[PRCo] Streetcars on Downtown Streets, Again Someday?

[Matt Barry]

Here is a passage from an article, at this site, regarding renewal of 
the Fifth and Forbes Avenue corridor:
http://64.70.131.22/ff_pitt.html


But there's that last critical element many cities are rediscovering 
that neither plan covers: on street fixed-rail transit. Yes, that means 
street cars.

Downtown Pittsburgh had streetcars into the 1980s, when a subway was 
built. Many other cities, such as San Francisco, New Orleans, 
Cincinnati, San Jose, and Memphis, have found that bringing them back, 
to make it possible to shop and even live without a car, is vital to a 
lively downtown. But for the most part, Pittsburgh has continued to rely 
on busses.

"The street car solution is like a marriage," says Dave Fritze, a member 
of a group trying to restore street car service to Cincinnati. Comparing 
street cars to the diesel bus, he said when you put down rails through a 
neighborhood you indicate you intend to stay there. "A bus can be on one 
route today and leave the neighborhood behind tomorrow. The difference 
is commitment."

With frequent stops, streetcars (unlike the subways that serve primarily 
to bring people into downtown) allow the retail district to encompass 
all of the core instead of a small corridor. They allow shoppers a way 
to move around without moving the car or lugging packages underground. 
They also slow traffic down, making it more inviting to walk.

Street cars make it easy for residents to live downtown without a car 
because they can get to work using something faster and more pleasant 
than a bus. Plus, historic streetcars can be a tourist attraction 
themselves and add to the city's "uniqueness."


Matt