COMMUNITY STREETCAR COALITION News Clips

April 29, 2017 through May 5, 2017

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Broadcast Clips

Kansas City: City Live LINK: http://bit.ly/2piX3Mg

good morning twelve might be hard to believe it's many years since the casey streetcar first ran it is not hard to believe though what a major

success that is turned out to be he having mickey kantor for the casey

Source Kansas City Live - KSHB-TV - 05/05/2017

Kansas City: FOX 4 News Morning Show KINK: http://bit.ly/2q8LOud this is the first birthday for the kansas city streetcar. they tell us there have ben nearly 2- million trips since it opened last year. there's going to be a party tomorrow at union station. the brokside art fair is this

Source FOX 4 Morning Show - WDAF-TV - 05/05/2017

Kansas City: 41 Action News at 5am LINK: http://bit.ly/2p5N01q a streetcar is nearing its two million took a ride in while weekends are by far the busiest time some will say is the day to day uses paying off for them i'm paying for it by the slight increase in sales taxes which i don't

Source 41 Action News at 5am - KSHB-TV - 05/05/2017

El Paso: Newschannel 9 AT 10PM LINK: http://bit.ly/2qK1wc0

. Britton Dornquast, : "The streetcar has been a boon in our region as far as economic development goes." Daniel: britton dornquast with 'sun link' says tucson has seen about 1-po...

Source NewsChannel 9 Nightbeat - KTSM-TV - 05/04/2017

KC Streetcar tops 2 million rides, and its numbers are among the best in the country

Kansas City Star By Lynn Horsley May 5, 2017 http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/kc-streetcar/article148797874.html

Kansas City’s streetcar line tallied its 2 millionth ride Friday morning, and its first year ridership ranks it among the top systems in the country. While systems in Cincinnati, Atlanta and have struggled to reach their ridership projections, Kansas City has blown past its original forecasts of 2,700 rides per day, with 5,500 average daily rides over the past 12 months. Even more surprising, weekend ridership has exceeded weekday performance, as downtown weekend events have regularly filled the cars. System planners originally thought Kansas City’s system might reach 1 million rides by its first anniversary, which is Saturday. Instead, it hit the 1 million milestone in October. Ridership dipped significantly in the cold months of December and January, but April was the third busiest month, behind July and August of last year. “For first year ridership you’ve done extremely well,” said Jeffrey Boothe, executive director of the , D.C.-based Community Streetcar Coalition, an umbrella organization for streetcar systems across the country. “It (Kansas City) has done quite well as systems go around the United States. It has been a shining example.” Julie Gustafson, who consulted on Kansas City’s streetcar planning in 2012 and is ’s community relations manager, concurred. “The route for Kansas City is connecting very strong ridership generators,” she said. While Portland now boasts 16 miles of streetcar track and tallies nearly 18,000 daily rides, it started in fall 2001 with a first phase of 2.5 miles, slightly longer than Kansas City’s 2.2-mile route from River Market to Union Station. Portland averaged about 4,400 daily rides in its first year. Kansas City has exceeded that, with weekday trips averaging 4,134, but Saturdays and Sundays averaging 7,673. The system has topped 13,000 daily rides on the busiest Saturdays since last summer. The peak months for ridership: July, 233,683; August, 204,251; and April 2017, 188,171. April was fueled by two weekends when thousands of college volleyball athletes were in town. Even in the worst months of December and January, weekday ridership held at about 2,500 hardcore regular riders, according to Streetcar Executive Director Tom Gerend. The robust ridership prompted Slate writer Henry Grabar to pen an article in August: “Did an American City Finally Build a Good Streetcar?” No doubt, the biggest reason ridership is high is that Kansas City doesn’t charge a fare. Most systems do, and some downtown property owners who are helping to foot the bill for the Kansas City streetcar wonder if it should charge a fare and lessen the property tax burden. Gerend said the streetcar authority thinks the free fare is a big advantage for the system, and because the streetcar district’s property and sales tax revenues more than cover expenses, the fare revenue isn’t needed. There’s a cost to collecting a fare, with ticket equipment and enforcement officers, he said, and charging a fare would inevitably depress ridership and business activity. “The goal was to try to drive downtown activity and economic activity. So the system is doing that,” Gerend said, noting that sales tax revenue has grown faster along the streetcar route than in the city as a whole. “It’s being very well received.” Some skeptics question Kansas City’s ridership counts. The system counts trips, not individual passengers. Each time someone gets on and off, it counts as a trip, which is the standard way ridership is measured on streetcar systems. But a “trip” could be just a few blocks or the entire route. Each streetcar door has an automatic counter, but the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority also provides people to do manual counts periodically, as it does with its bus system. The most recent streetcar manual count showed the automatic counters are 98 percent accurate. If anything, Gerend said, the automatic counters undercounted by a slight amount. (More ridership information is available at kcstreetcar.org/ridership.) Kansas City ranks with Portland, and Tucson as a high-performing system for several reasons, Boothe said. “Your systems start at a logical place and end at a logical place,” he said. “You were able to build a system that connected people and places they wanted to go.” In Portland’s starter route, that was connecting a major hospital to a major university. In Tucson, it’s the University of and downtown Tucson. Kansas City’s line connects the dots from City Market to the Sprint Center and the Power & Light District, the Central Business District, the Crossroads Arts District, and and Union Station. Sean O’Byrne, the Downtown Council’s vice president for business development, is a regular streetcar rider who has found a variety of reasons people ride. “It’s tourist attractions and also connectivity of destinations,” he said. O’Byrne and his family live at 18th and Jefferson streets. He used to drive to work at 1000 Walnut and pay $95 per month to park. Now he walks to 17th and Main streets and catches the streetcar. He said his kids and other neighborhood kids ride their bikes to a nearby streetcar stop and then take the streetcar to Union Station and Liberty Memorial. Results have been mixed with other streetcar systems around the country: ▪ The system in Washington, D.C., opened in February 2016, a few months before Kansas City’s. Its 1.9-mile system averaged 3,207 rides on weekdays and 2,518 on weekends in March. It is free to ride. It didn’t hit its 1 millionth ride until March 2017, more than a year after it opened. ▪ Salt Lake City’s system, called the Sugar House Streetcar, was expected to carry 3,000 people per day when it opened in December 2013. But it averaged about 1,200 daily as of January 2016. It charges a fare. ▪ Atlanta’s 2.7-mile route opened in December 2014 and expected about 2,000 rides per day. Instead, it averaged only about 700 rides per day in March of this year, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Critics complain that it travels too slowly and stops too frequently. That system started out free but now charges a fare. ▪ Cincinnati opened its 3.6-mile line through downtown last September. It started off quite strong but by November, average daily ridership was 1,664, versus 3,200 projected. It suffered from poor on-time performance and balky fare ticketing machines. ▪ Tucson’s 3.9-mile Sun Link system opened in July 2014 and continues to outpace ridership and revenue projections. In March 2017 it recorded an average of 3,223 average weekday trips and 2,377 average weekend trips. It charges a fare. ▪ Seattle has two streetcar lines, and they charge a fare. The 2.4-mile First Hill line opened in January 2016. The weekday average ridership is 3,210 and weekend average is 1,844. The 1.3- mile South Lake Union line, which opened in 2007, had ridership fall below 2,500 several years ago but has increased to an average of 3,600 daily trips, according to the Seattle Times. Seattle is now building a streetcar extension to link First Hill with South Lake Union. Kansas City’s cars are crowded enough that the system is planning to buy two more vehicles, at a cost of nearly $12 million, although they have to be custom built and likely won’t be delivered for two years. Planning is underway to possibly extend the streetcar route south to the University of - Kansas City and north to Berkley Riverfront Park, but many more steps would be required to make those projects a reality.

KC Streetcar pays off big time for locals

KSHB TV By Jade DeGood May 5, 2017 http://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/kc-streetcar-pays-off-big-time-for-locals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Saturday marks the first anniversary of the Kansas City Streetcar line. While weekends are by far the busiest time for the street car, locals say it's the day to day use that's saving them money.

"I use it almost every day," said KCMO resident James Wehmuller. "With the streetcar coming last May and the fact that I work downtown, it let us sell one of our cars."

After James and his wife got married last year they chose to live on Main Street knowing the streetcar would be coming soon.

"Anywhere else we were living that wasn't on the streetcar line would have required two cars," he said. "It just was really no contest. I did the math between property taxes, licensing, your auto loan payment, insurance, gasoline, that comes to a $10,000 raise basically."

"This has kind of been a goal that we wanted -- that we would help them realize that public transportation is a great choice," said Donna Mandelbaum, Communications Manager for KC Streetcar. "We have heard from those who live downtown, especially in the River Market area, that some of them are going down to a one car family especially if one of them works in this area. There is no need for them to have two vehicles."

The KC Streetcar has seen an average daily ridership of more than 5,000 people, nearly double what it had hoped for.

"We're actually approaching our 2 millionth ride, which is unbelievable," said Donna. "I think people are really embracing it as something to do downtown, we are seeing more faces downtown and more activities."

"I take it to the office, the grocery store, my gym, getting a hair cut, the post office," said James.

As more people discover the many uses of the line, KC Streetcar is looking to add more cars to its fleet.

"We are in the process of purchasing two more streetcars for this line alone," said Donna. "We have the funding to do that and now we have to go forth to the City Council to approve us purchasing those and then we can add more cars to this line."

The KC Streetcar is also hoping to expand the line. "It was never meant to be just a downtown line," said Donna. "We are looking at studying future routes, not just one but two. One that would take us to Berkley Riverfront Park, we are actually studying that right now."

The other possible expansion would take the streetcar south to the Plaza and UMKC.

"It would be such an amazing asset for all of the students down there as well as all of the residents and people that work in mid-town, Westport, the Plaza and Brookside."

That plan will be put up for a vote.

"We will build it if people want it, if they would like to fund it the same way the downtown streetcar is," said Donna.

If you would like to celebrate the one year anniversary of the line you can head to Union Station tomorrow from 11 am to 2 pm for food, games and music.

After a decade, the QLine is about to become a reality

Crain’s By Bill Shea May 5, 2017 http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20170505/BLOG003/170509865/after-a-decade-the- -is-about-to-become-a-reality

Before Friday morning, the last time I had ridden a train — not counting the no-frills terminal at Detroit Metro — it was a grueling overnight journey three years ago from Bangkok's Hualamphong Station to rural Surat Thani more than 400 miles away in the south of Thailand — amid a military coup that had toppled the government and put tanks on the streets. One could make the same Bangkok-Surat Thani trip in an hour by plane, but we were looking for adventure. Thailand! Tanks! Trains! The no-frills Surat Thani train station was built in 1954 to replace a 1915 facility that had been destroyed by American bombers while the Japanese used it as a military base during World War II. Two years after that station opened, nearly 9,000 miles away in Detroit, the city's streetcar service ground to a halt. It was April 1956, and Detroit's streetcars were mothballed (and later sold) in favor of buses. Passenger trains still ran to the city, but the streetcar had been a primary mode of transit for city residents. Sixty-one years later, the streetcars are back in Detroit. On Friday, I took part in media ride on a QLine streetcar for the first time. If you've ever ridden a streetcar, trolley, , etc. ... it's largely the same. A smooth, mostly quiet ride down the city's main artery. It certainly was vastly more comfortable than my rattle-trap train in Thailand. For me, the 6.6-mile loop was a professional milestone. I was the first reporter to break the news that a serious effort was underway to create a streetcar system in Detroit. The first edition of Crain's to carry a story about the ""Woodward Transit Catalyst Project" was Feb. 25, 2008. I'd heard rumblings before that about the plan, but it took awhile to cobble together something solid — and then I finally got my hands on the 2007 study by the University of Detroit Mercy that outlined the basics of the streetcar we'll see begin formal service next Friday. In the ensuing years, I wrote untold thousands of words about the project, long known as M-1 Rail and then the QLine. I reported on its financing, debates about its configuration, the politics and bureaucracy of building a transit system, and its death and rebirth. There were times when I doubted it would ever become a reality. The city was a financial mess, and tried to absorb M-1 Rail as part of a larger public rail project. Then Detroit ran out of money, fell under state control, and declared bankruptcy. One financial backer, General Motors, also went bankrupt and had to reorganize. One mayor went to prison, and three others eventually came and went. The nation fell into recession. Eventually, the federal government, state, and city tried to kill M-1 in favor of bus transit. The project's backers persevered. Eventually, they pulled it off. No matter what you think of the QLine, it's been a survivor. It just took a decade. Supporters say the streetcar is more evidence of the city's recovery and it will fuel more investment and development. Critics say it's a boondoggle that further enriches Detroit's oligarchs at the expense of true commuter transit, nothing more than 2.0. It's not my job to defend the QLine, but I will say that its backers never claimed it was mass transit or a commuter line. They called it a demonstration of how the public and private sectors could work together on transportation projects, and that the line was intended to be one piece of a much larger regional transit network that others would have to lead and fund. It was intended, like the People Mover was meant to be, as a part of something bigger and broader. It's a piece that fits in with the buses, , and eventually whatever regional system is developed. That strikes me as reasonable. Will QLine be a success? Too soon to say. I suspect it will take suburban visitors, especially for Tigers and Lions games, awhile to make the QLine a part of their plans. My guess is that when Little Caesars Arena opens in September, ridership will get a boost. People who live and work along Woodward should find it handy for getting food and shopping. Efficiency and safety will determine its success. That leads to the natural question about expansion. Can it eventually run to Royal Oak or even Pontiac along Woodward? Can spur lines ferry people into Greektown and Corktown? Could major arteries be added to tap into dense downtown population areas such as along Jefferson Avenue and the waterfront? Can Detroiters in the farther neighborhoods, often left behind in the city's rebirth, expect to one day see streetcar stations? Maybe, but someone has to emerge as a leader to champion those efforts. Roger Penske captained the QLine from the beginning, tapped by then-transit czar John Hertel to bring together the personalities and checkbooks that could make a streetcar happen. But Penske cannot be expected to do it again. And the money for expansion, especially to run tracks deep into the neighborhoods and suburbs and along major routes like Jefferson, Gratiot, and avenues, could run into the hundreds of millions. Government will have to foot the bill, and that's a complex fever swamp of politics where the urge to kill projects often is greater than the desire to bring them to reality. But sometimes they do happen. The QLine is real and running.

The QLINE: Everything you need to know to ride Detroit’s new streetcar

Curbed Detroit By Robin Runyan May 5, 2017 https://detroit.curbed.com/2017/5/5/15560470/qline-streetcar-m1rail-price-hours

We took a test ride up and down Woodward on the QLINE a week before it’s set to start regular operations for the public. Here’s a quick guide for opening weekend and beyond. Is there anything else you’d like to know? Send us a note or leave a comment below.

• First, a heads up. They warned us to hold on to the seat or one of the handles during the stops and starts. We agree. It can be quite jolting. You’ll hear a little ding, then it starts rolling. Just hold on. • The streetcars also have bike racks for cyclists. • No food or drinks allowed in the streetcar. • Rules will be posted inside. • It takes about 20-25 minutes to get from Grand Boulevard to Congress Street right now.

Opening Weekend

The QLINE will celebrate its grand opening Friday, May 12. The timing is not set yet (we’ll update when it is), but it will start with a press conference, followed by pretty much a party all weekend. It will be free to ride the QLINE May 12-14. Many businesses along Woodward and beyond will be holding specials; check the announcement for more info.

Cost

The QLINE will have a few different pricing options.

• $1.50— Walk-up rate. It’s good for three hours. Riders can get on and off the QLINE as many times as they want in that three-hour period. • $.75 — Senior rate • $3.00 — Day rate • $30 — Monthly pass • $285 — Yearly pass • Like DDOT, kids 44” and under ride free with an adult

Like Amtrak, the QLINE is running on a “Trust but verify” method, so someone may come around to check your payment.

Forms of Payment

Riders will have a few different ways to pay for their QLINE pass. • An app will soon be released to take payments. The app will also alert the rider to when the next streetcar is arriving. • The stations have machines that will take credit/debit card payments. • The streetcar itself has a machine that takes cash for payment. • At the Penske Tech Center, riders can purchase via money order or check. • The website that will be released will also have payment options.

Hours of Operation

• Monday through Thursday: 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. • Friday: 6 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. • Saturday: 8 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. • Sunday: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

At first, the QLINE will stop at every station. As they see how service ebbs and flows, riders will be able to signal them to stop at the next station from their seat.

The streetcars will have cameras connected to a central security system. The stations will also have cameras, along with an emergency call box.

Stations

The QLINE stations will have two screens. One will have sponsored programming (with no sound) in partnership with Detroit Public TV. The other screen has a map and will let riders know when the next streetcar is arriving.

They’ll also connect the tracker to DDOT and SMART buses in the vicinity, so riders are able to connect to other modes of public transit.

Looking for some fun places to see around each stop? We have a map for that!

Is there any other info you’d like to know? Leave a comment or send us an email. We’ll update with more details as we know them.

Here are a few more photos from inside the streetcar, including some of the landmarks along the way. Here's what to expect during Detroit's QLine streetcar launch next week

MLive By Dana Afana May 5, 2017 http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2017/05/qline.html

DETROIT -- QLine crews are offering free rides to the public during the entire weekend of the M-1 RAIL streetcar launch next Friday, officials said during a media preview on Friday.

About 90 businesses are participating in the launch by offering discounts from May 12 to May 14.

After years of planning, grant applications, construction and testing, Detroit's new streetcar line along Woodward Avenue is set to launch for public use on May 12.

The QLine streetcars will run on a 6.6-mile loop along Woodward Avenue from to the North End/New Center area.

Riders, drivers and pedestrians are asked to take extra safety precautions around the streetcar.

The streetcar has surrounding cameras along the exterior for safety and stops for at least 30 seconds at each of 12 stations.

Each station is heated, well lit, surrounded by security cameras and has a screen telling riders when the next streetcar will arrive.

Riders should give themselves at least 20 minutes to get to their destination.

The normal walk-up rate is $1.50 for single fare tickets, $3 for a day pass, $30 for a monthly pass and $285 for an annual pass. Kiosks at each station accept credit cards only, but riders with cash can purchase passes inside the streetcar.

The stations also have the same blue emergency call boxes that has.

The Detroit Police Department and WSU Police are working with M-1 RAIL to keep drivers from parking on the tracks, which can result in $600 tickets and fast towing.

Congress's Budget Bill Spends Billions on Useless Light Rail

Reason.com Christian Britschgi May 5, 2017 http://reason.com/blog/2017/05/05/mondays-budget-deal-spending-billions-o/print

Few lovers of government largesse are more ecstatic with the 2017 Omnibus Appropriations bill than those crazy devotees of huge public transit projects.

Following passage of the bill, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) issued a statement applauding Congress for "acting in line with the wishes of the American people" and refusing to eliminate even one of the billions of dollars earmarked for light rail and street car projects across the country.

Just a month ago, these advocates and their supporters in Congress had been fretting about Trump's "devastating" skinny budget and a proposed cut 13 percent cut to the Department of Transportation. The federal government currently pays for some 43 percent of all capital spending on public transit.

But thanks to a steady stream of open letters, questionable economic studies, and advocacy from bi-partisan boosters of public transit within Congress, these cuts were jettisoned from the final budget deal struck on Monday.

The new spending plan gives the Department of Transportation (DOT) an overall discretionary budget of $19.3 billion, a $681 million increase over 2016 funding levels. Hardly the 13 percent cut initially proposed.

Given new life under these increased funding levels is the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program, which Trump's budget blueprint had eliminated in its entirety.

Initially created as an economic recovery program under the Obama Administration's stimulus plan, these TIGER grants have gone on to dole out $4.6 billion to transit projects in the years since the Great Recession has ended, and not without controversy.

A 2014 Government Accountability Office report found the Department of Transportation had violated its own internal control practices in administering the TIGER program, giving grants to projects that applied after deadlines or which were rated inferior to other applicants.

The GAO report also found that DOT failed to document the reasons for these violations of its internal controls which it warned could "give rise to challenges to the integrity of the evaluation process and the rationale for the decisions made." You don't say.

Monday's spending bill gives TIGER another $500 million.

Also living to spend another day is the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program which, like TIGER, funnels money to state and local agencies and transit authorities for various public transit projects.

Trump's "skinny budget" proposed ending these grants for all projects but those in the final agreement stage with the Department of Transportation. "New transit projects," according to the budget document, "would be funded by the localities that use and benefit from these localized projects."

This provision panicked local transit authorities who had sold voters on infrastructure plans assuming those federal grants would be forthcoming. Seattle's Lynnwood light rail extension, Tempe, Arizona's new Streetcar project, and others faced cancellation without significant tax increases and borrowing at the state and local levels.

Thanks to a $2.4 billion appropriation to the CIG program, however, 18 public transit projects were spared. Lynnwood in Seattle will get a taxpayer gift of $125 million, while will receive $50 million, almost a third of its overall cost.

Also included in the new congressional budget plan is another $1.5 billion for America's perennial transit loser, Amtrak.

The death of Trump's proposed cuts to wasteful light rail spending should hardly be a surprise. As APTA points out in their Monday press release, three of four Americans favor of increasing spending on public transportation. Their elected representatives in Washington are only too happy to give it to them.

Poll popularity aside, Congress's budget plan accounts for barely 3 percent of passenger miles traveled in urban areas. Public transit is the most expensive form of transportation, costing $1.15 per passenger mile, nearly five times the cost of the same mile by car.

Trump's proposed cuts to programs like CIG and TIGER offered a brief, tantalizing hope the federal government would step away from costly transit options that are actually used by fewer and fewer people.

Monday's transit deal is a reminder representatives of both major political parties will always spend your tax money - however ineffectively - in the hopes of remaining in office.

Stothert, Mello exchange accusations over streetcar in competing ads

Omaha World-Herald By Roseann Moring May 5, 2017 http://www.omaha.com/news/politics/city-election/stothert-mello-exchange-accusations- over-streetcar-in-competing-ads/article_db433ae5-a7a0-5fb7-97bf-ee88de28c0d2.html

Omaha’s two mayoral candidates took to the airwaves with competing ads last month to hash it out over the streetcar. In his ad, challenger Heath Mello accuses Stothert of moving too fast on the streetcar; in hers, Stothert accuses Mello of lying.

Here are some of the claims in each ad with some context.

Mello’s ad

The claim: “Stothert’s $30 million streetcar plan” is too expensive.

Mello has repeatedly accused Stothert of committing $30 million to the streetcar. What she has actually said is that if the project moves forward after the next study, she would put the project to a vote of the people. The $30 million figure is one estimate of public funding that would be necessary, from a financial assessment performed by HDR.

The claim: “Behind closed doors,” he says, “Stothert has already spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on (the streetcar).”

Mello is referring to a federally funded study that the City Council approved in 2014. The city contributed $100,000 worth of city staffers’ time to that project, and federal funds totaled $1.2 million. Mello is also counting the $75,000-a-year fees the city has paid to planning consultant Steve Jensen over the past four years. When asked by The World-Herald, Jensen estimated that he has billed the city about $50,000 for his work on the streetcar. He’s also contributed to a variety of other projects, including the new HDR tower and planning for the riverfront.

Stothert’s ad

The claim: “Jean Stothert hasn’t committed a single Omaha tax dollar to build the streetcar and won’t without voter approval.”

Stothert endorsed and the City Council approved the spending that Mello refers to in his ad.

It is correct that the city hasn’t spent funds on the construction of the streetcar — it’s only spent money on the planning.

Not in Service: Inside Bombardier’s Delayed Streetcar Deliveries

Toronto Star May 5, 2017 http://projects.thestar.com/bombardier-ttc/index.html

Toronto was supposed to have 121 new streetcars by now. We have received only 35. That’s the crux of the problem with the state of the TTC’s $1-billion contract with Bombardier for 204 low-floor Flexity streetcars to be delivered by 2019. Almost eight years into the deal, Bombardier has repeatedly failed to meet its delivery deadlines, demonstrated quality-control problems that have dragged on for years, and promised that improvements that would double or triple the speed of delivery were around the corner.

In the meantime, the TTC has had to pay millions to keep its old fleet on the road while we wait, and has sometimes been forced to supplement overloaded lines with bus service that draws capacity from other parts of the city. When the old cars break down — sometimes disabling an entire line — people are left standing on street corners in the cold.

We need those streetcars. And once we get them, we like them and so does the TTC. They are a once-in-a-generation purchase — the last time the fleet was replaced was at the end of the 1970s into the early ’80s. The model before that was introduced in the 1930s. It’s a big deal when the TTC replaces its streetcars — the results will define downtown transit for decades.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT: http://projects.thestar.com/bombardier-ttc/index.html QLINE gets credit for $7B Detroit transformation

Detroit Free Press By Eric Lawrence May 4, 2017 http://www.freep.com/story/money/business/2017/05/04/qline-detroit-streetcar/101294354

The value of the economic development, both planned and finished, along the QLINE's path is estimated at more than $7 billion, according to a report released Thursday by M-1 Rail, the organization building Detroit's streetcar system.

The eye-popping number takes into account development since 2013. The 3.3-mile QLINE on Woodward Avenue is to open to the public May 12, connecting the city's downtown, Midtown, New Center and North End areas.

The 24-page report says about two-thirds of the investments in 211 projects, including the $1.2- billion District Detroit that incorporates Little Caesars Arena, have been completed — with $2.4 billion planned for the future. The numbers are more than double the $3-billion figure boosters have previously pitched to highlight the potential impact of the QLINE.

The report notes that large sections of the area were blighted and abandoned until recently, and it gives the QLINE substantial credit.

“What the QLINE has done is take the entire length of Woodward from the (Detroit River) to Grand Boulevard and provide an attractive reason to develop and redevelop,” Eric Larson, president of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, said in the report. “So a lot more of the infill opportunities that were not quite ready are now sitting in a very good position.”

Critics, however, have noted that a not insubstantial portion of that blight and abandonment was a result of property purchased and allowed to sit until the time was ripe for redevelopment. Local businesses discuss one year with KC Streetcar

KSHB TV By Rae Daniel May 3, 2017 http://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/local-businesses-discuss-one-year-with-kc- streetcar

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - This Saturday will mark one year since the KC Streetcar started running in .

“It's easy to go around,” KC resident Taylor Brown said. “It's fun to do stuff. It's fun to do play dates around there.”

Some nearby businesses reported issues in the weeks leading up to the launch. On Wednesday some businesses expressed their excitement with the streetcar now, and what it has done for the community.

City Diner had some issues when construction began. Employee Jessica Lopez said she has noticed a difference.

“Everything's pretty smooth right now, we're kind of working together,” Lopez said. “Working here for five years, business has been the same. I think for the community it has really bettered the community, it's given people access, you know from one place or another without having to deal with traffic during the weekend. So it's nice."

Molly McPheter, owner of the Roots&Branches hair salon in River Market, said although business has been the same she has seen change.

“I think definitely when we see the streetcar go by, it's usually at full capacity and we really love seeing people utilize it,” McPheter said.

Since the streetcar has made its way to the area, both Lopez and McPheter said the biggest challenge has been parking.

“Parking has been a little crazy because everybody wants to get a jump on that first stop,” Lopez said.

“I think River Market's probably one of the only large capacity of free parking available for people to hop onto the streetcar,” McPheter said. “So some of our clients and workers have had trouble parking during the day. So I'd like to see more parking available for all of us.”

While they hope more parking becomes available, McPheter said she’s also excited about the possibility of expansion. “I'm really eager and hope that it continues and moves to the Plaza or UMKC and really transitions the whole downtown area,” McPheter said.

KC Streetcar leaders said right now they are in the very beginning stages of looking at operational costs and what it would take to expand to UMKC.

They’re also throwing a birthday celebration for the streetcar on Saturday.

Tampa streetcar review offers three popular route extensions

SaintPetersBlog By Mitch Petty May 3, 2017 http://saintpetersblog.com/three-specific-routes-get-support-tampa-streetcar-review/

For all the years Tampa residents spent calling for increased transit, they’ve struck out relying on the Hillsborough County Commission to satisfy those needs.

Tampa does have one thing — a streetcar trolley — albeit one rarely used as it runs back and forth between Ybor City, Channelside and into downtown.

However, fortified by a $1 million grant from the Florida Department of Transportation, the city is conducting a $1.6 million feasibility study on additions to the trolley’s 2.7-mile route.

And at the Hillsborough Community College in Ybor City Tuesday, they unveiled seven proposed routes; three of them won the public’s heart.

A crowd of approximately 90 people watched Steve Schukraft of HDR Engineering, the city’s consultant on the study, go over the study. About 74 of them participated via a smartphone app allowing them vote on a variety of questions presented throughout the night, including preferred routes.

Most popular was a route going from Franklin Street north to Palm Avenue in Tampa Heights, then turning slightly west and past Water Works Park, before going south on Franklin. It would add 2.6 miles to the current track, and include eight stations.

A close second was the north/south Tampa Street- Florida Avenue route. This line also adds 2.6 miles and eight stations.

Third was the “Loop Downtown Ybor” route, that would add 4 miles to the current route by continuing to run north on Franklin Street, then cutting east on Seventh Avenue into Ybor City. Schukraft acknowledged some concerns about whether that line would have enough density, while though others in the crowd said that more housing being built there would support such a line.

Tuesday night’s public meeting was the third in what HDR considers the first phase of the planning process. It was designed to identify a limited number of alternatives for extensions and modernization of the existing Tampa Streetcar system, to culminate with a letter to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requesting approval to initiate consideration for federal funding.

If the FTA approves, Phase 2 will commence later this summer, which includes identifying a locally preferred alternative (LPA) for extension and modernization and complete project development activities. Phase 2 is scheduled to end by summer 2018.

While no price tags for the extended lines have yet been announced, Schukraft said that information may be available later this summer. Seven routes identified for Tampa's streetcar of the future

Tampa Bay Business Journal By Janelle Irwin May 3, 2017 http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2017/05/03/seven-routes-identified-for- tampas-streetcar-of.html

The city of Tampa has identified seven potential transit corridors to better connect its streetcar service in and around downtown including North Hyde Park, the Channel district and Ybor City as well as neighborhoods to the north.

The city announced the corridors during a progress report on the city’s InVision Streetcar study and outreach effort Tuesday night, after several public meetings.

Potential routes identified include a north to south route along Franklin Street or Tampa and Florida Avenues, east to west routes between North Hyde Park and the Channel District and the Tampa Convention Center and two loops between downtown and the Channel District and downtown and Ybor City.

The reimagined streetcar service would complement transit enhancements currently being identified in a Regional Transit Feasibility Plan that has already revealed five important regional corridors where transit improvements would be most effective. Those corridors would connect areas like Westshore, downtown Tampa, Brandon, the University of South Florida and St. Petersburg.

Engineering firm HDR is leading the InVision Streetcar planning and is working with Jacobs Engineering (NYSE: JEC) to align the two plans.

Steve Schukraft, the transportation and community planning manager at HDR, said residents have identified a strong need to connect downtown transit to potential future transit outside the urban core.

The Streetcar itself could get an upgrade during the planning process. Schukraft said he’s looking at other types of vehicles including autonomous vehicle service.

Ideas are still in the preliminary stages. Schukraft is working with the city of Tampa to schedule a summer workshop to discuss findings, cost estimates, potential impacts to employment, and benefits to residents.

Schukraft expects to begin fine tuning a plan this summer, including economic development impacts and funding opportunities. That process is expected to carry into next year.

The time frame on beginning a project is less certain because it depends heavily on funding.

Federal budget deal secures funding for streetcar and light rail

Seattle Curbed By Sarah Anne Lloyd May 4, 2017 https://seattle.curbed.com/2017/5/4/15549250/light-rail-streetcar-federal-funding-safe- trump

President Trump has signed the budget bill, cementing the funding at least through September.

Federal funding for some Seattle-area transit projects is safe for now thanks to a bipartisan deal that will preserve money for local infrastructure programs—least through the end of the fiscal year in September.

President Donald Trump’s proposed budget still limited the the federal government’s ability to make new transit grants—money that local projects are counting on.

But this deal, which was brokered in part by Washington Senator Patty Murray, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, will temporarily secure funds for many grants that help transit programs locally.

“I’m glad Congress was able to come together on this bipartisan deal to keep current projects on track,” she said in a statement.

With the new deal, the Center City Connector streetcar will receive $50 million. The expansion to Lynnwood will receive the first $100 million of the $1.2 billion in federal grants the Lynnwood project needs as scheduled.

“Federal funding will continue to be a critically important contributor to our success,” said CEO Peter Rogoff in a written statement. “This first grant installment for Lynnwood Link will help us finally deliver light rail to Snohomish County and get thousands of daily riders off of the traffic on I-5.”

The full, $54 billion Sound Transit system expansion approved by voters last November budgets in $4.7 billion in federal funding.

The streetcar project needs an additional $25 million in a future budget, but a spokesperson for the Seattle Department of Transportation told the Seattle Times that this budget deal makes it possible for the 2018 budget to include that funding, too.

Funding for ’s Swift II Bus program, which will serve Bothell and , had also been at risk. This deal provides $43 million.

The projects are being funded by the Capital Investment Grant program, which funds large- scale transportation projects. Trump’s proposed budget cuts that program and other large-scale infrastructure grant programs, including TIGER grants. Past TIGER grantees include King County’s South Park Bridge replacement project.

Link light rail’s Lynnwood expansion is expected to be completed in 2023—the same year that stations in Mercer Island, Bellevue, Redmond, Shoreline, and Mountlake Terrace open.

The Center City Connector is scheduled to start running in 2020.

Kansas City's Downtown Council Talks New YMCA, Streetcar Expansion And UMKC Conservatory

KCUR Public Radio By Kevin Collison May 4, 2017 http://kcur.org/post/kansas-citys-downtown-council-talks-new-ymca-streetcar-expansion- and-umkc-conservatory#stream/0

Plans for a new downtown YMCA, the latest on expanding the Kansas City streetcar and an update on the UMKC downtown arts campus were discussed by the Downtown Council of Kansas City Thursday.

Streetcar expansion voter deadline nears

The Kansas City streetcar celebrates its first birthday Saturday at Union Station and is expected to host its two-millionth rider either late today or tomorrow.

Supporters hope the success of the 2.2-mile starter line linking the River Market and Crown Center boosts the effort now underway to extend the line down Main Street to the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

“The success of the streetcar is apparent to everybody,” Matthew Webster, vice president of Ameritas, told the Downtown Council board Thursday morning.

“Ridership is ahead of estimates and development is booming along the line. We hope it transfers to voter support this time ... our greatest challenge is getting the word out to people.”

The Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance is leading the campaign to persuade voters living along the planned Main Street expansion route to support the effort.

The deadline for people living within the proposed new Transportation Development District to vote on the plan is May 23. People within the current downtown streetcar TDD also can vote because it would be merged if the project moves forward.

Kansas City Councilwoman Jolie Justus told the board the TDD vote is challenging because participants must cast their ballot through a state-mandated process. The TDD election is being run by the 16th Circuit Court and ballots are available on its website.

Justus said canvassers have been hired to educate people living within the proposed TDD expansion boundaries about the project and if necessary, help them to cast their votes.

“This is something we really need to do to keep this city moving forward,” Justus said. “You have until May 23, don’t let it sneak up on you. It’s quite a process.” What’s being billed as a “Happy First Birthday KC Streetcar!” event will be held at the Union Station East Plaza this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Food trucks, birthday cake, art, clowns and a ‘truck-a-palooza’ exhibit for kids are planned.

Tempe Streetcar Will Be a Hybrid

Next City By Rachel Dovey May 2, 2017 https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/new-tempe-streetcar-will-be-a-hybrid

Despite worries about the local impact of President Donald Trump’s budget ideas, the Phoenix suburb of Tempe aims to have 3 miles of streetcar track installed by 2020.

The project will cost $186 million, run through downtown and be a hybrid — meaning that it will run partially on power poles and partially on batteries, a local CBS affiliate reports.

According to ’s website, construction is slated to begin in June. The timeline “takes advantage of the summer months when schools are out, tourism is seasonally low and traffic is lighter,” the agency states.

The project is moving forward despite Trump’s budget blueprint, which proposes $2.4 billion in cuts to the U.S. DOT and the elimination of the TIGER grants program.

Roughly 42 percent of the Tempe streetcar budget “is expected to come from Federal Transit Administration grants,” according to the Arizona Daily Sun. “The remainder will come from a Maricopa County transportation sales tax, a local transit sales tax in Tempe, and a Maricopa Association of Governments fund for projects that ease traffic congestion and improve air quality.”

As the Arizona Republic reported in March, the streetcar was already “under development through the federal capital investment program,” when Trump’s budget was proposed.

Detroit’s QLine offers sneak peek, announces fares

The Detroit News By Sean D. Lewis May 2, 2017 http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2017/05/02/detroit-qline- streetcars/101202612/

Detroit — It’s been 10 years in the making and faced funding shortfalls in its early days, but Detroit’s highly anticipated $140 million, 3.3-mile streetcar project is getting ready to roll with paying passengers.

Before it makes its first public run down Woodward on May 12, M-1 Rail officials announced fares and debuted the QLine streetcars to local media on Tuesday.

Detroit’s latest experiment in transit will cost a rider $1.50 for a 3-hour window, $3 for a day, $30 for a month and $285 for a year-long pass, officials announced Tuesday.

For business owners and those who live, work or play along the route, the opening is a highly anticipated launch that will increase transportation options and could boost their livelihoods. Who will benefit — and how much — is the multi-million-dollar question.

“My assumption is that the sporting areas, restaurants and bars probably will benefit the most,” said Missy Lewis, the owner of the Black Dress Co. on E. Canfield near Woodward, who has closely followed the line’s construction and testing. “But shopping is a bit more personal, and people probably would use parking lots to be closer. But we’ll see.”

The streetcars are smooth-running vehicles. The operators obey traffic signals, so the speed of the route is no faster than a car and dependent on traffic flow on Woodward. At the end of the 3.3-mile one-way trip down Woodward, there is no need to turn the streetcar around; the operator walks to the opposite end of the car, takes a seat at the controls, and the car moves again northbound.

It’s all M-1 Rail Chief Operating Officer Paul Childs hoped it would be.

“It’s like building a house,” said Childs, retired chief operating officer of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. “As plans progress, some things change, but we’ve stayed pretty true to our vision.” On a typical ride, the car will stop established stops from near Campus Martius downtown to the New Center area. While waiting for a streetcar, riders can watch screens to see when a streetcar will arrive and programming that highlights cultural venues.

According to Sommer Woods, vice president of external relations, marketing and communications, there are some special features planned for the May 12 public launch. “There will be a marching band, and we’re working on getting some mascots,” she said. “And riders will be able to ride for free that weekend.” ‘I can’t wait’

The QLine’s road to restaurants and cultural venues was not easy.

The project faced a $12 million funding shortfall and Michigan’s Congressional members warned back in 2014 the project could be in jeopardy unless the U.S. Department of Transportation provided more money.

The federal government did eventually provide funding in the form of two transportation grants totaling $37.2 million, said Dan Lijana, M-1 Rail spokesman.

“The total project cost about $140 million, and was financed with a blend of philanthropic, private and corporate money, along with the federal government and the State of Michigan funding,” he said.

M-1 Rail, a nonprofit formed in 2007, was tasked to lead the design, construction and operation of the streetcar system, which circulates along Woodward between Congress and West Grand. Its mission is to create a “catalyst for investment, economic development and urban renewal that positively impacts the entire region through the construction of a streetcar circulator system running along and connecting Woodward Avenue from the riverfront to the New Center and North End neighborhoods.”

Lijana said there are six streetcars and each can accommodate about 125-200 people. Each seats up to 34. The cars travel at posted speed limits on Woodward, but have top potential speeds of 55 mph, retired WDIV-TV news anchor Carmen Harlan’s voice will greet riders, making announcements.

The wait for streetcars depends on traffic and how many are on the route, said Lijana. Daisy Reaser is among those who work in the Midtown area and is looking forward to taking a streetcar.

She was enjoying the weather inside the open QLine Canfield Station, which features a heater in the ceiling, and a digital board showing the date, time and map of the route, right outside her job at Jewish Vocational Services on Woodward this week.

“I can’t wait to ride it and take it as far as it goes,” said Reaser, who works as a case manager. “I plan to take it with some coworkers and we will be taking an extended lunch. And I do plan to take the rides frequently.”

Cynthia Sinclair said when the People Mover began its route years ago, she hopped aboard just to experience it. She plans to do the same with the QLine.

“I’ve been here all my life, and I love the upgrade and what it’s doing for the city,” Sinclair said as she was crossing the street on Woodward. “I want to ride it with no place in particular in mind. Just to see what it’s like.”

No search for parking

Streetcars in Detroit have a long and storied history in the city dating back before the 20th century. By 1935, Detroit's Department of Street Railways transported more than 1.2 million riders on its streetcars and buses across . At peak periods of the day, as many as 1,000 streetcars were operating in the city, ferrying workers to jobs and back home for just pennies.

By 1937, Detroit wanted to increase the flexibility of transit services within the city and began substituting bus service for streetcars. As affordability and availability of autos grew, the interstate highways crept in and the cost of operating streetcars went up, streetcar service was phased out in 1956.

For decades following, Detroit has struggled with mass transit issues, facing highway congestion with the rise of automobiles while offering few options for people with without cars. The QLine won’t be an answer to that, its leaders admit, but it is a start.

Although she’s not sure her business will benefit, Lewis said she is more excited than most about the return of streetcars in the Motor City.

Seated in her elegant boutique a block away from the QLine’s Canfield Station stop, she proudly showed off photos of the streetcars on her phone that she’s been taking and posting on social media since the first test drives began in December.

She even posts photos of some of her ensembles next to photos of the orangish-red and white QLine in a collage, illustrating how the colors coordinate.

“I live, work and play here,” said Lewis, who has been in business for eight years, and in her current spot, down the street from the Whitney and HopCat establishments, for the past two- and-a-half years. “When a friend first called me to tell me they were beginning the test runs, I ran out of the house and immediately began taking pictures.”

She said she also posts to her YouTube channel and gets views from around the world. “I’ve been watching it grow throughout the entire process, and I think it’s something new for people to get excited about,” she said.

Others say they’re looking forward to riding from the Hudson Cafe to the Detroit Institute of Arts; how trips to the Tigers and Pistons games will be easier; and getting a bite to eat, or a cold brew, also will be less complicated — especially the hassle of parking.

That’s the feature most appealing to Wayne State University students Ireland Portalski and Kayla Marrocco, who were walking down Woodward with their backpacks this week.

“I’m really happy about it because now I won’t have to drive to get downtown because it really sucks to try to find parking,” said Marrocco, 18. “I’m looking forward to going down to the riverfront in the summer with friends without having to spend money on parking.”

Portalski, 21, said she’s looking forward to spending more time outside Midtown.

“It will be more convenient to get downtown and to be part of the whole city, to go down by the riverfront and to Greektown,” she said.

Hop aboard

The QLine opens May 12.

The fare is $1.50 for three hours or $3 a day (yes, you can jump on and off during your time). Seniors 65 years and older, and those with disabilities, can ride for 75 cents.

The hours of operation are from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 6 a.m. to midnight Friday; 8 a.m. to midnight Saturday; and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

$50 million included for Santa Ana, Garden Grove streetcar in congressional funding package

Orange County Register By Jessica Kwong May 2, 2017 http://www.ocregister.com/2017/05/02/50-million-included-for-oc-streetcar-in- congressional-funding-package/

The OC Streetcar planned for Santa Ana and Garden Grove received another boost on Monday, May 1, when it was announced the congressional funding package included $50 million for the project.

Orange County Transportation Authority officials consider the streetcar’s inclusion in the package, expected to be signed by President Donald Trump, a strong indicator of federal support.

“We’re thrilled to see the federal government continue to join us at the local level in recognizing what a strong transportation project this is,” OCTA board member and Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido said in a statement. “This project returns our federal tax dollars to Orange County, leading to additional jobs and increased economic development.”

The $50 million comes from the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts program and will go toward the $148 million OCTA is requesting in its full-funding agreement, transportation authority spokesman Joel Zlotnik said. If the OC Streetcar is awarded the full-funding grant agreement, about half of the approximately $298 million project could be covered. “It’s a pretty big deal and shows another strong commitment from FTA and Congress to the project,” Zlotnik said.

The streetcar, in the design and engineering phase, will run a 4.1-mile route from the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center through and the Civic Center to a new multimodal transit hub at and Westminster Avenue in Garden Grove.

Construction is slated to begin in 2018, for service starting in 2020.

The streetcar has been awarded funding in the past. President Barack Obama included $125 million for it in his 2016-17 fiscal year budget and it received $25.5 million in state cap-and-trade funds awarded in August.

Other funding sources include money from the state and Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements. Feds OK $50 million for Orange County Streetcar

Passenger Railroading May 2, 2017 http://www.progressiverailroading.com/passenger_rail/news/Feds-OK-50-million-for- Orange-County-Streetcar--51502

The Orange County Streetcar would receive $50 million from the federal government as part of a congressional funding deal reached last weekend.

The project's inclusion in the funding package is a "strong indicator of federal support" for the streetcar, Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) officials said in a press release.

Legislators are expected to vote on the omnibus spending bill before the federal government runs out of funding Friday.

Now in the design and engineering phase, the 4.1-mile OC Streetcar will run from Santa Ana to Garden Grove, Calif. Up to six streetcars are planned to run along the route, which will includes 10 stations.

The project is slated to cost $289 million. Other funding is coming from state and local sources, including Measure M, which is Orange County's half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements. Consent decree forces St. Charles Streetcar line to become wheelchair accessible

WDSU TV By Aubry Killion May 2, 2017 http://www.wdsu.com/article/st-charles-streetcar-line-to-become-wheelchair-accessible- consent-decree-says/9590384

NEW ORLEANS —Major changes are coming for some people in New Orleans.

The historic St. Charles Streetcar line will become wheelchair-accessible. It's a decision that comes after a consent decree was approved in federal court.

A lawsuit was filed against the city of New Orleans and the Regional Transit Authority saying the streetcar line was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

WDSU spoke with Mitchell Miraglia, who was one of the people who filed suit. Getting around has never been easy for Miraglia.

As a child, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

"I wasn't able to go on field trips. They made me go to the library just because I was disabled, and back then I was on crutches,” Miraglia said.

In 1992, getting around got even harder.

"I was coming home from a New Year's Eve party. A driver hit a cab that I was in head-on,” Miraglia said. “I went through the windshield."

Miraglia’s leg was shattered and he's been in a wheelchair ever since. Around that time is when Miraglia started pushing for wheelchair accessibility on the St. Charles Streetcar line.

Jonah Bascle, an advocate for the disabled and former candidate for mayor, joined in. He died in 2014.

Miraglia and his attorney, Andrew Bizer, filed suit two years later.

"The city had previously claimed it had an ADA waiver,” Bizer said. “We did a public records request and there was no ADA waiver." Bizer said the city will bring one of the red streetcars that is wheelchair-accessible to St. Charles Avenue. The stops are at each end of the line, and on Napoleon, Louisiana, Jackson, and near the Riverbend.

"On St. Charles Avenue, it is a bit thinner,” Bizer said. They are going to have to do some sort of construction to widen the neutral ground on St. Charles. Not by a lot, maybe just a foot or two, so that disabled folks can get on and off the streetcar safely."

The city will monitor how much the wheelchair-accessible streetcar is being used and could add a second one to the route.

Miraglia hopes to see the first car running before 2019.

"What is going to be going through my head at that moment is, 'Free at last, free at last,'” Miraglia said. “We will really be able to enjoy what New Orleans has to offer."

The city issued a statement to WDSU:

"The safety of our residents and visitors is a top priority. The City is hard at work implementing solutions to improve pedestrian accessibility across New Orleans, especially for those with disabilities. Since 2013, the City’s Department of Public Works has been implementing its Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Transition Plan to better ensure the public right-of-way is readily accessible to and usable by pedestrians. The ADA requires that existing facilities, such as the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar line, be made wheelchair accessible only in limited circumstances. Through this settlement, the City, in partnership with the RTA, will work to secure the required approval by municipal, state and federal governmental entities in order to incorporate accessibility to the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar line.

"The St. Charles Avenue Streetcar line, listed as a National Historic Landmark, is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world. While it is a cultural asset used by both New Orleans locals and visitors alike, the City and the RTA formally began to evaluate a feasibility plan of incorporating an accessible transit program for the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar line.

"The plan envisioned introducing the modern “red” streetcar vehicles from the Riverfront line, which are equipped with wheelchair lifts, onto the St. Charles line to operate in conjunction with the historic 1920’s Perly Thomas “green” streetcars, which cannot be modified due to their historic designation. However, based on the City and the RTA’s evaluation and study, any modifications to incorporate accessibility to the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar line, a historic landmark, require approval by municipal, state, and federal governmental entities.

"The City, in partnership with the RTA, will undertake preparing the necessary applications and seeking approval from municipal, state, and federal governmental agencies.

"Only if approval is granted by these agencies will the proposed modifications to the historic St. Charles Avenue Streetcar line be made. "The proposed modifications include constructing six (6) wheelchair accessible stops at each end of the line, Napoleon, Louisiana, Jackson, and an as-yet-undetermined stop near the riverbend.

"If all applications are granted, then the City and the RTA will have nine (9) months to secure bids for the construction.

"Upon completion of construction, the RTA will run one “red” streetcar equipped with a wheelchair lift on the St. Charles Avenue line in rotation with the historic “green” Perly Thomas streetcars.

"If subsequent ridership data after two years demonstrates high demand for the wheelchair accessible streetcar, a second accessible streetcar will be added.

"Right now, a historic capital improvement program is underway across New Orleans to repair roadways and the public right-of-way. As part of this work, the City will be continuing to reconstruct and/or refurbish thousands of curbs, re-surfaced streets, passageways and sidewalks.

"At least $24 million of the $2.4 billion being spent on roads and infrastructure will be spent on new ADA-compliant ramps in the next 6-8 years as part of this program. Furthermore, all infrastructure improvements are designed in accordance with the City’s Complete Streets Ordinance to encourage easy travel for all users, including motorists, bicyclists, bus and streetcar riders, pedestrians and the disabled."

Sacramento streetcar line gets $50 million in congressional budget

Sacramento Bee By Tony Bizjak May 1, 2017 http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/transportation/article147892159.html

Sacramento’s effort to build a downtown streetcar got a critical financial boost this week from Congress, opening the possibility that construction could begin in a year or two on the long- stalled project. As part of its bipartisan 2017 budget agreement, announced Monday, Congress has included $50 million to help construct the four-mile rail line planned for downtown Sacramento streets and for the riverfront area in West Sacramento. Local officials say they hope ultimately to persuade the federal government to provide $100 million toward what they say is a $200 million project. The federal funding is contingent on a vote this June of owners of property near the proposed line in downtown Sacramento, as well as a formal contract agreement between local officials and the Federal Transit Administration later this year. Sacramento Congresswoman Doris Matsui, a major advocate for the project, called the potential federal funding a key step in an ongoing and still uncertain process. The Trump administration earlier this year indicated in its proposed next year budget that it wants to begin phasing out the Federal Transit Administration in the coming years. That likely would eliminate funding, over time, for streetcar, light rail and other transit projects. “It is now more important than ever that we continue working with our partners at the state, local and federal level to sustain today’s momentum and make the … streetcar project a reality,” Matsui said in an email to The Bee on Monday. West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon said news of the potential federal funding shows that Congress continues to support transit funding nationally. “This is a good step,” he said. “Cautious optimism is the name of the game. We have to keep moving forward, but this is in our control.” The June vote in Sacramento will involve more than 300 of the largest property owners near the downtown line, but it won’t include residential property owners or small commercial properties. Neither of those groups, nor residents, will be asked to pay into the streetcar fund, city officials said. A previous measure that failed in 2015 would have required payment by all property owners near the line, including small commercial sites and homes.

Commentary: Tuesday’s mayoral election is not about the streetcar

Cincinnati Business Courier By Chris Wetterich May 1, 2017 http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/05/01/commentary-tuesdays-mayoral- election-is-not-about.html

If you’ve watched the campaign commercials, you might think the 2017 mayoral race is about the same thing the 2013 one was about: The streetcar, specifically whether to expand it.

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Streetcar gets '17 federal money, but what happens after that?

Sacramento Business Journal By Ben van der Meer May 1, 2017 http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2017/05/01/streetcar-gets-17-federal- money-but-what-happens.html

A streetcar system to link downtown Sacramento and West Sacramento would get a $50 million infusion from the federal government under a 2017 fiscal-year funding bill announced Monday, but prospects for more in future years are cloudy.

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