Streetcars finding more desire
There's an interesting article -- and even more facsinating chart -- about the national revival of streetcar lines at The Infrastructurist: America Under Construction.
The chart notes that Baltimore is among the cities with a line in the preliminary planning stage -- connecting Johns Hopkins University with downtown.
There is a certain irony in seeing the U.S. auto industry on the ropes and streetcars on the rebound. The postwar American love affair with the auto has more than a little to do with the demise of an earlier generation of streetcars.
Comments
I would submit that the popularity of streetcars is simply their novelty and ease of recognition as the transit one may need to ride. It is a result of being the exception to the rule. The attractiveness may diminish as a higher percentage of local transit services becomes street rail.
I think that Charles St is not a good place for a streetcar today, but Fells Point and Southeast in general would be better, based on travel patterns, land use and spatial geometries.
Since streetcars are usually aesthetically superior and not functionally superior to buses--the Feds shouldn't be funding them. Let the interested communities do that.
Streetcar in Fells Point/Canton would be a superior option to an LRT/BRT Red Line through that area if the local business PTB feel insistent on fixed guideway transit there. Let the Red Line be rapid transit as it was envisioned, whether it's in Fells Point or elsewhere.
Posted by: Nate | May 6, 2009 9:27 AM
A great option for a streetcar that would be attractive to both residents, commuters, and tourists would be along Key Highway from the Inner Harbor to Fort McHenry. There is a lot of space down there for redevelopment, and the only option is driving besides the MTA Route 1 Bus.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 11, 2009 3:56 PM