Could Streetcars Return to Brooklyn?
Streetcars were once a big part of Brooklyn life—could they play a role in connecting currently underserviced areas while enhancing the street-level experience? That’s the theory being floated by some enthusiasts. And people are starting to listen. Most notably, DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn who, noting the success of its streetcar system in generating economic developer,…
Streetcars were once a big part of Brooklyn life—could they play a role in connecting currently underserviced areas while enhancing the street-level experience? That’s the theory being floated by some enthusiasts. And people are starting to listen. Most notably, DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn who, noting the success of its streetcar system in generating economic developer, recently said We need to rebalance the transportation network and make it as efficient and effective as possible. (Midwood resident Arthur Melnick has been pushing this idea for many years, particularly for the waterfront areas of Red Hook and Brooklyn Heights, and the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association has even built a few tracks over near Ikea.) And while there are nostalgic and touristic reasons to consider the idea, blog The Transit Politic sums up the practical side of the issue:
Brooklyn is ideal for streetcars, and the city should be considering their widespread installation in areas where improved transit service is needed, because they’re effective in creating denser, more livable neighborhoods. The eastern half of Berlin is perhaps a good example for how Brooklyn could integrate streetcars into its existing transportation network. There, the 192 km collection of Straßenbahn lines run in areas that are not adequately served by the U-Bahn and S-Bahn rail services. The system runs mostly in areas that are less dense than Brooklyn overall, but it still attracts high ridership. (Berlin’s most central borough, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, has a density of 13,000 people/km2, equivalent to that of Brooklyn; the rest of Berlin, however, has about half that density.) Why not, then, envision a similarly ambitious program for transit expansion in Brooklyn?
Indeed, though streetcars have far lower capacity than subways, they’re far cheaper to build and they carry significantly more people than bus lines when they’re built close to light rail standards, with some of their own running way, high-quality stations, and extended vehicles. Because they’re electrically operated, they’re also pollution-free (directly, not necessarily indirectly). For a city that’s incapable of building a tiny two-mile extension of its subway system on time and on budget, a streetcar network might be the solution.
The blog highlights much of southeastern Brooklyn, Red Hook and parts of Bed Stuy as areas whose residents desperately need better access to existing public transit. Crazy, or so crazy it just might work?
Streetcars for Brooklyn: A New Life? [The Transport Politic]
tybur, go nuts dude.
Having just come back from my first trip to Rome, I suggest the MTA overlords go there for a visit (easy sell?) The transport there is awesome (if crowded). While only 2 subway lines, there are about a million bus/tram lines (a downside of having that many lines is that the bus map is incomprehensible; better to just jump on a bus which looks like it’s going your way.) And the frequency is 5-8 minutes on all of them!
And they have a 1Euro ($1.30) ticket that’s good for 75 mins on anything. Honor system, so no jam at the front door, you can enter anywhere.
btw, light rail/tram systems need dedicated lanes to work better than buses (and are equivalent to true bus rapid transit (BRT)) else they will be affected by traffic. And imo, a line of cars, honking or otherwise, behind light rail is just where we need to be.
Subarandude has an apt handle. Chill out, dude.
Well, we can dream.
McKenzie… have you been to a city with streetcars?!?!?!
Talk about nostalgia.
So, buses are such a really great thing? They are moving people adequately? They maintain regular schedules? They don’t get bunched up and stuck in traffic?
OK — If you all hat street cars so much, how about bus lanes? And NOT the ones the city already has… REAL ONES! Ones that have a separation and delivery trucks can’t park in. Some cities also allow taxi cabs to drive in those lanes because they are considered part of the “public transportation.”
You keep trolleys and buses out of traffic by giving them their own (protected/separated) lanes and give them signal priority. It’s called city planning and traffic science!!
Don’t you think the city and state has dozens of highly qualified architects, planners, engineers and so on with degrees from MIT, CalTech and such…. BUT they are held back by political forces. They are held back by folks that remember things like “Brooklyn Dodgers” and have no real data to support anything… People are hit by BUSES too!!! People are hit by Cars!! People are hit by goddamn subways!! What the christ!!
Dollar vans are the de facto streetcars nowadays…
Please tell me ONE advantage of streetcars over buses assuming they both have dedicated right-of-ways?
McKenzie- if you’re thinking clinkity clunkity streetcars are what we’re talking about here, you’re in the wrong century. So explain to me, if they are so dangerous, how is it so many other cities operate light rail systems successfully? easy for you to say keep the streets open and maintained- if you have a car. That’s not a good or green solution. Again, shortsighted and selfish.
Dangerous? You mean like cars and bikes? Which were much less when the dodgers got their name so what does that prove? Nothing.
I say bring back the Dodgers too. The hell with the Yankees and the Mets.
If the city can designate bike lanes, they certainly can designate street lanes for light rail. I’d rather see that, then bike lanes, actually.
The lightrail lane has to be kept clear of cars- so you won’t be sitting behind a long line of cars making turns or backed up behind some driver texting a message.
I have no idea what the map shows.
I am sure that if put to a brownstoner plebecite the results would be overwhlemingly to screw Brooklyn Heights.
It is where old people live -so screw them.
But in any case, the idea of clinkity clunkity streetcars anywhere downtown, Court Street, Atlantic Avenue, Joralemon Street, would be a disaster. Why do you think people got rid of them in the first place? Plus they are very dangerous, people got run over by streetcars every day. The Brooklyn Dodgers got their name for dodging streetcars. The whole idea is ridiculous. sorry. Just maintain the streets and keep them open and maintain the storm sewers and plow when it snows and I am happy.