A streetcar named ‘opportunity’ - Metropolitan Planning Council

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A streetcar named ‘opportunity’

Chicago was once home to the world’s largest streetcar network.

Today, streetcars are making a comeback. Their nostalgic nature and picturesque characteristics are embraced by small business corridors and can provide better accessibility for underserved transit areas. Portland’s successful streetcars travel along an 8-mile looped route (4-miles each way) that provides services for college students at Portland State University, shoppers and residents in the Pearl District, tourists to downtown attractions, and visitors along the waterfront. When the streetcar was brought back to life in Portland, officials projected 3,500 riders a day. Ridership is growing 17 percent every year and serves more than 10,000 riders a day. The success of Portland’s $55.2 million streetcar network has generated about $2.5 billion in new construction within three blocks of the line since the plan was first announced in 1997.

 

Portland's Streetcar - Photo Courtesy of Crandall Arambula

 

Streetcars are designed primarily for distances about 5 miles long, run on a local circulation with frequent stops, travel 12 mph or less, and are more effective in smaller corridors. While Chicago’s network was extensive and expanded throughout the entire city, passengers frequently made several connections to get to where they needed to go.  Despite the confusing network in Chicago, fixed rails on the street helped riders better understand the travel route of the streetcar and better predict their connections.

Streetcars can add an important element to a city’s transportation network of rail and bus services.  While outdoor cafes and walkable streets in small business corridors or suburban downtowns don’t always go hand in hand with heavy traffic and large diesel buses, streetcars actually encourage pedestrian friendly on-street development.  Streetcars can also provide a community with the accessibility that it needs at a low cost with high return. Whether streetcars are used as a connector to rapid transit lines in underserved areas or as shuttles to the proposed Olympic venues, the streetcar is another tool in the toolbox to help provide better transit options for the Chicago region.

This article was featured in Talking Transit, MPC’s bi-weekly e-newsletter. To receive the newsletter, email talkingtransit@metroplanning.org with ‘Subscribe’ in the subject line.

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