Historic Streetcars and Development

A recent Grist article on the transit development in Charlotte, North Carolina, highlights the role of a historical trolley in sparking the development. Resurrected by hobbyists and trolley fans, the historic car let thousands ride and learn about streetcars, while developers were similarly inspired, by the sight of something tangible in the form of transit improvements, to build near the trolley.

Neither the historic trolley or the airy talk about “TOD” can spark the development of light rail on their own- they must work hand-in-hand. But the actual ability to see and ride is doubly important in a land where talk is cheap, and many have never even seen a trolley or train.

The George Benson Streetcar took thousands of visitors to a waterfront that, arguably, hardly merited a visit otherwise. The City exercised a form of neglect that bordered on the criminal- on one midwinter visit I found small cardboard hutments built by the homeless under the Alaskan Way viaduct. It was left entirely to the shop owners and trolley volunteers to make the waterfront a welcoming place.

The boo-birds will sing about “playing with trains”, but what they’re really complaining about is that people like streetcars, and when they see it can be done, they wonder why it isn’t done more often.

So do I.