March 8 – March 15, 2018 COMMUNITY STREETCAR COALITION NEWS CLIPS

COMPILED BY

BROADCAST CLIPS

El Paso KDBC March 15, 2018 LINK: http://bit.ly/2DuU9ux

The first streetcar is finally headed to El Paso. Representative Peter Svarzbein was in Brooksville, Pennsylvania; that’s where the refurbished streetcar was prepped and loaded for the journey back to the borderland. After all the chains were attached, streetcar #1506 was out of the factory. Svarzbein did not say when it’s expected to arrive.

Oklahoma City KWTV March 13, 2018 LINK: http://bit.ly/2FO4zaA

In today’s Oklahoma City business report, another step forward for the streetcar project in downtown Oklahoma City. Yesterday another one of the seven total streetcars was delivered to the Metro. After the delivery of the Clear Sky Blue car, the Redbud car went for a short test run. EMBARK says so far things are going smoothly. Things are working as expected, and so we’re just continuing to learn ourselves, because this is the first time we’ve had rail vehicle on city streets in more than half a century. Each of these cars will go through extensive test runs before any passengers get on board.

Milwaukee WTMJ March 13, 2018 LINK: http://bit.ly/2FTUJqH

A potential roadblock for the next phase of the Milwaukee streetcar project. Our partners at the Milwaukee Business Journal reporting that the city failed to win a $20 million federal grant for the second time. It would have helped pay for an extension to the new Bucks arena.

Omaha WOWT March 10, 2018 LINK: http://bit.ly/2DuDTcP

Well we’ve heard the plans for a proposed streetcar here in Omaha, but how exactly would it be paid for? The mayor weighing in tonight. A report gathered through a recent study has been handed over to Mayor Jean Stothert. It outlines benefits of the streetcar and even gives a proposed route. If passed, the project could cost the city more than $169 million. The mayor says she has not reviewed the report just yet but she is releasing this statement: “I am not going to commit any city dollars for the streetcar. If there is any city money involved at all, at any point, it would be a community decision and the citizens will vote. If we are going to continue to build up downtown and midtown, we need to improve transit and public transportation, but it needs to be a menu of options.”

2

PRINT COVERAGE Streetcar 1506 is en route to El Paso

KVIA By Jerry Najera March 14, 2018

After a little more than a year of restoration, El Paso streetcar 1506 is on its way to the borderland.

It's one of six streetcars that's being restored in Brookville, Pennsylvania, and it is expected to be in El Paso in five days.

With great care, streetcar 1506 got prepped for a ride to El Paso.

But the weather doesn't appear to be offering favorable conditions.

"I think it's about 22 degrees right now. It's been snowing on or off for the entire day," said District 1 Rep. Peter Svarzabein.

Svarzbein went to Brookville to oversee the transport of the street car.

He tells ABC-7 the conditions haven't hampered the move.

"These guys here they are used to it. All they had to do was wear a couple of extra layers and make sure they had good gloves on some good socks but everyone was excited about street car leaving town today." Svarzbein said.

Svarzbein said getting the street car prepped wasn't an easy task. It took about a dozen workers to get the car ready.

"First they have to load it up onto the flatbed truck. There's specific points they use to tie down the streetcar. Then you have a crew to batten down everything," Svarzbein said.

Svarzbein tells ABC-7 this project is more than a just streetcar running up and down the streets of the city.

"We are in an interesting time when it comes to talking about our border and to think that our city is bringing back to life those same streetcars that ran 500 times a day between El Paso and Juarez, what amazing symbol of pride to show love to ourselves, for our region for our identity,” Svarzbein said.

LINK: http://www.kvia.com/news/el-paso/streetcar-1506-is-en-route-to-el-paso/716546726

3 First of six street cars en route to El Paso

KVIA No author listed March 14, 2018

The first street car expected to roam the streets of El Paso is making its way to the Borderland.

The El Paso Transnational Project released video of street car No. 1506 leaving a factory in St. Brookville, Pennsylvania, where the trollies were being restored, and make the cross-country journey to El Paso.

Construction of the 4.8-mile street car route in Downtown and west side El Paso is nearly complete. Street cars are expected to start operating in the spring.

LINK: http://www.kvia.com/news/el-paso/first-of-six-street-cars-en-route-to-el-paso/716310299

4 FAQ City: The Blue Line Extension: You’re Got Questions, He’s Got Answers

WFAE By Nick De La Canal March 13, 2018

It was only around 70 years ago that Charlotte had a booming trolley system, with dozens of orange-colored streetcars running up and down the middle of Queens Road, The Plaza, and other surrounding streets and neighborhoods. That is, until the late 1930s came around, and the city dismantled the system, envisioning a future where cars and buses would become the city's primary modes of transportation.

Now, the city is decidedly moving back in the opposite direction, imagining a future where Charlotteans do use rail lines, in addition to cars and buses, after all. The rail revival has been picking up steam over the last few decades, beginning with the reintroduction of the trolley in 1996, followed by the historic opening of the LYNX Blue Line in 2007 and the opening of the Gold Line streetcar in 2015, and now, in present day, with the launching of the Blue Line extension connecting uptown to UNC Charlotte.

The new 9.3 mile light rail line officially opens to the public on Friday, March 16, (seven months behind its originally-planned launch date: August 2017) and at a cost of nearly $1.2 billion, making it the most expensive public works project in Charlotte's history.

Over the last few weeks, WFAE has been calling for listeners to send in their questions about the new Blue Line extension. According to our submissions, people are curious about the project's design, its practicality, and what kinds of future rail projects the city might have in store.

On today's episode of FAQ City, we relay those listener-submitted questions to CATS CEO John Lewis, who was kind enough to join us at a newly built train stop on 9th Street just outside uptown, and provide us with answers!

Do you have more questions about the new light rail line (or anything else about Charlotte's history, culture, and transportation)? Let us know in the box below! We'll have much more coverage of the new Blue Line extension's debut throughout this week on WFAE.

While you're at it, make sure to subscribe and rate/review the FAQ City podcast on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, and Google Play.

LINK: http://wfae.org/post/faq-city-blue-line-extension-youve-got-questions-hes-got-answers - stream/0

5 Hansen: What is it about the word streetcar that makes people so dubious?

Omaha World-Herald By Matthew Hansen March 13, 2018

The word “streetcar” has barely escaped my mouth, and Mike Hoch is already turning crimson.

“The biggest waste of money!” he barks, his voice slicing through the din of a lively Wednesday dinnertime crowd at Dinker’s Bar and Grill. “Just ridiculous!” the retiree yelps a few seconds later as his three dining companions, his wife, Vici, and friends Dana and Mike Shaw, nod in agreement.

And then, after the quartet offers reasons why it thinks an Omaha streetcar is a crummy idea — the condition of city roads, the fact it will benefit only midtown and downtown — Hoch drops his argumentative trump card, the one played again and again when I talked to Dinker’s customers Wednesday.

Hoch says the construction of an Omaha streetcar will raise his taxes. He says he knows this even after I tell him that preliminary streetcar plans avoid widespread tax increases — and that Mayor Jean Stothert has said she won’t support a plan that hikes property taxes.

Hoch’s words come out in deliberate chunks now, as if he’s taking verbal chomps from a Dinker’s cheeseburger.

“I just … do not … believe them.”

This is the oldest Omaha story in the book.

For two decades, we have talked streetcar. For two decades, the idea has animated politicians, business leaders, developers and young Omahans who see it as a way to commit to the city’s future.

And for two decades, the idea has infuriated large swaths of residents who question the plan’s price tag and its value.

So, yes, I found a fair bit of fury when I spent the lunch and dinner hours interviewing 25 people at Dinker’s. I talked to them two days before a new streetcar report pegged the potential cost at $170 million, set a preliminary route between 42nd and Farnam and 10th and Cass (with 15 stops along the route) and was portrayed by city officials as showing that the project is feasible.

The backers of the Omaha streetcar will not be wild about the results of my informal and highly unscientific poll: Three for the streetcar, 16 against and six people undecided.

But they may find solace in what I also found at Dinker’s: a pair of cracks in that anger, twin openings by which this latest streetcar plan could actually go from drawing board to reality. Two opportunities to rewrite the long, sad Omaha streetcar story.

6 One is the current occupant of the mayor’s office. The other is our big brother city to the south.

Mayor Stothert’s support of any eventual streetcar proposal would mean quite a bit to several of the Republicans I spoke to at Dinker’s, the nearly half-century-old southeast Omaha hangout with burgers the regulars and yours truly swear by.

Dinker’s attracts a diverse crowd. I talked to business types in suits, construction workers who had just finished their shifts, retirees and college kids.

I talked to several Republicans who, while undecided, seemed to be giving the idea of a streetcar another chance. They voted twice for Stothert. They think she’s a good mayor. And if she says it’s a good idea, well, they just might listen.

“I trust her,” said Mike Linn, the president of a manufacturing company near Dinker’s and a lunchtime diner I marked undecided. “So I will probably trust her judgment on this.”

The other thing that seemed to turn Dinker’s customers in favor of a streetcar plan, or at least give potential opponents pause: Kansas City.

Ah, good ol’ K.C., that nearby city with an international airport (which Omaha didn’t bid for) , a Major League Baseball team (we’re their Triple-A affiliate) and its own world-famous style of barbecue (hey, we have steak!).

Not that we’re jealous. (We are totally jealous.)

A funny thing kept happening when I wandered between Dinker’s tables. People who had recently visited Kansas City kept bringing up that city’s 2-year-old streetcar. They had seen it. They had ridden it. They had enjoyed it.

They wondered: “Are we gonna do it like K.C.?” asked Mikaela Kellogg, one of three people I found supportive of the plan. Mikaela, 20, is a cosmetology student. She dined with Creighton business student Pacis Bana, 23.

They had boarded the Kansas City streetcar which, by the way, is averaging double the number of expected riders since its first run in May 2016. It looks like an early success. It looks to Kellogg and Bana like a thing Omaha should get behind.

And indeed: Of the six people I ran into who had seen or ridden on the Kansas City streetcar, all six were either in favor of an Omaha streetcar or undecided.

“It would be very nice,” Kellogg said of the streetcar line that is sketched to run from near the Med Center, through the Blackstone District and Midtown Crossing and then into downtown.

“I would take it from my house,” Bana says. “Very big city,” Kellogg says.

But before Omaha’s streetcar proponents can get to that big-city future, there’s some serious reckoning that needs to happen in the present.

The truth, at least in this one east Omaha burger joint, is that the current streetcar outreach has not reached them. Much of the opposition, like Hoch’s, is entrenched and has been for years.

7 Now, people are not uniformly angry. But they are nearly all suspicious.

Why do we need an estimated $170 million streetcar? How will it help us? Who, exactly, is going to pay for it?

They feel like they have seen this before in Omaha, even though some freely admit that they now like previous massive projects like the downtown arena and ballpark even as they bemoan the bond issues and taxes that help pay for city government.

They remain … dubious. Dubious seems the right word for it.

“This is money that could be used for so many other things,” says Gary Magnussen, who lives in South Omaha.

“This will only benefit downtown dwellers,” says Dana Shaw, who then guesses, correctly, that I’m a resident of downtown. (She says my gray blazer gave me away.)

“There’s plenty of parking in the Old Market and midtown — why do we need a streetcar?” asks Pat Linn of Gretna.

At Dinker’s, they are serving skepticism as a side dish. At Dinker’s, they are not at all convinced. At least not yet.

LINK: http://www.omaha.com/columnists/plus/hansen-what-is-it-about-the-word-streetcar-that- makes/article_0717f5a2-a1d1-5f04-9113-bde51812b5ae.html

8

Report pegs cost of Omaha streetcar at $170 million; Stothert wants city vote if tax money is used

Omaha World-Herald By Christopher Burbach and Emily Nohr March 13, 2018

With a new study estimating the cost of an Omaha streetcar at $170 million, Mayor Jean Stothert says it’s up to streetcar advocates to push the project ahead. She says she would require a public vote if tax dollars are involved.

The taxpayers, she said, will decide if the project moves forward. Stothert said she sees possible benefits, including a transportation option that boosts economic development and decreases traffic congestion. But she said she won’t consider a vote until streetcar advocates secure funding.

Still, she said, “If the City of Omaha had any dollars in the project, it would have to be (put to) a citywide vote.”

The new cost projection, released Friday, is $14 million more than the previous estimate, which was based on costs from 2014 and was not as detailed as the latest analysis. The new “advanced conceptual engineering” study considered the cost of moving such utilities as power, sewer and water lines; building basic streetcar stops; traffic adjustments and other factors.

The cost estimate includes engineering, construction, stops, utilities for the electrical streetcars and the streetcar vehicles themselves, among other expenses.

The report on the streetcar study, obtained by The World-Herald on Friday, doesn’t determine whether Omaha will move forward. It does give more firm information to help people decide, said Curt Simon, Metro Transit executive director.

“This is showing us it’s feasible,” Simon said in an interview. “It’s showing us some potential revenue sources if everybody wants to go forward. ... My takeaway is that it’s going to take a team effort to get this done, if it’s something that the city wants to do.”

Metro, which contracted with HDR Inc. for the $610,000 study with mostly federal grant money, provided the report to Stothert on Friday.

The study follows up on a financial assessment done in 2016. That report recommended a smorgasbord of possible funding sources. Those included philanthropic donations and possibly federal grants but leaned heavily toward “value capture,” or getting money from the area that would benefit the most from a streetcar.

Friday’s report recommends that such funding sources be pinned down in what it calls a next step, creating a “funding and finance plan.” The next steps after that would be preliminary engineering and final design and construction, the consultants recommended.

9 That’s if the city and public approve. That could be a big if, as some Omahans view a streetcar as a frill that would cost a lot to serve a few.

The report doesn’t go into this part, but there would have to be public approval at some point, possibly via a City Council vote, the approval of special assessments and other funding from within a streetcar district, or the citywide vote Stothert has called for.

It’s unclear whether Omaha will take the next step. City government, and the mayor in particular, are likely to have a lot to say about that. Most of the potential funding sources are outside Metro Transit’s control. Stothert said Friday that the project’s supporters — Modern Streetcar Advocates — would take the lead on figuring out how to pay for it.

“The city would be a partner and a resource in the work ahead,” she said. But “the work ahead on the streetcar will be driven largely by the project stakeholders — not the city.”

Modern Streetcar Advocates said Friday that stakeholders in midtown and downtown “are exploring different funding scenarios for the streetcar that would not require a citywide tax increase.” The group plans on sharing its ideas this summer, it said in a prepared statement.

“We are confident a vast majority of the funding for the streetcar can be paid for from within the corridor by those who benefit the most: businesses and commercial property owners along the route, developers, and area institutions,” said Mike Moylan of Shamrock Development, who is a leader of Modern Streetcar Advocates. “There is no need for a citywide tax increase to complete the project.”

The report based its cost estimate on a route that goes from 10th and Cass Streets in downtown Omaha to 42nd Street in midtown. It would travel on 10th Street, Farnam and Harney Streets. That’s the main route that has been contemplated since Omaha’s most recent streetcar exploration began in earnest in 2014. The route would travel 3 miles and have 13 stations.

New in this report is a recommendation for a streetcar vehicle maintenance facility at Eighth Street and Riverfront Drive downtown.

The report suggests that the streetcar would be governed by a new authority that could include such partners as the City of Omaha, Metro Transit, the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, a new business improvement district and the Omaha Municipal Land Bank.

It recommends creating a separate nonprofit foundation to accept private donations.

It says a streetcar could begin operating in Omaha by 2021. It uses the 2016 financial assessment’s estimate of $7.4 million a year for operating costs.

The report estimates that 820 to 1,060 people a day would ride the streetcar. It says that number would be “substantially lower than peer streetcar systems” using a measurement that considers trips expected between home and work using Census data. The measurements did not count people who would hop on the streetcar to go to lunch, or use it between events at CenturyLink Center or TD Ameritrade Park and bars or their cars, or students who would ride it to class. It didn’t consider whether the streetcar could replace a University of Nebraska Medical Center shuttle between UNMC and midtown.

10 City planning consultant Steve Jensen noted that the Kansas City, Missouri, streetcar was initially projected to have 2,700 riders a day. The KC Streetcar averaged more than double that last year: 5,645 riders a day.

“I don’t think 820 to 1,060 is a good number,” Jensen said. “I think that’s just plain wrong.”

Jensen said the biggest takeaway is “the costs are probably in line with what’s been expected.”

The consultants looked under the streets and did not find “fatal flaws” such as utilities or traffic problems that would cause costs to shoot way up, Jensen said, although he said the new estimate is still an estimate.

“We were all wondering, is it going to be $157 million, or $150 million, or $250 million?” Jensen said. If the report came up with a $250 million estimate, he said, then it probably wouldn’t be worth spending more time and money to explore the idea further.

LINK: http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/report-pegs-cost-of-omaha-streetcar-at-million- stothert-wants/article_ddce7e9b-c635-5fc2-b083-18b618d52dbf.html

11 Broward’s sales tax could raise $16 billion for transportation – if voters agree

The Sun Sentinel By Larry Barszewski March 12, 2018

Broward County commissioners are still trying to decide if they’ll ask county voters to increase the sales tax to raise almost $16 billion for road and transportation projects.

It’s a lot of money the county would use to pay to fix roads, improve bus service and add light- rail streetcar routes to heavily congested roads with the goal of providing better commutes for residents.

Voters said yes in 2016 to a smaller half-penny increase, but that never took effect because it was tied to a companion half-penny sales tax increase for city infrastructure projects that voters rejected.

County commissioners said Monday they’re leaning toward another vote this year; they’re just not certain the timing is right.

Will the people who turn out be more typical of non-presidential election year voters who tend to be more conservative and less likely to go along with a tax increase? Or is it shaping up to be a “wave” election of progressive voters dissatisfied with President Donald Drumpf who could be more receptive to the county’s pitch?

Voters could be wading through a large number of referendums from the county and state, raising concerns the sales tax question could be ignored.

Hanging in the balance are 30 years’ worth of road and transportation projects. They include more than 27 miles of light rail, hundreds of new buses, more rapid and express bus routes, community bus programs for every city and a more technologically advanced road system.

“I think if we’re going to do it, we put it on and we just don’t overthink this to death,” Commissioner Michael Udine said.

Udine said the best selling point could be the plan to add 75 miles of fiber optic cables along roadways that currently don’t have them, greatly enhancing the county’s ability to adapt signal timing to traffic demands. The fiber optics would also provide the backbone for new technologies and cell phone apps that drivers increasingly rely on to find the quickest routes to their destinations, he said.

“That would be the first priority I would get out to people,” Udine said during the first day of a two-day commission retreat at Tree Tops Park in Davie. “There’s so much of the county that’s missing that.”

Commissioner Mark Bogen said he’s concerned the “most important tab is missing” from the county’s presentation: How to market the proposed increase.

12 “If we can’t sell it, it’s a waste,” Bogen said. “The last time, we failed in marketing.”

County officials estimate that increasing the county sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent — an extra penny for each dollar consumers spend — would raise $15.7 billion over 30 years. That’s about $2 billion more than had been estimated in November.

The total plan, when federal, state and other funding is included, would reach $25 billion over 30 years, officials estimate.

Miami-Dade currently spends about three times as much a year on transportation as Broward County, $1.46 billion to Broward’s $515 million, county officials said.

The proposed plan includes up to 586 city transportation projects that were included in the 2016 plan.

It also would provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in “seed money” for potential pilot projects involving autonomous vehicles or other new transportation technologies.

A looming concern for commissioners is the fate of Fort Lauderdale’s Wave streetcar project, which has become increasingly controversial over its high cost. All of Fort Lauderdale’s commission and mayoral candidates in Tuesday’s election are opposed to the project and may try to kill it. County commissioners fear any litigation or further controversy could lead Wave critics to organize against a sales tax increase, even though the Wave is funded separately.

The light rail the county is planning for the future would use the same vehicles as the Wave, but they would travel at greater speeds in lanes by themselves or where they have priority during rush hour.

Commissioner Steve Geller, not convinced that light rail will do a better job than express buses at moving commuters, said he wants to make sure the county uses the right technology. The cheaper cost of buses could allow the county to purchase more of them and have them run more frequently, which would help attract passengers, he said.

LINK: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-sb-broward-retreat-transportation-sales- tax-referendum-20180309-story.html

13 Applauding Pending Death Of “The Wave” Streetcar

Broward Beat By Buddy Nevins March 12, 2018

Fort Lauderdale Against The Wave (FLAW) is applauding the pending death after Tuesday’s election of the long-planned streetcar system, which is expected to cost $100s million.

Noting that all six candidates in the Fort Lauderdale commission and mayor’s election are against the streetcar, “no matter who wins the March 13 election, it appears that The Wave, as currently planned, is headed for termination,” states a news release from the organization, which gives no membership numbers.

FLAW says “one of the viable alternative(s) appear to be electric buses, favored now by most cities over dated streetcar technology. According to officials from (bus companies) Proterra, American Flyer and Gillig, among others, statistics indicate these buses would cost approximately $2 million each, and be produced within a two-year time frame. In addition to obvious cost savings, routes can be easily changed to accommodate population shifts and needs,” a second statement from the group contends.

“Additionally, autonomous buses are expected to be available within approximately six to 10 years, around the same time WAVE is scheduled for competition — if construction even begins,” FLAW continues.

The number of Fort Lauderdale residents opposing The Wave have increased in recent months.

Envisioned decades ago when the downtown was less crowded, The Wave is still in planning stages, yet cost estimates have already skyrocketed by tens of millions of dollars. There is suspicions that the ridership projections are no more accurate than the original cost estimates.

In addition, residents now realize the project will take up traffic lanes on already overcrowded roads and that there are no money to complete the promised connections to the airport or other areas. Plus, WAVE supporters admit that operating the streetcar will require additional taxes.

The WAVE project was approved by the Broward County Commission, 5-4, and by the outgoing Fort Lauderdale City Commission, 3-2, a few months ago. The operative word here is “outgoing.”

Below is the latest news release from FLAW:

FOR LAUDERDALE IS AGAINST THE WAVE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

With soon-to-be newly elected leadership, Fort Lauderdale can expect better mass transit than proposed Wave, an estimated $250-million, 2.8-mile streetcar project that has been in discussion for over 15 years. There are several systems that will be faster, cost less, and have the necessary

14 flexibility to community-servicing needs that don’t require tracks, cause the removal of hundreds of trees, and don’t require overhead wires.

The six candidates in the final run-off for mayor, and the district 2 and 4 City Commissioner seats reconfirmed their intention to overturn the current commission’s 3-2 vote to fund the Wave at a FLAW (Fort Lauderdale is Against the Wave)-sponsored symposium Wednesday, March 7, either in person or through submitted statements. Consistent with prior debates and forums throughout the city during the past month, mayoral and district commissioner candidates cited excessive costs, dated streetcar engineering and technology, routing and other issues as well as the unpopularity of the project they discovered while campaigning.

FLAW has in paid newspaper advertisements encouraged termination or a public referendum before any further expenditures. The project is championed by developers and the city’s Downtown Development Authority but has never been voted on by the city’s residents themselves. Meanwhile it is generally admitted that the Wave will not actually alleviate traffic congestion but is really designed to be an economic development catalyst in the now very active Flagler Village neighborhood.

FLAW wants the best possible public transportation system for the city, and coordinated the March 7 symposium at the South Side Cultural Center to spotlight displays and feature speakers describing over 12 systems that can be activated years faster than the Wave (estimated to take six years to build) at dramatically lesser cost, with likelihood of much higher ridership, and with virtually no negative impact on the city infrastructure or aesthetics. Additionally, the alternative systems reviewed at the event mitigate concerns about the city and county being liable for the Wave’s inevitable cost overruns.

Besides the cost, technology and limited servicing issues, there has also been questioning of use of NW CRA funds diverted to the project in conflict to the intent of the funding.

With all six candidates reaffirming their opposition, no matter who wins the March 13 election, it appears that The Wave, as currently planned, is headed for termination. The six candidates endorsing termination assure a three-vote majority against funding after the election. Across America, numerous cities are currently reassessing transportation options with the advent of lower cost/better technology systems, and the transportation industry is moving quickly towards autonomous vehicles. FLAW is encouraging immediate review of the many options available citing that The Wave planning has limited city provision of adequate mass transit for Fort Lauderdale for over 15 years.

###

LINK: https://www.browardbeat.com/applauding-pending-death-of-the-wave-streetcar/

15 DC takes the wrong track in revitalization bid with streetcar

The Hill By Sen. Rand Paul March 9, 2018

As chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight, I see a lot of government boondoggles. One of the worst is the Washington, D.C. Streetcar. Much (but not all) of this boondoggle was financed by D.C. taxpayers. They really got taken for a ride on this project, but so did you.

After more than a decade, $200 million in spending, and a few accidents, the Streetcar finally opened its 2.2-mile route to the public in 2016. It has lost money ever since. How do I know? Because though the city intends to charge riders, no one ever figured out what that price should be, so it has been free for two years while a decision is made.

In February, we learned that just two years after launching, the D.C. Streetcar could be getting ready to retire six cars from its fleet. You see, in 2004, with little in the way of plans and not a foot of track laid, Washington bought the cars for this ill-fated venture. Now they are out of date, and parts are hard to come by. I say it sounds like time for D.C. to cut its losses on this one.

Unfortunately, those losses are everyone’s, because, as my Waste Report on “A Streetcar Called Waste” noted two years ago, the U.S. Department of Transportation ponied up $1.6 million for the D.C. Streetcar.

It almost sounds like that old Simpsons episode, “Marge vs. the Monorail,” where a fast-talker comes to town to sell Springfield on building a monorail – which promptly fails while the swindler tries to escape with the taxpayers’ money. Like The Simpsons, bad streetcar ideas come from Oregon. In 2001, Portland became the first city to open a modern streetcar. It was part of a plan to revitalize an area known as the Pearl District, transforming a depressed industrial area into a vibrant hipster community.

As Wired magazine put it, “Blame Portland, Oregon, for streetcar fever.” D.C. was inspired by Portland, but so were many other cities across the country, and the federal government was happy to pour more than $300 million into Detroit, Dallas, Tampa, and other cities for streetcars. They also have helped fund repeated expansion in Portland.

But streetcars are not a panacea to urban renewal. Many streetcar success stories, including in Portland, begin with regulatory and tax relief that spurred revitalization well in advance of trains. I like how Gizmodo said it, “Streetcars are the Great Urban Gimmick of Our Time.”

Countless studies have shown that stadiums and casinos do not truly cause revitalization. Undoubtedly, future studies will say the same of streetcars. We know what spurs growth both in urban and rural areas - free-market economics. So let’s stop playing games and wasting taxpayer money on gimmicks.

LINK: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-budget/377647-dc-takes-the-wrong- track-in-revitalization-bid-with

16 Video: Streetcar gets a workout as tests continue on Oklahoma City system

The Oklahoman By William Crum March 9, 2018

One of Oklahoma City's streetcars got a road test Thursday near the @OKCStreetcar maintenance facility.

Testing is beginning on the Hudson Avenue "nonrevenue" track between about SW 4 Street and SW 7.

That track runs down the center of Hudson and essentially is a driveway between the mainline and the streetcar garage at SW 7.

It is called nonrevenue track because passengers won't be carried when streetcars are on that part of the system.

Two of Oklahoma City's seven streetcars have been delivered so far from the manufacturing plant in western Pennsylvania.

Both of those are in the "redbud" colors.

The third streetcar, a blue one, is to be delivered Monday.

The streetcars are manufactured by Brookville Equipment Corp. of Brookville, Pennsylvania, and are the company's Liberty model.

They are designed to operate partially on battery power, so sections of the approximately 5 miles of track will not have overhead wires.

Streetcars cost close to $5 million each.

Streetcar tracks are being installed in downtown streets and streetcars will share the road with other traffic.

The system is to begin operations in December.

LINK: http://newsok.com/video-streetcar-gets-a-workout-as-tests-continue-on-oklahoma-city- system/article/5586411?nextgen=true

17 Milwaukee fails to win federal grant for downtown streetcar extension to arena

Milwaukee Business Journal By Sean Ryan March 9, 2018

A $40 million downtown streetcar extension to the Milwaukee Bucks arena failed to win a competitive federal grant for a second time, leaving the project’s construction schedule in limbo.

The city was seeking $20 million in federal Department of Transportation Grant money to pay for that track extension. It would’ve run primarily along North Fourth Street, linking the Milwaukee Intermodal Station on West St. Paul Avenue to the new arena that will open this fall on West Juneau Avenue.

The $500 million federal grant program is competitive, and the Milwaukee streetcar did not make the cut. The DOT on Friday announced the grant awards through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, program. The only victory for Wisconsin is a bus transfer station project in the city of Eau Claire that received $5 million.

The TIGER grants are usually awarded annually, and Milwaukee can reapply. This year, an historic amount of the TIGER money went to projects in rural areas.

Milwaukee previously applied in 2016 for a TIGER grant for the same project, but was unsuccessful. It took two attempts for the city to win a $14.2 million federal grant for the streetcar’s extension to the lakefront. That grant was awarded in 2015, and work started on that leg of the streetcar this year.

“While we obviously had hoped to receive this grant, we’re going to continue to work to get federal funding for this important route extension," said Ghassan Korban, commissioner of the city of Milwaukee Department of Public Works. "We’re very optimistic that with operations of the streetcar starting later this year, we’ll be in a strong position to get a federal investment to expand the benefits of the streetcar to more Milwaukee neighborhoods and residents.”

A $54.9 million federal grant is funding half of the cost of the first streetcar phase, which will start service later this year. The spur to the downtown lakefront will start service in late 2019.

The city is using tax incremental financing, or TIF, to cover its local share of the streetcar construction costs. That financing method funnels increased property taxes from new development to cover nearby infrastructure work.

For the arena extension, the city anticipates using about $8 million in TIF money from new development on what is now a city-owned parking lot at Fourth Street and West Wisconsin Avenue. That private development has not moved forward, so the anticipated TIF money hasn't been generated.

The city in September 2016 received competing development plans for the site in response to a request for proposals, or RFP. The city has not officially selected one to move forward. Those two proposals are contingent upon decisions that haven't yet been made by the Wisconsin 18 Center District, which runs the neighboring downtown convention center, said Jeff Fleming, spokesman for the Milwaukee Department of City Development. He added that there have been calls in recent weeks regarding the site from interested parties that have not submitted proposals.

"We continue to receive additional inquiries, and the RFP remains open," Fleming said.

The remaining $12 million in city TIF money for the streetcar’s arena extension would come from past development at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center and Schlitz Park office campus.

LINK: https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2018/03/09/milwaukee-fails-to-win-federal- grant-for-downtown.html

19 Milwaukee Biz Blog: Desire for a streetcar

Biz Times By David Wendland March 8, 2018

Let me first credit playwright Tennessee Williams and his acclaimed “A Streetcar Named Desire” as the inspiration for the title of this blog post. The reference to a streetcar is truly where the similarities end. In this post, I wanted to share opinions about the Milwaukee streetcar development and the potential risks and rewards.

Here are several assumptive rewards that I attribute to the streetcar project.

Assumption 1: Streetcars attract more riders than buses.

Capacity-wise, streetcars should have more seats available. In fact, according to the official City of Milwaukee project website, streetcar vehicles are typically about double the length and capacity of a Milwaukee County Transit System bus. Not to mention that the promise of quieter, more comfortable rides is intriguing and compelling.

Assumption 2: They’re fun to ride and cleaner than diesel buses.

When one thinks of long-running streetcars, San Francisco and New Orleans come to mind. From my personal experience in San Francisco, I can definitely attest they’re fun to ride. Given the terrain in that city, it’s really quite an adventure.

Assumption 3: Downtown Milwaukee will become even more desirable.

In recent years the center city has become a more attractive place to live, shop, work, and play. The city also references reports of similar streetcar projects implemented across the nation that have stimulated economic development.

Assumption 4: Streetcars possess emotional allure.

For nostalgia alone, streetcars offer a unique personality that most other forms of city transport do not. They also represent a highly visible investment in urban development. Such factors have become a catalyst for modern day streetcar systems popping up with hopes of sparking economic revival in places such as Dallas, Portland, and Kansas City.

Considering the other side of this coin, there are some potential risks to the project.

Assumption 1: Nobody will ride them.

Some naysayers have alluded to visions of empty cars careening our streets empty of passengers and making it difficult to navigate downtown. Not to mention delaying the movement of “real” traffic and pedestrian egress.

Assumption 2: They’ll be dirty and unsafe.

20 Unkempt and ridden only by unruly patrons has been cited as another reason for an eventual debacle for the city. There is a fear that the streetcar project will shed unfavorable light on the city.

Assumption 3: It will create an economic sinkhole.

Despite funding from generous sponsors (e.g., Potawatomi), some are convinced that the project expenses – especially ongoing maintenance and care – are grossly understated resulting in a financial house of cards.

Whatever side of the debate you may be on, the rails are being laid and the streetcar project is in full motion. The best way to ensure its success is to use it. I plan to do so when I frequent downtown and I surely hope that Milwaukee becomes one of the nation’s best examples of success.

Dave Wendland is vice president of strategic relations for Pewaukee-based Hamacher Resource Group Inc.

LINK: https://www.biztimes.com/2018/ideas/government-politics/milwaukee-biz-blog-desire-for- a-streetcar/

21 Hearing draws dozens for and against West Seventh streetcar

Pioneer Press By Frederick Melo March 8, 2018

The St. Paul City Council held a public hearing Wednesday on a major regional transit project still in the infancy of planning — a $1.4 billion to $2 billion proposed streetcar line down West Seventh Street to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Mall of America in Bloomington.

Following the hearing, the council voted 6-0 to support the 12-mile Riverview Corridor, as well as a proposed study of how to connect the corridor to a future residential area planned for the site of the former Ford truck plant in Highland Park. Council Member Dan Bostrom was absent.

“We need to be clear-eyed as we go forward about the financial impacts (and) the impacts on businesses,” said City Council Member Rebecca Noecker, “(but) I think we need it. We need a new mode of transit … that compels people to leave their cars behind.”

About 10 people spoke Wednesday against the “modern streetcar” option, with Kent Petterson, president of the West Seventh Business Association, and several business owners calling for a cheaper and more flexible rapid-bus route with fewer affects from construction and on parking.

At least one alternative transit advocate said streetcars would have a negative impact on cyclists and would not serve the needs of residents and commuters along East Seventh Street.

“What we heard from … the business association really, really concerns me,” said City Council Member Jane Prince.

At least as many proponents — including a spokesman for the Minnesota Wild NHL team and another for the neighborhood advocacy group Sustain Ward 3 — noted the streetcar would boost existing transit ridership and connect to both the Green Line and Blue Line light rail corridors.

More than 4,000 riders per day already use the Route 54 bus, and that’s expected to climb to 10,000 riders over the next couple decades. “Fixed-rail is more (attractive) to developers,” said Shannon Watson, the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce’s public affairs director.

22 After three years of study, a regional advisory committee chose the streetcar option as the preferred transit mode in October. Gathering preliminary municipal approvals and completing initial planning for the Riverview Corridor will take another three or four years. Environmental review is likely to span another two years, followed by several years of final design and construction.

LINK: https://www.twincities.com/2018/03/07/riverview-corridor-hearing-draws-dozens-for- against-west-7th-streetcar/

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