Streetcars in Dallas would be highly beneficial

Pegasus News ^ | Thursday, February 18, 2010 | Patrick Kennedy

[Willie Green]

Streetcar is coming. Streetcar is coming!

I'm sure most of the regular readers of this site have heard the good news. Dallas won a federal TIGER (transportation initiative) grant for $23 million (PDF) to start design and construction of the proposed 1st phase of the modern street car line. The second piece of good news, is that it is actually going to be one of benefit rather than the tourist trap downtown loop initially proposed. The flip side of this story is that while the application was pursued in concert with Fort Worth, the federal government took it upon themselves to extricate Fort Worth from the receipt.

[C19fan]

I have never lived in Dallas but if it is like any American city west of the Mississippi a street car system is throwing money down a toilet.

[oyez]

I understand that if you work in downtown Dallas, the cost and inconvenience of parking is a b*tch, but I'm not so sure that trolleys are part of the solution.

[Deaf Smith]

"throwing money down a toilet."

Dallas is good at doing just that.

They have a project in the works to build a highway inside the levies of the Trinity River flood plain.

[Young Werther]

I worked in downtown Dallas in the 80s. They were repaving main street and actually exposed the original streets. Stumps of Beaudart trees had been layed vertically and the crevases were filled with tar. The rails of the first trolley system were exposed as well.

A new Trolley system would be a waste. The leaders of Dallas have been successful in driving away business and entertainment venues. The Cowboy's home field was the Cotton Bowl. Now the Cowboys and Cotton Bowl classic will be played in the new Cowboy stadium which is now 30 miles west of Dallas. All the nightblubs and theaters are now north of Dallas and the flight cannot be contained. Bye Bye Dallas!

[Yo-Yo]

Other than the romantic element, trams/trolleys are much more dangerous, more costly, less flexible, and overall more of a waste of taxpayer money than busses.

Tram accident compliation video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fsx6bdorDro

[Red Badger]

A Streetcar Named “Stella”............

[Mr. Lucky]

If these streetcars are highly beneficial, perhaps the folks who would receive the benefits should be asked to pay for the system rather than those of us who have managed to live our entire lives without ever stepping foot in Dallas.

[C19fan]

I live in Richmond and on some of the streets you see the tracks from the old street car system but as you mention trying to bring that back would be a waste.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

LOL...streetcars.

Talk about failed policies of the past.

[BigCinBigD]

I live in the Lakewood section of Dallas. If they run a line from Greenville Ave to Down town. They will kill 100 idiots a year because they cant stay out of the street.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

That's the case here in Silicon Valley. The "light rail" that runs from Mountain View to downtown San Jose is almost always empty.

I like the way that are celebrating that this money is going to be used to start design of Phase One. Typical lib ploy -- set the hook a little with the "free" federal money, then rape the taxpayer year after year to pay for the next phases, fixing design faults, paying subsidies for poor ridership. They will have inevitable poor usage and have to raise fares. Then the news rags will scream bloody murder about the unfairness of this to the poor, disadvantaged and students.

Then go to another city and wash, rinse, repeat ad nauseam.

[Willie Green]

trams/trolleys are much more dangerous,

Trams/trolleys can only travel whereever the tracks take them,
and with modern 21st Century Technology, are not only capable of automated driverless operation (to reduce operating costs). This not only eliminates accidents due to driver error, but can also reduce accidents with electronic collision avoidance systems.

With busses you always have to worry about what kind of low-paid dope-smoking crack addict is actually behind the wheel... and where will the maniac actually steer the bus.

BTW, your video reveals that all the accidents were actually cause by errant drivers in other vehicles, inattentively swerving into the path of the streetcar.

A deranged bus driver, OTOH, can run 'em off the road (or flatten a pedestrian) even when they think they're safely in their own lane or on the sidewalk. NOBODY is safe from a deranged bus driver. NOBODY.

[Darteaus94025]

And, who will pay for this “high benefit”?

[MCF]

Electric busses make far more sense then street cars that run on rails.

[Republic of Texas]

So an expensive system with no driver and no riders? Genius!

[Willie Green]

but I'm not so sure that trolleys are part of the solution.

I've never been to downtown Dallas, so I can't speak specifically to their local conditions. But in general, I've come to favor either underground subways or overhead monorails as the mass-transit system of choice in congested downtown areas. They may be more expensive to build, but avoiding interference with other ground level vehicles is the obvious benefit.

[Kimmers]

I live in Dallas and this money could be better spent on having the DART actually go to the airports.....

[stinkerpot65]

This is great. The muggers and bums will have a warm, well-lit place to urinate on themselves.

[Arrowhead1952]

Well, Austin stopped the most popular of the Dillow / street car system in 2008 and replaced it with two longer less used routes. If they don’t work in Austin with UT, not many routes will make money to stay afloat.