One Man's Crusade for Streetcars in Brooklyn
At one point in the early part of the last century, there were 1,800 trolleys traversing 300 miles of track in Brooklyn. Now a 60-year-old Midwood man’s effort to bring back the trolleys is starting to look more and more like a real possibility. “If you look at the literature, trolleys fit a lot of…
At one point in the early part of the last century, there were 1,800 trolleys traversing 300 miles of track in Brooklyn. Now a 60-year-old Midwood man’s effort to bring back the trolleys is starting to look more and more like a real possibility. “If you look at the literature, trolleys fit a lot of bills,” he says. Plus, they are pollution free and traffic calming, he notes. In addition, “they lend a nostalgic ambience to the neighborhood.” The most likely routes? Borough Hall to Dumbo, Brooklyn Bridge Park from Fulton Ferry to Atlantic Avenue, and Coney Island. Are readers in favor of this?
A Desire Named Streetcar [NY Times]
There has got to be a better way for people to get around Brooklyn, bottom line. It is expensive to get from Williamsburg to Park Slope via car service and bus service is unreliable. Service to Red Hook would also be ideal ’cause its remote in terms of public transportation. A trolley down 5th Avenue in Brooklyn would boost commerce and it would get more people exploring Brooklyn. I’m all for it!
David, do you understand what is being proposed here? We aren’t talking about Trains on the major, read already serviced areas. We are talking about areas that are cripled by lack of transportation options. In Red Hook for example, you have three options. Walk, B77 or B61. The B 61 is a very long line and tends to pack up, so you can find waits of a half hour common at the rush then 4 buses.
The concept is two fold, one to provide transportation options for residents to get to downtown, as well fuel development to Red Hook with is new shopping areas. Ikea wants to set up shuttle busses from Atlantic down Columbia then down Van Brunt. At present the Greenway project has just started and they are totally re doing the areas streets to handle more traffic. The life span of the new Columbia street would be 5 years with new bus traffic, and the existing load of trucks going to the piers, the buses that park in Red Hook and the increased car traffic of a newly paved road to divert off the BQE.
A Trolley service would if nothing else would act as a buffer.
I just proove it: I ask 50 people in my office and all but one said they like trolleys more then buses.
It is just a quality of living issue.
It is ok David i would not expect Ratner person to understend it anyway.
Actually Patrick I do know what I am talking about – Trolleys are no where as cost effective as busses and if you have dedicated bus lane – they offer ZERO advantage in terms of speed.
I am not oppossed to Tolley service as tourist/recreational transportation (hey they do add a nice historical touch) but to suggest it for real commuting is just pie-in-the-sky nonsense in NYC in 2006. (Media, PA – population 5,500 – experiences notwithstanding)
Please anyone cite one concrete economic, transportation or enviromental benefit to trolleys over (low/zero emission) busses (with dedicated bus lanes) – sorry malymis non-proveable benefits like “people prefer rail to busses” dont really suffice.
I love the post from the person who wants to send a form letter to the Mayor! What planet is this person on?
Malymis, I lived in SF and used N Judah – i took me an hour to get from the Sunset to Union Square. It might be fun for a while, but MUNI is totally inefficient if that’s how you commute to work daily for a number of years.
BART is a different system altogether – but that’s more of an LIRR or MetroNorth analogue.
And to compare San Francisco, with total population of 800k and 49 square miles with Brooklyn is laughable.
David
i lived SF for period of time and i use J church to go to work. (it has rails)
It was one of the best commute in my live.
Actually, the trolleys don’t need tracks…witness the sightseeing trolleys (that run on wheels) you encounter in other cities and tourist destinations. They run on loops or conduct tours, so it wouldn’t be a difficult thing to loop a “shuttle” trolley starting in Dumbo, around Bklyn Bridge Park, down Columbia to Red Hook, etc., or other routes.
David you truly don’t know what you are talking about. History. Trolleys where replaced after cities where given huge ‘grants’ from the tire and oil companies. GM started buying up trolley lines all over the country in the 1920’s… They where under major investigation and where basically saved by WWII. LOOK IT UP.
Trolleys may have the problem of not being able to zip around a double parked car, but coming from a town where there still is trolley service (Media,PA) I can tell you first hand that people don’t double park on a trolley route. There are huge fines etc…
and in terms of maintenance, tracks rarely need work. Sure it may be a larger up front cost, but the areas talked about could infuse millions in tax dollars. A trolley to Red Hook to shop at Fairway and Ikea, would be ideal. Imagine taking the trolley along the waterfront with some of the most fantastic views in the world? Alsdo you forget the cost of buses. Its not just the gas and regular repair, its the cost to the roads we all use. A bus route is always paved twice as much a non bus road.
And yes part of the love of trains is romance. Something the sound of a bus leaning and beeping and then roar starting off will never match. But hey if you love the bus so much, there will still be plenty.
These are limited route lines, meant to infuse money and transportation into underserved areas of the BK.
get on board. and notice how TROLLEY is spelled.