When talking to people about Los Angeles, one comment I often here is that L.A. was the first city to be built around the automobile. This statement certainly makes sense when you look at the current landscape of Los Angeles – with its freeways and strip malls and crowded parking lots – and lack of a widespread rail transit infrastructure when compared to other dense American cities.
The problem with this statement is that it’s not really true. While the car has definitely left its impression on the region, Los Angeles could actually be considered a textbook example of a city built around transit – albeit one that no longer exists.
Streetcars
Neighborhood Rises Again Through Rail
This piece from The Washington Post looks at a formerly thriving streetcar neighborhood that has become a thriving Metro neighborhood -- despite decades of decline in between.
The Washington Post
Streetcar Suburbs Without Streetcars?
Matthew Ridgeway wonders if the infrastructure benefits of new streetcar projects- facade improvement, streetscaping, community investment- could happen with direct investment, leaving streetcars out of the picture.
coolconnections.org
Forget the Subway, Build Streetcars Instead
Streetcars are a better option than Vancouver's proposed 2.8 billion subway, says Prof. Patrick Condon of the Design Centre for Sustainability at UBC.
The Globe and Mail
New Orleans' Streetcars Make a Comeback
All of Canal Street's red streetcars were damaged by Hurricane Katrina, but up to nine restored streetcars may be in service by the end of the year.
The Times-Picayune
New U.S. Streetcars A Boon to European Makers
A surge in streetcar system construction in the United States is benefitting a number of tram builders like Siemens of Germany and Skoda of the Czech Republic.
International Herald Tribune
Everything's Coming Up Streetcars
Ohio's seeing streetcars, with new systems planned for Columbus and Cincinnati.
The New York Times
San Francisco Streetcars 'Too Popular'
The F-Market is a streetcar line in San Francisco that features restored historic streetcars. When it was built in 1995, many saw it as a novelty, but today it is so popular and crowded that it has become an inefficient means of transportation.
The San Francisco Chronicle
Debate Rages in Columbus Over Streetcars
Planners are pushing for a downtown streetcar, but detractors say Columbus already has a fabulous rapid transit system: 'It's called the freeway.'
The Columbus Dispatch
Despite Streetcar Skeleton, Chicago Leans Towards BRT
Transit officials in Chicago are calling on the city to rebuild its historic streetcar system. Rails still exist on many streets, but city officials are leaning away from streetcars and towards bus rapid transit.
Chicago Sun-Times
St. Charles Streetcar Clangs Back to Life
The streetcar returns to New Orleans' St. Charles Ave., a step forward in the long struggle to get the city's transit back on it's feet after Katrina.
The Associated Press
Boise Hopes to Bring Back Trolley
Boise is hoping to follow on the coattails of Little Rock in bringing back a long de-commissioned trolley system to the city's downtown.
The Idaho Statesman
A City The Car Built?
Tue, 04/29/2008 - 15:07
Party on the Streetcar
Party organizers in Prague have set up a monthly party that takes place on one of the city's streetcars as it drives through town.
The New York Times
Atlanta's Streetcars Sidetracked
Atlanta's ambitious plans for inner-city rail were downsized, as New Urbanist Andres Duany criticized the City's implementation of his vision for streetcars in Midtown Atlanta.
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Streetcar Plans Move Forward in Cincinnati
Plans for streetcars in Cincinnati are moving forward, as advocates have formally requested nearly $1 million to perform the preliminary studies required to apply for federal funding.
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Experts Consider Streetcar in Indianapolis
Business leaders in Indianapolis are looking to replicate the success of Portland, Oregon, by creating a task force to pursue plans for a streetcar system in the city's downtown.
Indianapolis Business Journal
Can Transit Link A Sprawling County?
Tue, 07/03/2007 - 10:35
I’ve confirmed that it is possible to take public transportation to the most suburban of suburban locations: the outlet mall.
