Eight Cities Rolling Out Streetcar Projects

America's urban streetcar renaissance looks to be on track with eight more projects planning to break ground by 2020. The list includes some of the nation's largest metros as well as plenty of medium-sized cities.

1 minute read

June 1, 2017, 12:00 PM PDT

By Philip Rojc @PhilipRojc


Nice Tramway

Charles Wolfe /

After a hiatus of many decades, streetcars are experiencing a resurgence, and not just in the Pacific Northwest. Jon Banister writes, "Streetcars, often slow-moving trollies that share lanes with traffic, are more about spurring development in new parts of the city than providing the fastest transportation option."

Eight more cities are aiming to break ground by 2020, with some lines set for completion well before then:

  • Oklahoma City, projected completion in late 2018
  • Milwaukee, projected completion in 2018
  • Fort Lauderdale, projected completion in 2020
  • Tempe, projected completion in 2020
  • Orange County (CA), projected completion in 2020
  • Sacramento, projected completion in 2021
  • New York City, projected completion in 2024
  • Washington D.C. extension, construction may begin in 2020

Thursday, May 18, 2017 in Bisnow

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

Mamdani behind a microphone, in front of a snowbank

Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge

A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.

November 6 - CNN

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6 - Grist

People board a bus in Seattle.

Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion

Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.

November 6 - KOMO News

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.