What was Old is New Again

What was Old is New Again

IN THE BEGINNING.. Streetcars were the backbone of transit: First developed 1885-1889 Fostered economic development of urban areas. Near the streetcar s peak in the early 1920 s, in the United States, 821 transit agencies operated 82,672 cars over 47,283 miles of track.

BY 1960, A LOT HAD CHANGED Only a few streetcar lines remained No new cars had been ordered in a decade Our cities were losing population Downtowns were suffering from disinvestment Traditional transit was on the ropes

THESE SYSTEMS REMAINED:

JULY 4, 1959 AN OMEN Boston s Riverside Line Built on its own right-of-way Used streetcars in multiple unit Prototype for conversion of some of the remaining streetcar lines to LRT, and the construction of many new lines

RIVERSIDE Not your grandfather s streetcar!

OF THE STREETCAR CITIES REMAINING AT THE BEGINNING OF 1960 Some have built new light rail and heavy rail lines Some have upgraded former streetcar lines to light rail Some have modernized streetcar lines

PITTSBURGH AND CLEVELAND

ST. LOUIS AND LOS ANGELES

NEWARK AND BOSTON

PHILADELPHIA and SAN FRANCISCO

STREETCAR REBIRTH BEGAN WITH HERITAGE LINES Streetcar museums were popular Some tourist trolleys were in operation Bicentennial raised interest in history The cable cars of San Francisco were storied in movies and song New Orleans streetcars were widely known and had great appeal

NEW ORLEANS STREETCAR 1835 (Mulecars) - DATE St Charles line is oldest in the world System was down to one line in 1960, four other lines built since then Replica new cars and rebuilt old cars

TANDY CENTER SUBWAY (Ft. Worth) 1963-2002 0.7 miles, 4 stops Second-hand cars from Washington, DC Primarily a remote parking lot shuttle to downtown Ft. Worth

DETROIT BI-CENTENNIAL LINE 1976-2003 One mile long, with 9 cars from Europe Served to link downtown hotels and attractions

SEATTLE WATERFRONT LINE 1982-2005 Two miles, five cars from Melbourne Served Seattle s Waterfront and King St railroad station

MUNI S F LINE 1983 - DATE 1983 1987: Substitute for San Francisco cable cars while that system was totally rebuilt. 1995: Became a permanent part of Muni 6 miles, 32 stops, 23,000+ daily ridership

LOWELL, MA (National Park Service) 1984 - DATE 1.2 miles, 3 cars Cars built new as replicas Plans to serve downtown Lowell, MBTA commuter rail station and UM campus

SAN JOSE S DOWNTOWN CIRCULATOR 1987-2003 Intermixed with LRT system Downtown loop Intermittent special operation

GALVESTON ISLAND TROLLEY 1988 2008 6.8 miles of track, four cars, 22 stops. Does not use overhead wire Hurricane Ike badly damaged system and led to suspension of service 2008 Service to be resumed in 2017

MCKINNEY AVENUE TRANSIT 1989 - DATE 4.2 miles, 6 cars, 12 stops Operated as part of DART system No fare is charged

PORTLAND HISTORIC STREETCAR 1991-2014 2.3 miles, 4 cars Shared track with Tri-Met, operated and maintained by Tri-Met

MEMPHIS STREETCAR 1993 - DATE 3 routes totaling 8.3 route-miles 35 stops, 18 cars owned Service currently temporarily suspended

OLD PUEBLO TROLLEY (Tucson, AZ) 1993-2011 1 mile, 3 cars, 11 stops Replaced and extended in 2014 by Sun Link, a modern streetcar line.

AS THE NEW CENTURY DAWNED

KENOSHA STREETCAR 2000 - DATE 1.7 miles, 7 rebuilt PCC cars, 15 stops, 15 minute headway Part of mixed-use development project Major extension planned and funded

PORTLAND STREETCAR 2001- DATE The iconic modern streetcar 7.2 route miles, 17 cars 2014 ridership 5.6 million

TECO STREETCAR (Tampa, FL) 2002 - DATE 2.7 miles, 11 cars, 11 stops Mostly single track with passing sidings Connect downtown with Ybor City via cruise ship terminals

WATERFRONT RED CAR (San Pedro, CA) 2003 - DATE 1.5 miles, 3 cars, serves cruise ships Shares track with freight railroad High-level platforms

TACOMA LINK 2003 - DATE 1.6 miles, 3 cars, 6 stops, 12 minute headway Owned and operated by Sound Transit Studying extension

LITTLE ROCK RIVERRAIL 2004 - DATE 3.4 miles, 5 cars, 15 stops Operated by Central Arkansas Transit Authority Serves two independent cities

SEPTA RTE. 15 (Philadelphia) 2005 - DATE 8.4 miles, 18 rebuilt PCC cars Operated by SEPTA 11,000 average daily ridership (FY2014)

SAN FRANCISCO MUNI T LINE 2007 - DATE Built to modern upgraded streetcar standards. Fully compatible with other Muni lines

SEATTLE LAKE UNION STREETCAR 2007 - DATE 2.6 miles, 11 stops, 4 cars Owned by City of Seattle, operated by King County Metro 2013 ridership 760,900 (2,600/day)

SALT LAKE SUGARHOUSE LINE 2013 - DATE 2 miles, 7 stops, 20 minute headway Uses same cars as LRT lines, but single units only and different paint scheme Runs on former D&RGW RR trackage

TUCSON STREETCAR 2014 - DATE 3.9 miles, 8 cars, 21 stops, 10 to 30 minute headways Links downtown to university and medical area

ATLANTA STREETCAR 2014 - DATE 2.7 miles, 4 cars, 12 stops, 15 minute headway Links downtown to historic district

DALLAS OAK CLIFF 2015 - DATE 1.6 miles, 2 cars, 4 stops Low-floor cars, much of route is wireless

CHARLOTTE STREETCAR 2015 1.5 miles, 3 replica cars, 6 stops Phase 2 will add 2.5 miles and change to modern cars.

SEATTLE FIRST HILL 2015 2.5 miles, 10 stops, 6 cars Partially wire-free (downhill) 10-min peak headway

WASHINGTON DC STREETCAR 2015? 1 line underway, test track built, 6 cars delivered, testing begun Revenue service date not scheduled Projected to be part of larger system

BY THE END OF 2015

KANSAS CITY STREETCAR IN OPERATION: 2016 2 miles, 4 cars, 16 stops Major economic impact already evident

CINCINNATI STREETCAR IN OPERATION: 2016 3.6 miles (track), 5 cars, 17 stations City owns, SORTA operates Project has been politically charged

ST LOUIS LOOP TROLLEY IN OPERATION: 2016 2.2 miles, 10 stops, 2 cars Independent of Metro, serves 2 major MetroRail stations Replica heritage streetcars

DETROIT M-1 STREETCAR IN OPERATION: 2016 3.3 miles, 6 cars, 12 stops Partial off-wire operation Major private funding

EL PASO STREECAR IN OPERATION: 2017? 4.8 track-miles, 7-9 rebuilt PCC cars Downtown to UTEP Campus Construction begins 2015

SOME OF THE CITIES WITH PLANS New Starts Oklahoma City Tempe Milwaukee Providence Minneapolis Los Angeles Sacramento Ft Lauderdale Los Angeles Extensions Portland Seattle Tacoma San Francisco Dallas Charlotte Atlanta Cincinnati Kenosha

CLOSING THOUGHTS AND LESSONS LEARNED Streetcar benefits can be measured by three basic metrics: Transportation Economic Development Sustainability of the Urban Area

CLOSING THOUGHTS AND LESSONS LEARNED Streetcar technology is simple and adaptable to many urban design configurations; we don t need to overcomplicate it.

CLOSING THOUGHTS AND LESSONS LEARNED Streetcar costs are escalating. Overcomplicated design leads to over-priced and un-affordable systems, which don t get built!