, they are relatively easy to build. Strip away a layer of street, install some tracks, relay the asphalt, and you're good to go. Once you buy some cars, of course.
Streetcars are better than buses, which are the usual lower cost alternative, because they provide a smoother ride, even while traveling at higher speeds, and are more beloved by customers. One study showed that streetcars travel faster than buses, because drivers tend to defer to a train-like vehicle and get out of their way. As significantly, they tend to attract more private development because rails in the street have a permanence that inspires confidence in commercial and residential developers.
The other natural competitor to streetcars is light rail lines. Interestingly, there is no clear distinction between a light rail line and a streetcar line, although there are general ones. Light rail lines tend to have dedicated and separate right of way, tend to travel out of town rather than within town, tend to have longer trains, and tend to have fewer stops. And most significantly, tend to cost a lot, lot more to build, often three times as much per mile.
Do streetcars have any place in the Tri-state region? Well, interestingly enough, Stamford solicited proposals just last week to examine the potential for a new four-mile line that would connect major nodes within the city. Whether this would qualify as a streetcar or a light rail line might be a matter of semantics.
I could see streetcars playing a substantial role within many cities in the region, even in New York City. With its incredible density, Manhattan would have fewer spots for streetcars, because customers would simply overwhelm them. But even there, there are opportunities, if the trolleys supplement, rather than replace, heavier rail systems like subways. RPA's Third Regional Plan recommended a Midtown light rail loop. The Vision42 group has been pushing a streetcar, although they too call it "light rail," along 42nd street for years as part of enhancing its pedestrian spaces.
A good place to start looking at the possibilities of streetcar revival is Street Smart: Streetcars and Cities in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Gloria Ohland and Shelley Poticha of Reconnecting America. In a series of separately authored articles, it provides a range of both broad overview and technical analysis of the options involved. They look at vintage cars, new lines, even things like the "rapid streetcar," that blends the best of both the streetcar and light rail styles.
To be sure, streetcars are a tiny amount of overall transportation in this country, and probably always will be. When present, streetcars in most cities fill niche markets of tourism and travel, although I think that's changing. When combined with good land use policy and good urban design, streetcars can be once again a vital port of an urban transportation system.
Streetcars are an example of what the management gurus used to call low hanging fruit. Relatively cheap, they can be installed on the streets where they used to run, and be a part of re-orienting city streets at least away from just cars and back to people. That's a trend I can jump on board with.
@RegionalPlan
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