Wait, That Trolley Plan for Red Hook Isn't Actually Dead Yet
The city has hired a consultant to do a feasability study. More at The Post, The News and NY1.
Need a Hand?
Your Next Project Starts with BrownstonerThe city has hired a consultant to do a feasability study. More at The Post, The News and NY1.
Need a Hand?
Your Next Project Starts with Brownstoner
Isn’t the proposed trolley route basically the same route as the B61? And is there every really enough traffic on Columbia Street for there to be a need for a dedicated track or even a dedicated bus lane? Doesn’t seem like it would matter until it got to Atlantic Avenue and downtown.
The Trolleys should NOT be under MTA jurisdiction- that would just become a nightmare.
Yes its wonderful to hear all about your personal tastes and the kitschy wonderfulness of trollys but in case you didnt notice we are in the midst of the Great Recession and the MTA is cutting EXISTING service.
Call me for your trolly during the next boom – until then the City should stick to the easiest and cheapest….
Rail based transport, whether trams, trolleys, subways or commuter trains encourage economic development along the line and around the stops/stations in ways that bus routes do not. A rail line sends a signal that the city/railroad company has made a major long term investment that it cannot go back from or change easily. A bus route can be canceled or changed with little financial impact on the operator. Trams and trolleys run on electricity, rather than gas or diesel so they can improve the air quality. The noise of steel on wheel can be just as disruptive as an internal combustion engine.
I prefer the smoother, less lurching ride in rail based transport to the movement of a bus.
Although I might not phrase it the way JohnnyPump did, there is certainly a cachet around trolleys/trams that does not exist around buses. Think about it: If you lived in San Francisco and had the option of taking a bus to work or a cable car to work (assuming cost and travel time were equal), which would you pick? Trolleys, I think, would improve the ambience and propety values in Red Hood.
Trolleys are cool- buses suck. I don’t care how much they cost. I want to see trolleys driving around Redhook like its the 1930s!!
You all should check out Bob’s actual work. He shows that the cost per mile of the trolly’s are below that of the buses.
Trollys are not trams – this is local transport only – and a dedicated (enforced) bus lane gives you everything that a trolly would with less expensive and the flexibility to change the route with basically a can of paint.
I’m not sure it’s a waste. There have been a lot of feasability studies and cost comparison done on buses vs. trams, and the answer depends largely on whether you need route flexibility to accommodate new residential developments (as in suburban environments) and road congestion. I think for a tram line following the bay line in Brooklyn, the more efficient method would be trolleys over buses. Laying tracks aboveground is not very expensive (I’m sure it will be twice as much as necessary, this being NYC).