The Return of the Streetcar?

[JimboJones]

From today's Times:

Downtowns Across the U.S. See Streetcars in Their Future
By Bob Driehaus

CINCINNATI ? From his months-old French bistro, Jean-Robert de Cavel sees restored Italianate row houses against a backdrop of rundown tenements in this city?s long-struggling Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.

He also sees a turnaround for the district, thanks to plans to revive a transit system that was dismantled in the 1950s: the humble streetcar line.

?Human beings can be silly because we move away from things too quickly in this country,? Mr. de Cavel said. ?Streetcar is definitely going to create a reason for young people to come downtown.?

Cincinnati officials are assembling financing for a $132 million system that would connect the city?s riverfront stadiums, downtown business district and Uptown neighborhoods, which include six hospitals and the University of Cincinnati, in a six- to eight-mile loop. Depending on the final financing package, fares may be free, 50 cents or $1.

The city plans to pay for the system with existing tax revenue and $30 million in private investment. The plan requires the approval of Mayor Mark Mallory, a proponent, and the City Council.

At least 40 other cities are exploring streetcar plans to spur economic development, ease traffic congestion and draw young professionals and empty-nest baby boomers back from the suburbs, according to the Community Streetcar Coalition, which includes city officials, transit authorities and engineers who advocate streetcar construction.

More than a dozen have existing lines, including New Orleans, which is restoring a system devastated by Hurricane Katrina. And Denver, Houston, Salt Lake City and Charlotte, N.C., have introduced or are planning to introduce streetcars.

?They serve to coalesce a neighborhood,? said Jim Graebner, chairman of the American Public Transportation Association?s streetcar and vintage trolley committee. ?That?s very evident in places like San Francisco, which never got rid of its streetcar system.?

Modern streetcars, like those Cincinnati plans to use, cost about $3 million each, run on an overhead electrical wire and carry up to 130 passengers per car on rails that are flush with the pavement. And since streetcars can pick up passengers on either side, they can make shorter stops than buses.

Streetcar advocates point to Portland, Ore., which built the first major modern streetcar system in the United States, in 2001, and has since added new lines interlaced with a growing light rail system. Since Portland announced plans for the system, more than 10,000 residential units have been built and $3.5 billion has been invested in property within two blocks of the line, according to Portland Streetcar Inc., which operates the system.

Critics, including Randal O?Toole, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian research organization in Washington, and an expert on urban growth and transportation issues, counter that growth along streetcar lines is dependent on public subsidy and of little use.

?It looks like it?s going to take you somewhere, but it?s only designed to support downtown residents,? he said. ?If officials fall for the hype and don?t ask the hard questions, voters should vote them out.?

Cincinnati?s streetcar enthusiasts counter that they serve to shrink residents? everyday world of work, shopping and entertainment by bringing services and businesses to one area.

?One happy consequence will be that streetcar customers who live in the area will be less mobile by choice,? said John Schneider, a Cincinnati real estate developer and downtown resident who championed an unsuccessful 2002 county sales tax proposal that would have financed a regional light rail system.

Since then, gas prices have risen sharply and advocates have started emphasizing streetcars? ability to revitalize urban neighborhoods.

?In years gone by, people would move to cities to get a job,? Cincinnati?s city manager, Milton Dohoney, said. ?Today, young, educated workers move to cities with a sense of place. And if businesses see us laying rail down on a street, they?ll know that?s a permanent route that will have people passing by seven days a week.?

After looking into streetcar systems in Seattle, Tacoma, Wash., and Charlotte, Mr. Dohoney became convinced that they spur growth. ?Cincinnati has to compete with other cities for investment,? he said. ?We have to compete for talent and for place of national prominence.?

A hundred miles north, Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus, Ohio, has come to the same conclusion and is pushing to build a $103 million streetcar network along the city?s High Street connecting Ohio State University with the downtown business district. The loop would be paid for through a 4 percent surcharge on concert tickets, sporting events and downtown parking and a $12.5 million contribution from Ohio State.

?It is directly tied to economic development, and when times are tough in Ohio, we need an additional tool to create jobs,? Mr. Coleman said.

While critics question whether scarce city money would be better spent elsewhere, Mr. Coleman argues that streetcars are important to the city?s growth.

?We have to plan for the future,? he said. ?I believe in 10 years, we would ask, ?Why didn?t we do this?? It will be 10 times more expensive, and the cost of gas will be unaffordable.?

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

Streetcars, in Boston? No thank you! We'll take a shiny bus any day.

Reading that made me feel even worse about transit in Boston.

 

[JimboJones]

Choo-choo choose me!

 

[caravaggiste]

well if the pavement over the E line on centre street is any indication of that direction this may be going in for our city...

 

[bbfen]

Streetcars, in Boston? No thank you! We'll take a shiny bus any day.

I agree!! I like my busses in flocks of two or three or four, so that after I've waited in the rain for 45 minutes for a 1BUS in 37 degree weather, there's going to be plenty of space on the third bus after the first two drive by and splash my clothing!

YAY BUSSES!!!!!!

 

[Charlie_mta]

From the article:
"At least 40 other cities are exploring streetcar plans..."

Uhhhmm...Hello Mayor Menino. If you hear that, please blink your eyes twice.

 

[choo]

I think the perfect place to showcase them in boston again would be the greenway. Instead of a "special bus"

 

[ablarc]

I think the perfect place to showcase them in boston again would be the greenway. Instead of a "special bus"

S.F. streetcars too popular for their own good

By C.W. Nevius, San Francisco Chronicle

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Twenty-five years ago, San Francisco put a fleet of quaint vintage streetcars on the train tracks along Market Street. Today those cars are still running on the F-line, which rolls down Market, past the Ferry Building, and up the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf.

Most Market Street streetcars are American PCCs (left) from Newark or Italian Peter Witts (right) from Milan.

Miscellaneous streetcars from various cities around the world comprise a third category. This example is actually from San Francisco.

They are beautifully restored, eye-catching tourist attractions, and a lot of fun.

Unless you are actually trying to get somewhere.

"In the afternoon when I am trying to go home, they get so packed they don't even stop," said Tamela Lamboglia, who has been working at Pier 39 for more than 24 years.
The streetcars ? have committed the cardinal sin of public transportation: They have become too popular.

Just like in the old days:

Used to be, there were four parallel tracks on Market Street, all packed with streetcars. Most of those streetcars now run underground, but not the F-Line that operates vintage rolling stock.

The F-Line has been extended along the Embarcadero.

For example, Monday afternoon at Fisherman's Wharf, around 2:30, I climbed on car No. 1053, a green and silver model that ran in Philadelphia in the 1940s. It was pretty full when I got on, but at the next stop - right at Pier 39 - hordes of tourists clambered aboard. After several calls to get people to move to the back of the bus, the driver announced that we were now aboard "an express to the Ferry Building." Sure enough, we shot past passengers waiting at subsequent stops as if they were invisible.

"I see them pass by people every day," said Pete Ingargiola, who works at an information booth at Pier 39. "It's too bad, because the price is right and the cars go where everybody wants to go. They need more cars or bigger ones, or something."

Armed with this kind of first-hand information, I decided to demand some answers. I got in touch with Rick Laubscher, president of the nonprofit Market Street Railroad, which promotes and helps renovate cars, and confronted him with the list of complaints: The cars were overcrowded, they were leaving passengers on the street, and regular local commuters couldn't depend on them.

"Absolutely right!" Laubscher replied promptly. "Everybody has consistently underestimated how many people want to ride these cars."

PCCs lined up at Fisherman?s Wharf end of the F-Line, ready to be mobbed.

In fact, Laubscher's organization has been lobbying long and hard to do exactly what Ingargiola suggested - add more cars.

"You could double the number of cars on the route," Laubscher said. "We could be running cars twice as often."

Each PCC is dressed in the livery of a city that once ran these cars.

There are obvious problems. It isn't easy to find vintage streetcars, or operators to run them. But the core issue is still something Laubscher says he ran into the first day they put the cars on the street. He overheard a high-ranking MUNI official - no longer with the agency - essentially saying that the old-time cars were cute, but of course they wouldn't be actually running regular routes.

Today, to the surprise of nearly everyone, the F-line is a bit of a transit sensation. Municipal Transportation Authority spokesman Judson True says the vintage cars carry some 21,000 riders a day, more than all three of the more-famous cable car lines put together.

"Did I ever think it was going to get to this point? No," said Laubscher. "I thought we'd demonstrate the concept and then move on. But I remember when we opened the line on Market in 1995. Right away we had 50 percent more ridership than the trolley bus it replaced. That's when I said to Muni, 'You may have a tiger by the tail here.' "

A PCC dressed in old-time Boston colors.

The reasons are logical once you get past the old-timey look of the cars. For starters, by a quirk of the layout of the tracks, the line - which begins in the Castro, runs down Market and then travels to the wharf - hits many of the top destinations in the city.

"It covers an "L" that essentially covers the key corridors of San Francisco," True said.
But there is also an undeniable aura to the cars themselves. Laubscher insists that, "sad to say," some of the riders on the vintage cars won't ride buses. He suggests they like the offbeat experience, but also the loving care that went into the restoration. There is polished hardwood, beveled glass lamp shades, and a hoarse toot of a train whistle from a bygone era.

PCCs were also made in Europe, though in a model that looked like it had been put on a diet. Here a Brussels car in Zurich duds.

Could nostalgia help solve reluctance to use public transit? Other municipalities are wondering if San Francisco is on to something. True says MTA has been contacted by several cities, most recently Houston, to discuss a similar idea in their transit programs.

A San Francisco original.

So, to review, the cars are classy, unique and popular. There is just one problem: There aren't enough of them.

A tram all the way from Melbourne.

Frankly, that isn't going to be solved anytime soon. About 10 to 16 cars have been put in the pipeline for renovation, but no one expects them as soon as next summer, and 2010 looks like a better guess.

So for now, San Franciscans will have to be content with what they have: the quirkiest vintage transit system in the world. And it is just about to get quirkier. With the warm fall weather coming up, it is almost time for the famous "boat car," an open-top streetcar that looks like a parade float with a prow and mast, to make its annual arrival on the streets.

The Brighton boat car.

New Orleans, another city that derives much of its character from streetcars, runs them along grassy malls.

The grass survives quite nicely between the tracks. Rose Kennedy might approve (and also perhaps the folks at B.U.).

But ?surprise?guess what city is the Number One streetcar capital of the USA in daily riders

Wouldn?t it be delicious to encounter on the Greenway a scene like this one in Milan:.

Old and new.

Down at Fisherman's Wharf, they always enjoy waiting expectantly for the boat car to roll up. Unfortunately, until the city can get more streetcars, it is likely to keep right on rolling, leaving them standing at the curb.

* * *

Once again, scores of reader comments on the online version provide insight as to how San Franciscans view the F-line. A sampling:

brettsfg: I have found the F-line drivers to be the most professional and nicest of the entire Muni system. What we should do is charge a $4 fare, but let Muni pass holders ride without a surcharge. This would have a combination of adding revenue, driving some of the tourists to the other options, and not increasing the fare for locals that ride all the time.

toddafischer: Complaining that the F-line just rolls by, full, without stopping? Contending this is because people just love the old cars? Come wait for the N with me, in the morning, and you can see the same thing happen with modern street cars!

jusher: Well, I agree that the historic streetcars are a brilliant idea. It would be nice if they could get more cars running... Well, now I can ride one whenever I want. But, as pointed out, it is often a bit crowded. Still, it is a wonderful way to travel this beautiful city.

bsharurette: I take the F whenever I can - that is, usually on the weekends, when I'm not in a hurry to get somewhere. The trolley cars are far more comfortable than any of the other options - train or bus. There's just something comforting about the wooden benches and the sound of the rumbling along the tracks. I *wish* I could use the F line for my commute. If they added extra cars to the route, I'd consider it.

* * *

Another city with famous streetcars. These match the verticality of the city?s buildings:

* * *

Message from the Line?s founders:

Without us, it would be a bus. The F-line carries more than double the ridership of the bus lines it replaced, attracting people who would never otherwise ride public transit.

Through our committed advocacy, Market Street Railway is working to increase F-line service levels, and to expand historic streetcar service through the forthcoming E-Embarcadero line. The E-line will directly connect regional transit service--including Caltrain, BART, and Bay ferries--to waterfront businesses and attractions stretching from Mission Bay to Fort Mason.

Positive economic impact

In the past two decades, our work has brought substantial, tangible benefits to San Francisco's downtown and waterfront areas. The streetcars of the F-line are now one of the city's top tourist attractions, as the cable cars have been for decades. Together, they carry more than 40,000 riders per day throughout Union Square, the Financial District, Nob Hill, Chinatown, North Beach, Fisherman's Wharf, Civic Center, Upper Market, and the Castro. The F-line has ushered in a resurgence in the number of residents and tourists who patronize the waterfront, from the Ferry Building to Fisherman's Wharf. The businesses and historic attractions along Muni's historic rail lines benefit greatly from this service.

 

[Dan]

As an ex-B branch Green Line rider, I am all for Green Line improvements and expansion.

But this trend towards "historic" streetcars, however, I find less useful.

Call me lazy, but as a daily user of the Green Line in years past, I prefer soft seats in a fast, air-conditioned light rail vehicle anyday.

Sure, historic streetcars make the tourists happy. But I do not see creating what is essentially a tourist attraction as the proper expenditure of tax dollars--especially not when so many other improvements are needed to the T.

 

[ablarc]

Every investment starts out as an expenditure.

 

[Dan]

Doesn't matter. Investment is an OK word for me.

My point is that transit improvements should be for the benefit of transit riders, not for the viewing pleasure of tourists and automobile driving suburbanites who get a thrill by looking at a quaint and historic transit system.

 

[Lrfox]

Not to change the subject, but in reference to that article about the SF street cars, since when is "becoming too popular" a "cardinal sin of mass transit"

It seems to me that the real problem is the functionality of system, not the popularity. There are ways to avoid and adapt to that (i.e. additional and longer trams during peak hours).

*Edit* why not serve both commuters AND tourists at the same time? Like others have said, the Greenway would be a perfect area for this. It could serve the tourists and the commuters alike (imagine a quick ride to N. Station from S. Station?). It can be done, it just has to be done right. If it's attractive enough, there's the potential to draw those suburbanite gawkers on for a ride or two. Who knows, some of them may enjoy it enough to use mass transit more frequently.

It would be nice if those soccer moms and their kids could take the CR to North or South Station, then hop on the trolley/tram/streetcar or whatever we're calling it, and hop of at the aquarium, or Quincy Market, the N. End, etc. They'd be able to leave the cars AND avoid that filthy, dangerous subway system. Maybe it would be even more incentive to do something with the aquarium garage.

 

[ablarc]

...in reference to that article about the SF street cars, since when is "becoming too popular" a "cardinal sin of mass transit"?

That one puzzled me too.

Hyperbole + not-very-good writer = occasional incomprehensibility.

 

[Arborway]

This is what the South Boston Waterfront should look like.

 

[ArcaneAlchemy]

This is what the South Boston Waterfront should look like.

If you reeeeally want to ruffle some feathers- just say "This is what Broadway in South Boston should look like." Haha


Seriously though- that would work really well on Boyleston or in Downtown Crossing...

 

[chumbolly]

It really is remarkable, in retrospect, that a streetcar line wasn't made part of the Greenway plans. Perhaps the determination to remove the blight of the elevated highway made it impossible to see that some infrastructure, beyond the surface road, could be a good thing. This has been discussed numerous times, here, but a streetcar line would turn the Greenway into a north-south axis for tourists, connecting Chinatown to Ironsides. Make it free, so people can jump on and off, and stop at every light.

 

[Ron Newman]

The main obstacles to that are the on- and off-ramps that enter and exit the surface roads from the center. I don't know where else those ramps could have gone, given that a central Big Dig objective was to avoid demolishing any downtown buildings.

 

[ablarc]

^ The streetcar can be here or there --including in the midst of mixed traffic. If a car can pass, so can the streetcar.

 

[Ron Newman]

Fair enough. I was referring to a median streetcar.

 

[czsz]

The inherent problem with novelty (yes, an ironic word in the context of something antiquated) streetcars is that they trivialize the entire concept of rapid transit.

In most cases, they are neither the most rapid form of transportation available, nor are they seen primarily as instruments of transit, but as something "different" and amusing. Not only do they tend to attract tourists more than actual travelers (creating boisterous crowds that will annoy and drive away commuters), but they create a scepticism about the entire enterprise of streetcars. They create the impression that the streetcar - any streetcar - is more folly, more toy than a car or bus.

Moreover, they create the impression that the entire idea of "streetcar" is only something that can be resurrected, harvested from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Imagine, for instance, trying to entice people out of modern streetcars like Milan's with 1930s Model Ts. Sure, some would embrace the novelty of the experience - but would they make this their primary mode of transportation?

A transit network capable of being embraced should be in one's face to the extent that it's not even apparent anymore. It should cease being as special as an amusement park ride. It should be so omnipresent, so normal, that it can easily be seen as part of the most omnipresent, normal part of one's day - the commute.