Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Streetcar / Tram


Streetcar / Tram

Most often cars of this type are powered by electricity supplied through an underground third rail or an overhead wire.
A few years ago the thought of streetcars returning to our streets was a fantasy. Today several cites have either installed new streetcar lines, constructing lines, or in the advance planning stages. I support streetcars as I feel that they are a great step between basic bus service and full light rail service



 ~>Lets see what the streetcar does do:

1. The streetcar provides service along a corridor that has never had service.

2. The streetcar provides an alternative form of transportation that makes that part of the country much more livable. 

~>The problems are:

1. One problem was that the system was designed only to have single cars. From my understanding this was a compromise to ensure support along the line. However, one of the benefits of rail transit is when you add additional cars to a train to make it more efficient and carry more people. Any future lines should have the capability to run multiple car trains. 

2. There is no private right of way. The streetcar gets stuck in traffic

3. The streetcar should have signal priority plus priority at the four way stops like Couch and 11th were the streetcar gets stuck for extended periods of time. 

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