Streetcars

Dallas Streetcar is 1 of 51 Projects to Receive Federal Funding

DOT Secretary Ray LaHood announced $1.5 billion in transportation grants this morning, including $23 million towards a streetcar project in Dallas.

February 17, 2010 - The Dallas Morning News

Streetcars Return to Vancouver

Vancouver, B.C. will launch its first new streetcar in 65 years next month. TheTransitFan got a sneak preview.

December 17, 2009 - re:place Magazine

Streetcars: Old is New Again in Rockford

Rockford, Illinois used to have a system of streetcars, interurban rail and long-distance passenger trains like many cities. Planners now say the time is right to consider rebuilding.

December 14, 2009 - Rockford Register Star

Mixing It Up at RailVolution

BOSTON -- If you've ever studied the bar menu at Trader Vic's then you know about such wonders as Tropical Passion, Moku Nani, and the Potted Parrot. Each is made of a unique but secret blend of dark rum, light rum, spiced rum, tropical juices, and of course "subtle flavorings."  But by the time you'd realize that the only real difference is the glass they come in, you're too probably drunk to notice--or care. Minus the palm fronds, the RailVolution conference is much the same.  

October 31, 2009 - Josh Stephens

REVIEW: My Kind of Transit: Rethinking Public Transportation in America

Far from a boring treatise on the need for public transit, My Kind of Transit is an appeal on behalf of the emotional factors that make most transit repulsive and a select few forms enjoyable and uplifting.

October 5, 2009 - Tim Halbur

Oklahoma City Releases Broad New Plan

A broad new plan has been unveiled in Oklahoma City. Included in the plan is a new 70-acre downtown park and a raft of transit improvements.

September 22, 2009 - The Oklahoman

Light Rail Expands in Toronto

New light rail projects are taking off in the Toronto area. A new 15km line will be operational by 2013, but the city is still trying to raise funds to replace its aging streetcar stock.

May 18, 2009 - The Toronto Star

Streetcars and Commuter Rail Get Official in Fort Worth

A streetcar system and commuter rail line are now officially part of a regional plan for the Fort Worth area.

April 13, 2009 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Why the Streetcar Beat Out "Green Lines"

Matt Fikse calls attention to a Seattle transit plan, which has few drawbacks but has been left to die by officials. Why the streetcar beat out the Rapid Trolley Network.

March 26, 2009 - Crosscut

San Francisco Rail: A Living History

S.F. historian Carl Nolte examines S.F.'s vibrant streetcar history and today's modern light rail replacements.

March 24, 2009 - San Francisco Chronicle

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.

January 6, 2009 - 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.

December 29, 2008 - 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.

December 15, 2008 - 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.

November 26, 2008 - 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.

November 11, 2008 - International Herald Tribune

Everything's Coming Up Streetcars

Ohio's seeing streetcars, with new systems planned for Columbus and Cincinnati.

August 17, 2008 - 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.

August 7, 2008 - 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.'

July 21, 2008 - 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.

June 24, 2008 - 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.

June 21, 2008 - The Associated Press

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.

Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

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