McPaper Trumpets Streetcar Success

USA Today recently brought attention to some of the success stories of the Portland Streetcar system, which not only generates manufacturing jobs here in the States, but also spurs economic development in formerly blighted areas.

In 2008, a study by the city found that Portland's streetcar system had generated $3.5 billion in investments and prompted construction of 10,212 housing units within two blocks of the line.

The Pearl District has had "a fraction" of the business closures experienced by other Portland neighborhoods during the recession, says Joshua Ryan, executive director of the Pearl District Business Association.

"It's the hottest place in the city," he says. "It's the safest district, the cleanest district. ... The benefits of streetcars have surpassed our expectations."

Kansas City at one time had one of the most extensive streetcar systems in the United States, with lines even running as far as Leavenworth, Olathe, Lawrence and St. Joseph. The system was purchased and dismantled by General Motors so that people could buy their automobiles, and we have been without a rail system ever since. KCATA is currently studying the feasibility of a River Market-Crown Center route for a streetcar. St. Louis recently won federal funding for a downtown loop trolley.

Streetcars are a quaint, slow mode of transit that is nice for a neighborhood you are trying to slow down and improve walkability. For example, I think a streetcar would be wonderful at tying the Country Club Plaza with the Nelson-Atkins Museum, UMKC and Brookside. I'm not so sure it works as well as a major spine running through the heart of a city. If you want to travel from the River Market to Crown Center (and possibly onto the Plaza), you will want something that is at least competitive, if not faster than an automobile. With a top speed of about 30 mph, I'm not sure a streetcar will be that competitive mode of transportation.