[PRCo] Re: New Lancaster Trolley Route

[Fred Schneider]

Jerry and all:

Regarding a proposed trolley line in Lancaster...

There was money available several years ago for a feasibility study.   
Red Rose Transit Authority grabbed the money in the hope that, after  
they paid for the consultant's report, there would be some cash left  
over to fund transit operations.   You need to understand that this  
kind of prank is not unusual in government.   We take money in the  
hope that we can have can spend less than we planned on and use the  
surplus somewhere else.   It's done all the time.   RRTA had no  
intention in the beginning of ever running a heritage trolley line.   
They simply wanted the that green folding stuff.

Well the study came in and the city's idiotic mayor jumped on it like  
it was the greatest idea since sliced bread.   He wants the trolley  
line.   Not only does he want the one in the study going north-south  
but he thinks it would be great to run one east-west too!    (He  
could make Lancaster another Memphis with a trolley to nowhere.)

I suspect that, before a street is torn up, some one will remind the  
man that he is a full fledge jerk.   Fortunately, I don't live in the  
city so I can't be accused once he is reminded.    Lancaster is a  
city that, until they started stealing suburban land in the 1950s,  
measured 2.2 miles across in both directions and was a perfect  
square.   The middle of town was exactly in the center of the square,  
1.12 miles from the north, south, east and west boundaries.   Problem  
is, it was one of the older inland cities.   We have numerous  
buildings dating to before the American revolution.   I belong to a  
church that was old enough that the minister was run out of town on a  
rail because he leaded to favored the King of England in 1776.   The  
streets in Lancaster are narrow.   Only two of the north-south  
streets go through from one end of the city to the other; there is no  
bypass around the city from north to south, but US route 222 goes  
right through the city.   There are many hours of the day when Prince  
Street is solidly congested from King Street almost to the northern  
city limit ... and this is where they want to build the trolley  
line ... right down the middle of a U. S. highway that is blocked  
with stop and go traffic that cannot get through the traffic lights  
as it is.   Building that trolley line will be accepted by the  
community like the proverbial t--d floating in the punch bowl.

What he doesn't realize is that it will not alleviate any traffic  
because the traffic is not going into the middle of the city.   Most  
of it is simply going right through the city.   There isn't that much  
left of the core of the city to attract anything.  Perhaps 1 out of  
every 50 automobiles is going to a destination in the middle of town.

On Jan 28, 2007, at 7:42 PM, <mtoytrain at bellsouth.net>  
<mtoytrain at bellsouth.net> wrote:

> Fred
> Was reading where the city of Lancaster is planning a "7" mile  
> line, would be great, keep us posted
> on it!   Will you be in town around the 17th of April thru the  
> 21st?  Will be in York, Lancaster and Strasburg that week?
> Jerry M
>
>
>