April 19 – April 26, 2018 COMMUNITY STREETCAR COALITION NEWS CLIPS
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BROADCAST CLIPS
Dallas CBS11 April 24, 2018 LINK: https://bit.ly/2JotrqF
Riding the streetcar in Dallas could soon cost riders a small fee. It currently runs from Union Station to the Bishop Arts District, and DART is suggesting a $1 fare starting in September. City council will consider the matter tomorrow.
El Paso KVIA April 20, 2018 LINK: https://bit.ly/2Fkxx0y
In El Paso the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority is adding the region’s first two-way bike lane, part of the ongoing El Paso streetcar project. As the project is closer to becoming finalized, drivers are learning to adjust to the change in traffic, and so are bicyclists. ABC7’s Josie Ortegon has more. We’re having to come back at this point and look at the infrastructure on our roads and say how can we make them safer? Scott White has been keeping a close eye on the El Paso streetcar project. As part of the addition of streetcars, the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority is adding new two-way bike lanes, a designated green crossing lane for bicyclists, bicycle signals and four-foot-high delineators. It looks like protection, but if a car goes out of control, if you fall and hit this thing. Martin Bartlett with the El Paso streetcar project says engineers chose the delineators specifically because the height allows for maximum reflectivity from a vehicle’s headlights. White is also worried about the amount of space within the bike lanes. The lanes themselves are only four feet wide. That’s not a lot of extra room if you’re going very fast down the hill and someone is coming up the hill. The CRRMA and the designers are confident that the width of the bicycle lanes is absolutely adequate. Engineers will continue to test the bike signals before opening up the bike lanes, and until they get the green light, drivers and bicyclists will need to adapt. Because it is a change in design, there is a learning curve. Whenever you try something new and try something different, that often comes with complications.
Worcester NBC 10 Boston April 20, 2018 LINK: https://bit.ly/2Hw4h8X
And in Worcester, what was old could soon be new again. A Worcester city councilor is proposing restoring a vintage trolley or streetcar system in downtown Worcester. Councilor Sean Rose’s plan would have the trolley’s running in a one-mile area out from city hall in all directions. The last time trolleys ran through the city was 1945.
2
PRINT COVERAGE Officials address pedestrian driver safety surrounding streetcar
KVIA By Joey Carrera April 26, 2018
Pick-up stations in the middle of slimming streets caused concerns about El Paso Streetcar safety.
The project is scheduled to roll out in around six months, but since the beginning safety manager Jose Marquez said tests to try and divert disaster have been conducted.
"It started with the clearance test," said Marquez.
Crews made sure the cars were able to smoothly operate on the tracks with enough space to avoid a collision with curbs or fixed objects.
In many areas, near Stanton Street and Arizona Avenue, for example, passengers waits on platforms in the middle of the streets. Marquez said testing in that specific area has not been done, but precautions are in place.
"Additional striping and signs have been implemented in that area to increase the safety of motorists and pedestrians including specific striping on the roads," said Marquez.
The streetcar path twists and turns in downtown, but Marquez said they will soon have their own stop lights.
Car 1506 is only being tested at night, however, as the next phase approaches, Marquez said it will be tested during the day to acclimate the public to sharing the roadways.
Crews are still devising plans to address various emergency situations. Those plans have to be approved by state safety agencies, such as the Texas Department of Transportation.
In fact, Marquez said crews have to two drills annually.
The November launch date is still on schedule, according to Marquez.
Planned operating hours are listed below:
Monday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday 7 a.m. - 1 a.m.
Saturday 8a.m. to 1 a.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
3 Marqez said no security personnel have been hired to patrol pick-up stops, or the vehicles.
Riders will have to tug on cord inside the bus to signal the driver to stop.
LINK: http://www.kvia.com/news/officials-address-pedestrian-driver-safety-surrounding- streetcar/734916801
4 Fort Lauderdale’s Wave streetcar all but dead after new bids come in too high
The Sun Sentinel By Larry Barszewski April 26, 2018
New construction bids unveiled today may have derailed Fort Lauderdale’s Wave streetcar system and given wary city officials the opening they needed to back out of the project.
State transportation officials tried to lower the project’s cost by reducing its scope. But the new bids were still higher than the $142.5 million maximum that would have allowed the state to move forward with the streetcar system.
A second bid, $154.8 million, came from the Stacy & Witbeck and Herzog Contracting group.
Broward Mayor Beam Furr, who had supported the project in the past, said he sees the new bids as the end of the line for the downtown streetcar project.
“I would be very surprised if there’s any support for it at this point,” Furr said. “I will be getting together with our county attorney to see what our next steps are.”
Fort Lauderdale’s newly elected commission has been on the record wanting to abandon the project. The commission will hold a workshop Monday to review the city’s options and plans to vote on the Wave project at its meeting Tuesday.
Mayor Dean Trantalis and commissioners Steve Glassman and Ben Sorensen pledged during their recent election campaigns that they would vote to kill the project.
The state’s selection committee is scheduled to meet May 3 to select a winning bid, but transportation officials Thursday said they were unsure what would happen now.
Last year, the state’s selection team rejected construction bids that were more than $74 million over budget.
The bids rejected in November for the Wave construction work ranged from $188.7 million to $218 million, which would have pushed the total project cost to $270 million or higher, or more than $96 million per mile for the 2.8-mile route.
The light rail streetcars — which cost $5 million a piece — would run on or near Andrews Avenue from Northeast Sixth Street to Southeast 17th Street.
LINK: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-sb-fort-lauderdale-streetcar- new-costs-20180425-story.html
5 Are you ready to catch the Wave, or is street-car system a mistake?
The Sun Sentinel By Dan Sweeney April 25, 2018
Ten years ago, it seemed like a great idea. A street car system through Fort Lauderdale, cutting down on the city’s growing traffic problem. Now, 10 years on, the Wave street car is mired in controversy.
The new Fort Lauderdale City Commission doesn’t want it. The first round of bids all came in way over budget. And if a new round of bids due Thursday doesn’t come in under $142.5 million, the city can pull the plug.
And yet, traffic through downtown Fort Lauderdale seems worse than ever, and most people agree that some sort of mass transit option is necessary, especially when the city has been trying to encourage a pedestrian, downtown-centered lifestyle.
We want to know what you think. Is the Wave, a street car system with overhead electrical wires that would run on existing roads, a viable mass transit system? Even with the issue of running on the same streets as all the traffic-causing cars, it would still take a few of them off the road.
And if the Wave isn’t an option, do you have a better idea? Keep in mind, more than $82 million in federal grants have already been allotted to the project, and if the new bids come in under $142.5 million, the city would be breaking a contract to kill the deal, opening it up to potential lawsuits.
What’s your vision for transportation in the Fort Lauderdale of the future? Email [email protected], tweet @Daniel_Sweeney or comment below. Your response could be used in a future story.
LINK: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-reg-wave-street-car-20180425-story.html
6 The curse of the subway: A look at Cincinnati’s troubled century of mass transit
The Cincinnati Enquirer By Scott Wartman April 25, 2018
It's easy to see public transportation in Cincinnati as cursed.
After all, the city sits on the burial ground of one of the most embarrassing public transit debacles in the nation: the abandoned subway.
The story of Cincinnati’s mass transit woes reads like an epic Russian novel spanning generations. Struggling bus services, rejected tax levies, one abandoned project after another for 100 years, including, yes, that subway system.
Why don’t we have better public transportation?
Wallace Power asked that question while he sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Beechmont Avenue in 1964. A crash had snarled traffic, giving Power time to think.
“As I sat there, I thought how bad it was that more of us were not on buses,” said Power, who, as the utilities director for the city at the time, was responsible for roads and infrastructure.
Power told The Enquirer in 1964 the city would need some form of rapid transit. But 54 years since that traffic jam, very little has changed for people relying on public transportation in Cincinnati.
Bus ridership has continued to decline. Light rail remains hypothetical.
Why? Is it a curse? What do we do about it?
To look at the start of Cincinnati’s trouble with transit, we must begin on the fetid waters of a stagnant canal.
A subway leaves the city with an expensive hole
At the start of the 20th century, Cincinnati was optimistic about public transportation.
Horse-drawn streetcars had begun carting people around the city on Sept. 14, 1859. By 1900, electric streetcars crisscrossed downtown and Northern Kentucky. Railroads replaced canals.
This left – festering in the middle of town – the Miami and Erie Canal, the same canal dubbed “the Rhine” by homesick German settlers (and source of Over-the-Rhine’s name).
So it didn’t seem absurd in 1884 when The Cincinnati Graphic newspaper first floated the idea of a street and subway replacing the old canal, which is now Central Parkway.
7 The Enquirer and many other papers around the city supported the project. The idea picked up steam, and, on April 26, 1916, Cincinnati voters approved $6 million in bonds for the subway by a vote of six to one.
“Cincinnati voters were in a very generous and progressive mood yesterday,” The Enquirer trumpeted on its front page.
Cincinnati was bigger then.
The Census Bureau ranked Cincinnati in 1920 as the 16th largest city in the nation with a population of 401,000. The city was a boomtown at the time and needed a way to transport all the new residents.
“The Enquirer believes that Cincinnati is destined for large growth,” The Enquirer wrote in a staff editorial in 1921 pushing for the completion of the subway. “That the very near future will see a demand for every additional facility for transportation passenger and freight that the loop and subway rapid transit plan, as well as the steam railroad terminal proposition, can make available.”
Once again, the subway plan came up for a vote in April 1917, this time approving the ordinance to allow for construction. Cincinnati voters approved it two to one.
Unfortunately, the Kaiser got in the way – 11 days earlier, the United States had entered World War I.
The project ground to a halt until 1920. Costs inflated.
A fiscally conservative movement overtook city hall – the Charterites. The Charterites defeated the corrupt political machine of Republican boss George Cox and reformed the city government.
By 1921, public sentiment started to turn against the subway. Voters that year rejected by a margin of two to one a $4.2 million bond issue to build a boulevard above the subway.
The opposition may sound familiar to modern ears, as quoted in The Enquirer in 1921, that the project “would be a waste to provide for the boulevard at a time when the city needs money for so many other important matters.”
Work stopped in 1927 when the subway project ran out of money.
Cars became more popular, and city leaders didn’t see a need for a subway, said Allen J. Singer, author of the 2003 pictorial history book, The Cincinnati Subway.
In 1929, Cincinnati Mayor Murray Seasongood declared the subway dead. He also mocked the subways of other cities. After a visit to New York in 1929, Seasongood found the subway as “not fit for human beings. The people are crowded into cars like cattle.”
The rest of New York didn’t impress him, either. “People live in Cincinnati, but in New York they simply exist.”
Cincinnati was left with an expensive hole in the ground. Crews had graded 10 of the16 miles of the system’s loop and completed two miles of tunnels.
8 The city still had to pay the debt. When the final bonds were paid off in 1966, Cincinnati had spent $13 million. The city still pays for the subway.
The city did end up building Central Parkway over the unfinished subway in 1928.
Two miles of underground subway tunnels remain under Central Parkway. Since the unused subway holds up the roadway, the city must maintain it. Cincinnati has spent $3.8 million in the past 30 years on major repairs to the tunnel in addition to $2,500 each year on basic graffiti removal, inspections and upkeep, according to the city engineers.
Over the years, the abandoned subway has become the stuff of legends. And it’s inspired dreams of what could have been.
The city has 100,000 fewer people now than in 1920 when construction began on the subway. The population spread out. The city's population growth slowed and then started to decrease after 1950.
But at the same time, Hamilton County's population began increasing with the rise of automobiles, going from 494,000 in 1920 to its peak of 924,000 in 1970.
Cincinnati could have accommodated more industry and workers with a subway, Singer said. A subway would have meant fewer parking lots and less traffic.
“I think downtown would have grown,” Singer said. “I think Cincinnati would have expanded in all directions.”
Streetcars deemed a “menace to motorists”
Without a subway, people used streetcars as the dominant form of public transportation in Cincinnati in the early 20th Century. And to get up hills, Cincinnati had five inclines, including Mount Adams and Price Hill.
The city had used inclines since 1872. They were heralded as a way for the common folk to get up the hills, though not without risk. In 1889, the Main Street Incline broke free and plummeted down from Mount Auburn, killing six, including a well-known judge.
Buses arrived in Cincinnati in 1926 when the Cincinnati Street Railway first purchased a fleet.
Local newspapers heralded “rubber-borne transportation” as the future.
The city began shutting streetcar lines down in 1947 in favor of buses.
Cincinnatians at the time saw streetcars as noisy and disruptive compared to their gasoline- guzzling counterparts – buses. Enquirer articles described streetcar loading platforms as “a menace to motorists.”
The Enquirer editorial board in 1947 cheered, “The streetcar on tracks is unquestionably on the way out and there aren’t many persons who will be sorry.”
The final incline in Mount Adams closed in April 1948. There was an effort to save it, but the private Cincinnati Street Railway company deemed it too expensive. 9 The last streetcar left the station April 29, 1951.
As Cincinnati embraced buses, San Francisco opted to keep its cable cars.
In fact, you can ride a vintage 1948 streetcar – the same used in Cincinnati 70 years ago – in San Francisco today. It’s painted a vivid yellow with green stripes just like many were in Cincinnati. That’s not a coincidence. San Francisco painted it to honor the Cincinnati Street Railway, which operated the city’s public transit at the time.
The Cincinnati car takes people along Market Street and Fisherman’s Wharf. Its vivid color makes it one of the most photographed streetcars on the F-line, according to the Market Street Railway, a group dedicated to preserving old cable cars in San Francisco.
Cincinnati’s brief love affair with buses
Cincinnati’s love affair with buses didn’t last long.
In the 1950s, Cincinnatians moved to the suburbs and bought cars.
They’ve preferred to drive ever since.
Ridership on buses dropped from 130 million in 1946 to 39 million annually in 1963. Today, about 15 million people each year ride buses in the Cincinnati area.
Transit officials point out that this trend happened in many cities across the country.
Complaints of gridlock soon followed. With the interstate system in its infancy, it didn’t take much to lock up the streets.
An orphanage found that out the hard way in 1950. People sat in traffic for as long as eight hours trying to get to a festival at the General Protestant Orphan Home in Mount Auburn, according to news reports.
“With car ownership doubling in recent years, traffic in Cincinnati has become a definite pain,” The Enquirer opined in the wake of the orphan home festival debacle.
People still didn’t flock to buses.
In the 1960s, bus lines were cut as fares rose.
Public dissatisfaction led to a push for the city to own the bus system and keep bus fares affordable.
In 1968, Hamilton County created the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) to manage the bus system.
Planners initially planned for residents in both the city and county to shoulder the financial burden of public transit.
Nope
Hamilton County voters in 1971 rejected a tax levy to pay for SORTA. 10 A year later, with the promise of lower bus fares, Cincinnati voters agreed to raise the earnings tax by three-tenths percent. That was the last transit tax levy approved by Cincinnati voters.
Hamilton County voters have continued to say “no” to public transit. They’ve rejected sales tax levies for SORTA every time they’ve come on the ballot – 1971, 1979, 1980 and 2002.
Cincinnati in 1973 bought Cincinnati Transit, Inc., which operated the bus system, for $6.9 million.
The last time a sales tax for transportation came up in 2002, the proposal included a plan for a 60-mile light rail system and a $100 million extension of the bus service. Voters in Hamilton County rejected it two-to-one.
That means buses still rely on the three-tenths percent earnings tax Cincinnati voters approved 46 years ago. That accounted for 58 percent of it’s $98 million in revenues this year.
Fares account for 18 percent.
And SORTA has considered once again resurrecting the idea of a half-cent countywide sales tax for buses. SORTA’s board in 2017 proposed putting the sales tax on this year’s ballot to prepare for a $3 million deficit.
But city and county leaders have opposed this, at least until SORTA can come up with a plan for better public transportation regionwide. As of now, the board has not moved to put the measure on the November ballot.
“SORTA needs to develop a compelling vision for improving our bus system," Mayor John Cranley told The Enquirer in February.
Just like old times
And not only are people dissatisfied with "rubber-borne transportation,” but streetcars are once again deemed a menace.
An electric streetcar began riding rails around downtown for the first time in 65 years when the Cincinnati Bell Connector opened Sept. 9, 2016.
And it’s stirred controversy ever since.
Ridership remains well below projections. While the system saw seven months of ridership averaging 60,000 rides a month, November saw a falloff from which the streetcar has not bounced back, Cincinnati Assistant City Manager John Juech said in March.
In January of this year 17,220 people rode the Connector, less than half of what the streetcar carried a year earlier.
Juech and others expect the streetcar will go into the red next year if nothing changes, meaning the streetcar could face shorter hours or other cuts in service.
Can the curse be lifted?
11 Lessons can be learned from the past, Singer said. The subway fell through because leaders didn’t look far enough down the road. Passenger railroad systems can take decades to build, but can be worth it in the long run, he said.
“Look to the future,” Singer said. “What is Cincinnati going to need 10-15 years from now instead of right now?”
LINK: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/04/25/transit-history/397132002/
12 Get your wallets out: Bishop Arts streetcar will no longer be free
The Dallas Morning News By Tristan Hallman April 25, 2018
It's full-speed ahead for a new fare to ride the Dallas streetcar.
The City Council, in a 14-1 vote, approved a $1 fare for the streetcar that runs between downtown Dallas and the Bishop Arts District. The fare doesn't figure to bring in much revenue, but council members said the issue was about fairness.
Council member Scott Griggs said residents in his North Oak Cliff district can afford the $1 fare.
"It's just $1," Griggs said. "We'll see how it affects ridership."
Dallas Area Rapid Transit officials previously projected that they'd lose about 20,000 of their 151,500 annual streetcar riders -- about a quarter of the nearly 76,000 who they believe ride the streetcar now without transferring to a DART bus or train -- because of the fare.
DART previously estimated that the fare would pull in about $133,000 in revenue. That won't do much to pay for the streetcar's $2.1 million annual operating and maintenance cost, which is shared by the city, DART and the North Central Texas Council of Government. The city and DART also hope to extend the streetcar in the coming years, likely through Elm and Commerce streets downtown.
Philip Kingston, the only council member to vote against the fare, said the city ought not call for a fare because the streetcar system "needs a lot more investment before we actually understand what's going on." He also criticized the $1 figure as a round number that was chosen without a good reason.
"To extract $1 out of people who are riding the Oak Cliff line is certainly not data-based policy making," he said.
The city's new Transportation Director Michael Rogers had also previously recommended against a fare for now. Rogers wanted to study the economic impact of the streetcar first and to coordinate a fare with the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority, which runs the free trolley in Uptown and downtown.
But the timing of the vote will give DART a chance to institute the fare as part of its new "contactless" touch-card payment system, which will be similar to Washington's SmarTrip card and Los Angeles' TAP card.
DART spokesman Morgan Lyons said the agency is still dealing with some technology issues and that the fare is probably months down the road.
"We're still working out the details on timing," Lyons said.
The council's majority wanted to start charging as soon as possible. Sandy Greyson said all other riders of DART trains and buses have to cough up a fare. Rickey Callahan said the issue is 13 "simply about fairness" and that he didn't believe ridership would be harmed on the still-nascent line. And council member Tennell Atkins said he feels "like everybody should pay their fair share."
LINK: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/dallas-city-hall/2018/04/25/get-wallets-bishop-arts- streetcar-will-no-longer-free
14 FTA certifies rail safety oversight programs in three more states
Progressive Railroading No author listed April 25, 2018
Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania have obtained federal certification of their transit-rail state safety oversight (SSO) programs, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced yesterday.
Federal law requires states with transit-rail systems in operation to obtain FTA certification of their SSO programs by April 15, 2019. States with transit-rail systems in the engineering or construction phase also must get their SSO programs certified by the deadline.
To become certified, an SSO program must meet several federal statutory requirements, including establishing an SSO agency that is financially and legally independent from the transit agencies it oversees, FTA officials said in a press release.
In Arizona, the state’s department of transportation is providing safety oversight of Valley Metro’s light-rail system and the city of Tucson streetcar. In Georgia, the state DOT is providing safety oversight of the Metropolitan Atlanta Regional Transit Authority heavy-rail system and the city of Atlanta streetcar.
In Pennsylvania, the state DOT is providing safety oversight of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority heavy-, light- and trolley lines; the Port Authority of Allegheny County light-rail system; and the Cambria County Transit Authority incline.
States that fail to meet the April 2019 deadline risk losing federal funds. Under the law, the FTA can't award new federal transit funds to agencies until certification is obtained.
Thirty states must obtain FTA certification of their SSO programs by the deadline. Now, 11 states have achieved SSO Program certification.
LINK: https://www.progressiverailroading.com/safety/news/FTA-certifies-rail-safety-oversight- programs-in-three-more-states--54518
15 How to Spot a Successful Downtown for Investment
Commercial Property Executive By Amanda Marsh April 24, 2018
As primary markets overheat and experience cap rate compression, more risk-adverse commercial real estate investors are seeking secondary and tertiary markets to place capital. In many of these cities, revitalizing downtowns are offering opportunities for local and small balance investors to buy quality buildings otherwise unaffordable in larger U.S. cities.
But how can investors discern which revitalizing downtowns will prosper? Destination Development Association (DDA) surveyed 400 downtowns and downtown districts throughout the U.S., Canada and Western Europe to identify 20 common ingredients of success. Among them: a branding, development and marketing action plan; a strong brand and retail focus; a critical mass of like businesses; people who live in or stay downtown; pioneer investors with patient money; gathering places; activities and entertainment; and named downtown districts.
The most successful of these downtowns had at least a 97 percent or higher occupancy rate in the core district or area, with lease rates at market rate or higher compared to similar cities and towns in the state, province or region. Turnover was less than 5 percent per year.
The ones not successful have property owners that do not work together or have a common vision, absentee owners, regulations that stifle successful retail, and other dysfunctional qualities, DDA pointed out.
INVESTMENT FOCUS
The shift in investment focus has been prominent in the Urban Land Institute’s annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate report. The 2018 report compiled the top 78 markets in the United States for investment and development prospects; out of the top 20, four were top secondary markets, four were adjacent to primary markets, 10 were secondary markets and only two—Los Angeles and Boston—were considered primary.
Kansas City, Mo.—which came in at No. 29 on ULI’s report, surpassing investment and development prospects of markets such as Brooklyn, the District of Columbia and even Manhattan—is one tertiary market that has transformed its downtown into a vibrant, 18-hour city. It now has $500 million in planned multifamily developments inside the downtown loop alone, reports Cushman & Wakefield Inc. Managing Principal Michael Mayer. There, many investment opportunities are in the $30 million and under range.
A RENAISSANCE
The downtown renaissance kicked off in the early 2000s, when residential prices averaged $1.00 per square foot per month. Today, that number is nearly $1.50 per square foot, he said.
Mayer noted one of the city’s newest luxury residential projects, The Cordish Companies’ Two Light, will run about $2.20 to $2.30 per square foot for most units. Meanwhile, Cityscape
16 Residential’s Crossroads Westside—viewed as the more affordable option for new downtown units—will begin at approximately $1.70 per square foot.
The overall renaissance has been a combination of several factors, he continued. One is the two- mile KC Streetcar running down Kansas City’s Main Street, which serves Union Station, the Crossroads Arts District, and Power and Light District, the central business district and the historic River Market. This has particularly spurred investment in the last neighborhood, where local restaurants and investors have seen its loft buildings as cool places to be, he said.
The interest in River Market is building upon the success of the Power and Light District, a nine- block neighborhood redeveloped by The Cordish Companies, as well as the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Both projects stimulated the downtown revival, he explained.
“Hardly anyone was living in downtown 15 years ago, but now there are projected to be 35,000 people by 2025, which is significant for a tertiary market.”
The revival has attracted many investors downtown, he offered, noting that Kansas City’s cost of entry is still reasonable, and the risk is not as high as established markets.
“But success begets success, and the cost of entry is beginning to get higher,”he cautioned.
The current cycle has been driven almost exclusively by local investors and families, as well as out-of-market investors who are not comfortable with cap rates in major markets.
“I don’t think it’s an issue of actual price, even for the smaller investors,” he added. “People just aren’t comfortable with the low returns in other areas. In the past we’ve seen major, out-of- market, institutional investors kick the tires on Kansas City and maybe take a small position. Now we are seeing those people actively look to establish a presence in this market for the future.”
If Mayer could boil downtown Kansas City’s success to five factors, he would credit educational attainment, quality of life, arts and culture, access and vibrancy.
These factors are not only attracting commercial real estate investors, he noted, but Millennials and empty nesters looking for an active lifestyle; forward-thinking corporate tenants like WeWork and ZOLOZ seeking Millennial talent; and major tenants like AutoAlert and Sedgwick LLP, which have both relocated sizable facilities from other markets to Kansas City. Later this year, The Swiss Re Group will follow from Overland Park, Kan., to downtown.
LINK: https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/how-to-spot-a-successful-downtown-for-investment/
17 Fort Lauderdale streetcars hitting critical juncture
The Sun-Sentinel By Larry Barszewski April 24, 2018
The next week could be pivotal in determining whether Fort Lauderdale visitors, workers and residents ever board the Wave streetcars downtown.
Broward commissioners will decide Tuesday if they’re willing to pay up to $15 million more for a larger-than-planned storage facility for the light-rail streetcars — a new cost that would be divided among the city, county and downtown property owners.
Even after that decision, the Wave streetcar project won’t go forward unless new design and construction costs, which came in at least $74 million over budget during the first round of bids in October, are significantly reduced.
There’s also the potential for Fort Lauderdale to throw the project into doubt. City voters elected a new commission in March and a majority now say they will vote to stop the 2.8-mile streetcar project before it can ever get going.
Here’s a look at six questions surrounding the streetcars, which currently aren’t projected to begin service before 2021:
How much will it cost to build the Wave?
New bids from two firms seeking to construct the system will be opened Thursday. There is a $114 million budget for design and construction, but officials say a price as high as $142.5 million could be acceptable. The four bids rejected in October ranged from $188.7 million to $218 million.
Officials have made changes to bring the project back within budget. Those include reducing the size of the vehicle storage facility and reducing the work needed to be done on the Southeast Third Avenue bridge that the streetcars will use to cross the New River.
What happens if Fort Lauderdale tries to back out of the Wave deal?
The recent Wave agreements allow the state, county or city to end the project if the new bids exceed $142.5 million. However, if the costs stay within the approved parameters, Fort Lauderdale could be breaking its part of the agreement, which could lead to a lawsuit. That could create more delays but might not be enough to kill the project. The costs for a larger vehicle storage facility would not be included in the $142.5 million total.
Why does Broward want to build a bigger facility than needed for the Wave streetcars?
The plans include a storage facility large enough to accommodate the five streetcars being purchased for the Wave line, which would run near or along Andrews Avenue from Northeast Sixth Street to Southwest Seventeenth Street.
18 The larger facility would be able to store 12 vehicles instead of five. County officials say it will be cheaper to build the larger facility now than to expand in the future.
The county’s transit plan anticipates expanding light rail in the future down Broward Boulevard and along State Road 7 and University Drive.
Why are critics opposing the Wave?
A streetcar system was viewed as an economic engine to increase downtown development when first proposed more than a decade ago. But as the Wave moves closer to reality, opposition has increased from people who say streetcars aren’t an efficient way to move people around. They don’t like the overhead electrical wires that are needed to power the trains for most of the route. They don’t see any benefit to streetcars that will be sharing a traffic lane with cars, buses and other vehicles, which means they won’t get around any faster than those other vehicles during rush hour.
Is there a problem with killing the Wave?
Supporters say reneging on the Wave, which has received $82.7 million in federal grants, would make it harder to secure funding for future transportation projects. They also say the Wave is the first piece of a larger, countywide transit plan. They anticipate eventual connections to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the Broward County Convention Center and Port Everglades, and to Sawgrass Mills mall.
What happens next?
The new bids are due Thursday. If the price doesn’t exceed $142.5 million, the selection committee will pick a winning bid May 3. Fort Lauderdale commissioners will hold a Wave workshop on Monday, where they will go over the options the city has for backing out of the deal. Commissioners could vote to end the city’s participation at their May 1 meeting.
This story will be updated after the Broward commission vote. Check back for details.
LINK: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-sb-broward-wave-streetcar-storage-facility- decision-20180423-story.html
19 Streetcar blockages just getting worse, data show
WCPO By Pat LaFleur and Joe Rosemeyer April 24, 2018
If anyone knows what it's like to rely on the streetcar every day, it's Matt Jacob. That's because the Over-the-Rhine resident makes a point to ride as often as he can.
"I try to ride five days a week," he told WCPO.
Having ridden the streetcar hundreds of times between his OTR home and his Downtown office, he's come to know its benefits -- and its shortcomings.
On the one hand, he said it's given him the flexibility to live car-free after he totaled his car last fall. On the other hand, he said it's made for a commute that's harder to plan, and sometimes makes him late for work.
Reliability has remained a consistent complaint about the streetcar since its September 2016 launch. First, credit card machines wouldn't work, and arrival displays weren't accurate. The city is in the midst of a Downtown traffic signal study to improve congestion during rush hour, which would often put the streetcar behind schedule.
While those issues are mostly resolved, another problem continues to stand in the streetcar's way, literally: vehicles blocking the streetcar tracks.
Jacob said he's been on the streetcar during a blockage roughly five times since he started riding.
"A lot of that was right when it opened up," he said. "At the start of it, a lot of it was cars trying to parallel park who were just oblivious that there was even anything waiting for them behind them."
The city of Cincinnati invested tens of millions of dollars in its streetcar system. This story is part of a series examining what is holding the system back.
After 18 months of operation, accounts are mixed about how the city is working to make sure the tracks are clear. WCPO dug into raw track blockage data compiled by the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority. While the city owns the streetcar, the region-wide transit agency oversees operations on the city's behalf.
Our review found that incidents resulting in the streetcar stalling for a vehicle in its way are trending up this year despite enforcement and prevention efforts from both the city and the transit agency.
Since streetcar vehicles began testing in the spring of 2016, there were 1,346 instances of a vehicle blocking the streetcar tracks as of March 31, 2018.
It's a story of peaks and valleys when broken down month by month.
20 While Assistant City Manager John Juech reported in March that "blockages have decreased nearly each month since the start of revenue service," SORTA's data show that, on a month-by- month basis, increases in blockages were more common than decreases.
SORTA's data also show the majority of vehicles blocking the tracks are automobiles and public service vehicles like Metro buses, fire trucks, police cruisers and ambulances.
Here's a month-by-month breakdown of streetcar blockages by vehicle type:
[CHART]
Juech, who oversees the city's streetcar system, declined WCPO's multiple requests for an interview about the growing number of blockages. Chief Performance Officer Leigh Tami told WCPO, via a city spokesperson, that she's found the data to be sometimes inconsistent.
SORTA also manages Cincinnati Metro bus service, and told WCPO it plans to redesign Government Square -- the chief Metro hub -- to reduce the potential for blockages.
Main Street just north of Fifth Street is a major hot spot for blockage incidents. That's where Government Square Area G picks up bus riders on four different routes.
"It's a major constraint physically there because you have the traffic signal, the bus stop where the track is located," said Paul Grether, SORTA's director of rail services.
Turns out, it's not just the streetcar that gets stuck: Sometimes, the streetcar delays a Metro bus.
"Depending on which vehicle is where, the blockages occur to both organizations," he said.
Grether told WCPO that SORTA is already working on relocating those bus stops and relocating the Area G stop over the next six to 12 months.
SORTA is not alone in making sure the tracks are clear. The city's municipal code prohibits cars from parking along the streetcar route, which means Parking Enforcement is also charged with intervening in the event of a blockage.
"That's always our first phone call," Grether said.
A spokesperson for Juech told WCPO the city has issued 936 citations as of last week.
But the fine for blocking the streetcar tracks is relatively low when compared to other streetcar systems, and even other parking violations in the city. The fine for blocking the Cincinnati streetcar tracks is $50. In Kansas City -- where they opened a similar streetcar system just months before Cincinnati followed suit -- the fine for parking on the tracks can be as high as $200. In Detroit, the fine can be up to $650 or more.
Even compared to the fine for not paying to ride the streetcar, the fine for causing a blockage is low: It's $100 the first time a rider is caught without paying his or her fare. That fare increases with each subsequent offense.
Some members of city council -- most notably Chris Seelbach -- have pushed for an increase in the penalty, but that has yet to pass through council. 21 Other parking infractions here in Cincinnati -- like blocking a fire hydrant or parking in a handicap zone -- can cost offenders up to $250.
The number of blockages and the low penalty for blocking the tracks makes Cincinnati's streetcar system an "outlier," according to John Schneider.
Schneider is a retired real estate developer and Downtown resident. Popularly known as "Mr. Streetcar," he was a key player in bringing the streetcar back to Cincinnati and advocated by hosting trips to other streetcar cities.
"I’ve ridden streetcars hundreds of times all over the country. I’ve been blocked one time," he said. "I think I’ve used (Cincinnati's) streetcar maybe 150 times. I’ve been blocked five times.
"This is not normal in terms of how these systems are operated."
Schneider says the root of the streetcars' problems stem from City Hall.
"I see no effort by the city to improve it," he told WCPO.
Schneider places blame specifically on Mayor John Cranley, who opposed the project and temporarily blocked its progress when elected to office in 2013. A super majority of city council overrode the action two weeks later.
"Mayor Cranley could tomorrow call a news conference and say, ‘We’re no longer going to tolerate these blockages. The data are in, and it’s a problem. We are going to start issuing citations for every violation,'" Schneider said. "We haven’t heard that message from our mayor yet."
Cranley's office did not respond to requests for comment.
LINK: https://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/streetcar-blockages-just-getting-worse-data- show?page=2
22 Latest Innovations in Streetcars
Mass Transit By Maile Bucher and Leah Harnack April 24, 2018
Light rail system openings represent significant growth in the rail market. Adapting to city infrastructure, incorporating newer technologies and tackling the cost associated with running a streetcar system are factors that come together to make a streetcar system a more attractive choice for an agency to add into its services.
Improved Operation
Alstom Tram Product Director, LRV Platform, Eric Caplot said Alstom launched the development of Citadis X05 three years ago. This latest member to the Citadis family features improved passenger comfort, optimized operation, increased modularity, lower operating costs and catenary-free options.
The Citadis X05 has up to an 18 percent reduction of preventative maintenance costs, based on Citadis REX and technical innovation. The easier sub-system integration and maintenance reduces the lifecycle costs, and with the ONIX 850 traction drive with closed self-ventilated permanent magnet motors and optimized heating, ventilation, and air conditioning function, there’s a 25 percent reduction in energy consumption.
In Atlanta, Siemens recently opened its Innovation Center and worked on developing the Atlanta Streetcar. The project worked to create a “smarter” streetcar. When approaching the project, Siemens looked at a connection of maintenance, vehicle monitoring and connectivity.
“The technology that is deployed is two-fold,” said Simon Davidoff, head of digital rail services, Siemens Mobility. “One is the connected vehicles. There is onboard technology, which, second- by-second transmits the position and operations of the streetcar. It also includes live video feeds that are internal and external. Basically it marries the digital view of the operations and the safety and operation aspects of the Atlanta Streetcar all in one package so they can have a fleet-wide view of the operation of the fleet.” Davidoff added that having the project proximity to the new center in Atlanta helped the Siemens team connect to the project on a more physical level.
The analytics from the data that are collected on the vehicles can be analyzed in numerous ways.
“The onboard systems were designed to track maintenance and track in an emergency, kind of like a black box technology. We are tracking simple things like when a door opens or closes, exactly what the position of the train, if it is stationary …,” Davidoff said. “We’re tracking speed, location, when the operator hits the brake or maybe hits the brake too hard and activates the emergency brake.”
With the Atlanta Streetcar, Siemens also collects data on passengers. The amount of passengers can be derived from the weight of the streetcar vehicle and the weight dispersion throughout it. The data relating to passengers also looks at how long the doors are open and which stations have longer boarding and off-boarding times. This can be analyzed by the agency to determine what stations are heavily used and what the peak times are. 23 Alexander Ketterl, head of FLEXITY product family, Bombardier Transportation, shared a number of ways that Bombardier is advancing in technology.
“Depending on customer preferences, both bogies comprising real-axle wheelsets, as well as independent wheels, are available,” said Ketterl. “The ODAS obstacle detection driver-assistance system will be further developed and allow for plenty of use cases.”
Bombardier also sees a need for a lower lifecycle cost. “Minimum maintenance effort during inspection, maintenance, overhaul throughout the lifetime of a tram,” Ketterl said.
He continued, “[We see a demand for] energy-efficient trams, not only traction energy but increasingly for all installed tram-equipment. Offering a superior passenger experience with maximum aisle- and gangway width throughout the complete vehicle and number of multifunctional spaces.”
Optimizing operating expenditure was key in the development of Alstom’s Citadix X05. While the price has to be considered, the system is to be used for 30 years, so cost of energy and cost of maintenance over 30 years are also key criteria.
As for passenger comfort, Caplot said the Citadis X05 has a larger central aisle and wider gangways to offer a spacious design. There is 40 percent more window surface, which also contributes to the open feel of the interior. To improve service efficiency, double doors provide a 15 percent passenger exchange ratio increase.
Increased modularity allows cities and operators to have a fleet that best meets its demands. More flexibility is obtained through a variety of configurations available with the Citadis: a small LRV can move about 130 passengers, medium about 305 and a longer configuration can move about 405.
Safety Improvements
Alexander Ketterl, head of FLEXITY product family, Bombardier Transportation, said they have been continuously working on improvements in passenger comfort and safety. “Going with the digital trend, we are the leading provider of safety technologies with our collision prevention for light rail vehicles. Our homologated system for obstacle detection and braking assistance uses 3D-stereo supervision and smart algorithms to recognize all sorts of objects and more importantly people, then to take action to help prevent accidents.”
Stadler has found that streetcar vehicles are more likely to be involved in an accident compared to light rail or heavy rail lines within cities.
“Since streetcars are really from time-to-time engage in an accident, the whole accident replacement discussion has some potential to be innovated,” said Ritter. “To be able to replace something very fast, because we have little damages on a streetcar more often than on a train. I also do believe that the discussion in North America with the 8-inch platforms and that is going to challenge how we can have such a low platform for level boarding for ADA access.”
Ritter also noted that currently streetcars are predominantly constructed out of steel or stainless steel as opposed to aluminum.
24 “What we try to deliver with our streetcar project is the reliability and the top quality besides being on time with the deliveries. I think it is the customized innovative approach that we deliver combined with components of a really proven design which is kind of changed to be focused on the customer’s needs,” said Ritter. “We do have a couple of ideas to make replacements for damages efficient and fast so you don’t need a lot of spare cars, you can run with most of your fleet. I think that with innovation we can provide. I think if people really want fancy stuff we can come in.”
Infrastructure Solutions
Cities and operators have options when it comes to powering the vehicles and Bombardier’s Ketterl said that requirements vary county to country. “On the European market we face mainly existing infrastructure with streetcars in the city center and increasing mixed traffic. Therefore, technical parameters and specifications are tight and indisputable versus the respective existing infrastructure and wayside-environments.”
He said, “In America we find new infrastructure where typically short streetcars are used as circulators.”
Ketterl said that Bombardier has implemented a plug-and-play catenary-free operation technology.
Alstom launched its latest innovation in catenary-free solutions with SRS, a ground-based conductive static charging system, designed to recharge vehicles equipped with onboard energy storage. The Ecopack SRS technology removes the cables and masts and stores energy on the vehicle and quick charge when the vehicle is stopped at stations.
Alstom Road Infrastructure Solutions Manager Philippe Veyrunes explained SRS is based off Alstom’s APS catenary-free solution, but only requires charging by contact at the passenger stop in 20 seconds, during normal dwell time. The charging is automatic, not requiring anything of the driver. The fast charge happens via contact during the normal dwell time at the platform, in about 20 seconds at 750 volts. 13.5 kWh of energy is stored and the current maximum charging with SRRS is 1,600 amps.
Whether or not SRS is the right option for a system is whether or not catenary is wanted, the size of service and the line configuration.
If the agency wants catenary-free light rail operation, Alstom offers SRS or APS, which is continuous charge from a third rail. With continuing infrastructure between stations for APS, the costs are seen on the infrastructure side. SRS utilizes charging at the station and there is the extra equipment on the vehicle; there’s an equation to consider as one has higher costs on the vehicles, while the other has higher costs on the infrastructure.
For lines operating on hills, there can be increased energy consumption. The climate also can require a higher energy consumption with HVAC demands, so passenger comfort is always a consideration.
The Ecopack SRS solution can recharge LRV or electric buses equipped with on-board energy storage by contact in 20 seconds during normal dwell time at a stop or in a few minutes at the
25 end of a bus line. Martin Ritter, president and CEO of Stadler US Inc., said that one issue facing the further implementation of streetcars can be seen within the necessary infrastructure.
“The downside of the streetcars right now is that they’re relatively expensive. We have to install overhead electrification we do have to track the infrastructure track work. We know in the industry where there is the concept that if you compare it with a trolley bus for example or with just a zero-emission bus,” said Ritter. “The other question is why a streetcar? In the industry some other competitors are also going with ‘trackless’ systems that look like streetcars, but they’re not really on the rail. They’re visual components that they are running on rails when they are really running on the street. On the other hand the whole off-wire battery streetcar discussion has potential. The zero-emission and (operating) without the overhead track, I think that is something that the industry could change down the road.”
LINK: http://www.masstransitmag.com/article/12403640/latest-innovations-in-streetcars
26 He has the loneliest job in Omaha – selling the streetcar
Omaha World-Herald By Matthew Hansen April 23, 2018
He stands at the front of a country club conference room, looking slightly uncomfortable in a suit and tie. Jay Lund begins to speak. A thin sheen of sweat begins to glisten on his forehead.
You would be sweaty, too, if you were standing before a group of Omahans and trying to convince them — trying to convince the city — that Omaha needs a streetcar.
“If we want to become a world-class city with world-class transit, we have to start somewhere,” Lund says, launching into his talk. “I believe the streetcar can be the catalyst.”
It is oh-so easy to bang on the idea of a proposed Omaha streetcar. We have been doing it for decades now, perfecting anti-streetcar attacks that practically get passed down like family heirlooms.
I should know: I recently spent a day at Dinker’s asking people about the streetcar and wrote a column about the experience. It wasn’t pretty.
But it’s striking that, even after decades of debate, how little we actually know about the argument for the streetcar. Why might new mass transit push us forward as a city? What’s the business case for it? And can we pay for it without using your tax money?
Before we bang on the Omaha streetcar, it seems like we should hear Lund out.
“This is way bigger than Blackstone or any one development,” he told me a few weeks before a Wednesday appearance at the Downtown Rotary Club meeting held at the Field Club of Omaha. “We are talking about how our city is going to be molded for the rest of my lifetime. Brain drain. Parking. Traffic. Health. Business. This is important stuff.”
Lund is known in Omaha for two reasons: His family name, synonymous with commercial real estate in Omaha; and the Blackstone District, which he and others transformed from a series of unused and underused buildings into perhaps the hippest area in the city.
Now he’s the seller-in-chief for Modern Streetcar Advocates, the pro-streetcar group backed by a variety of heavy hitters, local businesses and developers who, like Lund himself, might benefit from its construction.
The plan is also backed by four former Omaha mayors, Republicans Hal Daub and PJ Morgan and Democrats Mike Fahey and Jim Suttle, who is in the audience today.
But it’s Lund who has spoken at event after event this year. It’s Lund alone making the case to skeptical Omaha audiences: Yes, we can do this. Yes, we should.
Lund tells this audience that the Blackstone District, its hundreds of new jobs and tens of millions of dollars of development, never would have happened if Farnam Street had stayed a one-way street. That switch unlocked the potential around 40th and Farnam, he says. Similarly, a streetcar 27 circulating people throughout midtown and downtown would unlock the currently wasted potential of the city’s urban core.
But why does this matter, especially to people who live and work in other areas of the city?
He shows two slides. The first is a map of Douglas County, showing that we have developed almost all the land here.
The second slide economically compares and contrasts a big-box store built in the suburbs to a mixed-use development built in a city center. The mixed-use development — like many in Blackstone — employs more people, houses residents and produces shockingly more economic bang per square foot, he says, citing a variety of studies.
The idea is simple: Sprawl inside Douglas County is nearing its end.
Building up into the sky in our city versus building out into the suburbs will be financially better for Omaha, its tax base and we the taxpayers alike.
So how do we make this happen? We have to start with transportation, Lund says — the kind that paves a path to the future, not the kind of transportation we are used to.
“Most people say Omaha has a parking problem,” Lund says. “I agree. We have wayyyyyy too much parking.”
The crowd chuckles, and Lund presses forward. He tells the audience that downtown Omaha has the same number of parking spaces as downtown Denver — which has three times the number of downtown employees as we do. The difference? Effective mass transit.
“We are literally trading jobs for parking spaces downtown,” he says. “Adding more parking isn’t gonna help. We tried that for decades!”
He tells the crowd that Omaha was all but disqualified in its pursuit of the new Amazon headquarters by that company’s No. 1 criteria: access to mass transit.
Omaha finished third to last on that question, he says. The city did well in many other categories. It didn’t matter.
Lund, who is younger than almost everyone in this Rotary audience, tells the crowd the country is changing. Baby boomers and millennials alike want to move closer to the urban core. Twenty- one cities have recently built or are building streetcars. Kansas City’s has succeeded beyond its wildest dreams, with higher-than-expected ridership, and nearly $2 billion in development on the streetcar line, according to its own figures.
And it will be Omaha’s own growth along the streetcar line that will largely pay for the streetcar, Lund argues to the audience. Capturing just a piece of increasing property values along the route, plus private dollars donated to the project, would allow it to happen without any tax increase.
In an interview before his talk, Lund all but admitted that the streetcar plan is dead if it requires citywide taxes or goes to a citywide vote.
28 If this first 3-mile track works, then Omaha taxpayers can decide if they want to expand it north, south and west, he tells the audience.
At the core of Lund’s argument is a belief that Omaha needs to do this in 2018 if it wants to compete in 2028 or 2038.
“I don’t want to be up here a year or two from now,” he says. “This is the time. Let’s not miss the opportunity here in Omaha.”
Lund is finished. He asks for questions. A dozen hands shoot up. Not all of the people waving their hands are convinced.
Q: Why do we need a streetcar when bus rapid transit, which will run up and down Dodge between downtown and west Omaha, is coming soon?
Lund says those modes of transportation are distinct. One, the bus, is largely for commuters. The other, a streetcar, is designed to circulate people in the core of the city. They would work together in a mass transit system.
Q: Can’t you prove this concept first by running an Ollie the Trolley-type service from midtown to downtown?
No, Lund says. Nobody is going to develop along an Ollie the Trolley line when it can disappear tomorrow. The permanency of a streetcar line is key.
Q: Whats your biggest hurdle?
Easy, Lund says. “Why would we spend money on a streetcar when I just blew out my front end on a pothole?”
The crowd laughs again. Lund says that the city funds used to fix potholes are from an entirely different revenue source. It’s not the same piece of the pie. It’s not even the same pie.
Then another question, and another. Lund gamely answers them until the moderator cuts them off.
The guests disperse, some of them asking questions on their way out.
Finally Lund stands alone, exhausted and still sweaty. He tells me this went about as well as expected. He tells me he’s done nearly two dozen of these since Thanksgiving. He tells me that he has another talk on Monday.
“We are trying to do something that everyone has been unsuccessful doing for 20 years,” Lund told me in a previous interview. “We are trying to undo a decade of rumors. To undo this stuff is tough. I wouldn’t be putting myself through this if I didn’t care. I would have to be a sociopath.”
LINK: http://www.omaha.com/columnists/hansen-he-has-the-loneliest-job-in-omaha-selling- the/article_257a0426-207f-5809-9166-f9ec8e7a465c.html
29 City should keep an eye on ridership as it weighs adding $1 fare for DART streetcar
The Dallas Morning News By The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board April 23, 2018
Adding a small fare to the Dallas Streetcar isn't a terrible idea.
This service line debuted in 2015 as a short run from Union Station to Methodist Dallas Medical Center and has since been expanded south to West Davis Street at Zang Boulevard. Because the streetcar still attracts relatively few riders — DART says boardings average about 430 per day — operating it for free can seem like a luxury.
But the modern streetcar plan for Dallas has always been a bet on the future. The idea was to build a route connecting downtown and the bustling Oak Cliff neighborhood in a way that could trigger in-fill development along its route. The more business and other additions that come, the more people who want to ride.
Three years in, as the Dallas City Council prepares to vote Wednesday on a $1 fare for what has been a free service, the streetcar remains a work in progress. Commercial development is growing, but ridership is still sparse.
Operating the system will cost $2 million annually by next year and will slowly get more expensive each year afterward — even before expected new expansions on the north end are factored in. Costs have risen recently for all the right reasons, as when the city wisely decided to run the cars more frequently and to start the weekday service early enough to be useful for hospital employees hurrying to 6 a.m. shifts.
Dallas owns the system and is on the hook for those costs. But it does have help. DART, which operates the streetcar, has committed to spending about $600,000 annually for it over the next 20 years, using money once earmarked for a Love Field people mover. Help also comes from a development group in the neighborhood that is paying $3 million over 10 years — in the hope that it will recoup those millions once construction is completed and new taxes are generated.
Dallas now hopes to also get help from riders as the $1 fare should produce net revenue of about $130,000 annually. Given the city's endless parade of needs, Lord knows a little help from the riding public can't be dismissed.
But the city should remain cautious as it implements the new fare. Small as it is, the charge probably will reduce ridership on the streetcar, just as higher bus fares routinely suppress ridership throughout DART's larger system. The transit agency's record is instructive: Even as it has added riders by steadily expanding its rail network over the years, it has long struggled to woo new riders for services already in place.
It's reassuring that City Council member Scott Griggs, who supports the fare, has pledged to revisit the idea if ridership falls off substantially.
30 If a service is useful, well-marketed and run with customers in mind, it will add riders over time. So far, not enough people have been convinced that the streetcar is useful. Changing those minds will take time.
If the new fare does cause ridership to tumble, it'll be worth asking whether the new revenue has made the long-term goal of the streetcar more difficult to achieve.
By the numbers
158,000: Streetcar boardings projected in 2017-18, or an average of 433 daily. City notes that weekday averages are closer to 600.
$2.1 million: Projected total for operations and maintenance in FY 2018.
$130,000: Net revenue projected annually from $1 fares.
LINK: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2018/04/23/city-keep-eye-ridership- weighs-adding-1-fare-streetcar
31 Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis On The Wave, Gun Shows And Public Service
WLRN By Catie Switalski April 22, 2018
Former City Commissioner Dean Trantalis took office as Fort Lauderdale’s mayor just over one month ago. A lot has happened in his first few weeks leading the city.
Trantalis, who is also the city’s first openly LGBT mayor, has challenged the long standing gun shows at War Memorial Auditorium. He’s also voted in favor of changes to city staff, and he’s re- examining the Downtown Wave Streetcar project.
WLRN sat down with Fort Lauderdale's mayor to recap the challenges during his first month in office and discuss his plans for what comes next.
WLRN: When did you know that you wanted to be a public servant?
TRANTALIS: I actually never thought of myself as holding public office. I ran at student government levels, but I ultimately made the decision to run because I felt that I could accomplish so much more as a mayor, and I could take the city in a direction that I think the community was seeking. And it has been enriching! Of course, running for commissioner you focus on your district - but running as a mayor you're taken to the four corners of the city, and has introduced me to a lot of really wonderful folks, and we have a great city. We have a big city!
Before you were elected mayor, you pledged to stop the Wave streetcar project from moving forward in its current form. The bids came in up to $104 million over budget. What do you need done before you can vote on it?
TRANTALIS: The community has pretty much spoken on this issue, and just about everybody realizes that the Wave streetcar system as is currently configured is not going to be appropriate for our city. It's too expensive; it doesn't work for our environment. And now the question is how do we undo it? My goal is to try to remove the city from its obligations for a streetcar system that requires in-ground rail and overhead wires.
There was a big concern about losing federal funding. I've spoken to the folks in Washington that are in charge of these programs. They think that the philosophy that I've introduced to them, about re-purposing the money, makes a lot more sense to them.
You recently told the owner of the War Memorial Auditorium gun shows in Fort Lauderdale to find another location. What pushed you and the commission to that decision?
I had been advocating for the gun show to not be operating their shows for many years. It wasn't just because of what happened at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School - that just triggered the movement even further.
32 You know, no one is saying that you can't own or sell guns in Fort Lauderdale. It's just that, you know, having it operate in the middle of a playground and where families come. It just was not the appropriate place. We shouldn't have to wait for someone to be hurt or killed before we take action.
The gun shows’ owner, Khaled Akkawi, has said he believes it's your responsibility and the commissions' to find them another venue for the gun show if you won't renew his lease with the city. Is this something you're interested in helping him with so that he will move?
I can't tell him how to run his business. There are other gun shows in our city. I’m not going to partner in his business. But we just know that the War Memorial Auditorium is just not an appropriate place.
What are the next challenges that you anticipate tackling in the city during your next months as mayor?
We have to finally take on the goals that we've all spoken about and those include the following: We have to talk about rising sea level. We talk, and we've we gone to conferences, and we hear a lot of speeches - but we don't have a plan yet for our city.
No. 2: We have to realize that overdevelopment is probably the cause of a lot of other ancillary issues, such as poor infrastructure as well as traffic.
Furthermore, we need to talk about affordable housing. We have neglected our obligation to our community to provide affordable housing.
We also need to spend a lot more of our time and attention and resources on homelessness. We have failed to do that as a city in the past. The consequences of that attitude are visible on street corners and next to libraries. It's a win-win situation for the homeless and for the rest of the community to try to find solutions for them. So, those are the types of goals that we're looking to achieve, in addition to the Wave streetcar.
LINK: http://wlrn.org/post/fort-lauderdale-mayor-dean-trantalis-wave-gun-shows-and-public- service
33 1 of 3 major apartment projects on Tucson’s Fourth Avenue goes up in fall
Arizona Daily Star By Gabriela Rico April 22, 2018
After more than seven years of discussions with and concessions to area stakeholders, local developers are moving forward with a project that will bring new apartments, office space and retail to Tucson’s Fourth Avenue and University Boulevard.
The development, dubbed The Trinity, will sit on two sides of Trinity Presbyterian Church, 400 E. University Blvd., on excess land the church is selling.
The first phase of the project will be construction of a three-story office building along University Boulevard, between the church and Time Market, said Randi Dorman, with R+R Develop. She and her husband, architect Rob Paulus, are developing the project along with Bourn Cos.
The second phase will be a four-story residential building, south of the church on Fourth Avenue with 58 market-rate apartments, ground-floor retail and sidewalk dining. That space is currently occupied by a structure, also owned by the church, that is not being used or historic. It will be demolished.
“We just fell in love with this location,” Dorman said. “So much could be successful there, it’s the perfect location.”
She said the ideal office user will be one that “values 20- and 30-year-olds who want to take the streetcar to work.”
The project will include a pocket park along Fourth Avenue.
“The impact of revitalization has been profound,” Dorman said. “When people can bump into each other and exchange ideas it is more impactful than when we have urban sprawl.”
Given the pushback from area residents and merchants about new construction on Fourth Avenue, Trinity developers turned to neighbors for ideas about design right from the start and elicited their help in getting one more story of height, bringing it to 50 feet, for the apartment complex.
“We had 19 neighborhood meetings,” Dorman said. “We’re very sensitive and have developed the plan all along with them.”
The church’s congregation was especially active, she said.
Bucky Lovejoy, chairman of the long-range development committee for Trinity Presbyterian Church, said the pastors and congregation put out a request-for-proposals in 2011 to see what ideas would come about if the church sold the excess land that it no longer used.
Four developers responded and the church chose R+R and Bourn because of their reputation.
34 “The congregation was supportive because they had a chance to voice their opinion on the whole thing all along,” Lovejoy said. “It took two years to approve it.”
While not without some dissent, area residents were mostly supportive because of how developers engaged them, said Johnny Birkinbine, a board member of the West University Historic Zone Advisory Board and a property owner in West University.
“At the early stages of the project, before design, the architect took the time to study and understand the existing historic context surrounding the project site, as well as appropriate design for the desert environment — something rarely seen in development projects,” he said. “Height was favored over a larger building footprint on the site to provide an enhanced open and active pedestrian-friendly experience at the street level.”
The sale for the parcel on University Boulevard is scheduled to close April 30 and developers plan to break ground in the fall, with construction expected to take between 12 and 18 months.
GROWING PAINS
Two other residential-retail projects recently announced along Fourth Avenue have been met with angst by some residents and merchants, who have packed City Council meetings to voice their opposition.
One is a seven-story complex on Fourth Avenue on the site of the Flycatcher and the other a 14- story complex on the south end of Fourth Avenue, where Maloney’s is now housed.
“It all begins with the streetcar,” said Michael Laatsch, a commercial broker with CBRE, who has inked many deals on Fourth Avenue and downtown. “That investment put Tucson on the radar for investors outside the market.”
Fourth Avenue, in particular, is appealing because it connects the University of Arizona and downtown.
“It’s inevitable that it’s going to be developed with higher density,” he said. “This is growing pains.”
He agreed that how developers approach neighbors and business owners is critical.
“It’s responsible for the developers to engage the neighborhoods very early in the process — no one likes surprises,” Laatsch said. “Being a downtown enthusiast myself, I appreciate the funkiness and uniqueness and I don’t want to see that go away either, but we need to provide the type of housing and lifestyle options that young professionals are looking for.”
He said nationwide there is a demographic shift toward urbanization, walkable lifestyles and sense-of-place living.
“Most months of the year, our weather lends itself to the walkable lifestyle,” Laatsch said. “No one is going to get frostbite.”
LINK: http://tucson.com/business/third-major-apartment-project-on-tucson-s-fourth-avenue- goes/article_d198dbc9-860a-56ef-b8ff-565b2035c924.html
35 Midlands Voices: K.C. streetcar exceeded expectations
Omaha World-Herald By Matt Staub April 21, 2018
The writer, of Kansas City, Missouri, owns a digital marketing agency. He co-founded the advocacy organization Streetcar Neighbors, which initially campaigned for the streetcar in Kansas City, and serves on the Streetcar Authority Board.
Was the Kansas City streetcar a risk? Sure.
Has it paid off? Big time. Beyond anything we expected.
With a capacity of up to 150 passengers per car, traveling every 10 minutes in enhanced comfort on a route that is easy to understand, the KC Streetcar has opened up downtown to a whole new audience that otherwise didn’t want to deal with navigating and parking on its streets.
Detailed surveys tell us that it’s an amenity for residents, commuters and visitors alike, enjoyed by people across the region. It’s a new point of pride in our area, delivering reliable service and maximizing the economic benefit of downtown investments for our city.
Sure, rails are more expensive than buses. But the permanence of rail signals to private investors that this is something the community can build around. It focuses attention along a specific corridor to build the level of vibrancy that the streetcar can continue to serve for generations.
And it provides a modern transit option that appeals to a broad set of the population and is cleaner, quieter, more comfortable, dramatically higher capacity and cheaper to operate over time.
But don’t take my word for it. We’d love to have you here in Kansas City, where you can ride the streetcar for free and see the impact for yourself.
Ask restaurant owners how their business has been impacted once an entirely new audience discovered and had easy access to their door. Our downtown sales tax revenue has grown 58 percent since 2014, versus 16 percent for the rest of the city.
Ask the developers who have stated definitively that they wouldn’t be investing here if not for the streetcar (part of over $2 billion in development since the line started).
Ask business owners who moved their office to a downtown location because the streetcar is a resource that helps attract quality talent and gives them a dynamic work environment. Or the one operating a 113-year-old retail business right on the line who was once one of our harshest critics but now touts the streetcar as transforming his business. “When it’s all said and done, it’s been very positive,” Keith Novorr, owner of Michael’s Fine Clothes for Men, told a World-Herald reporter in December.
36 Ask the construction workers building projects up and down the line that are privately funded without economic incentives — a first for a downtown that used to rely on incentives to cover the increased costs from parking demands and site complications.
Or ask any of your fellow passengers adding to our 3 million-plus trips since the line opened on May 6, 2016, utilizing the streetcar at a rate double the original projected ridership.
We appreciate that this isn’t a step every city is ready to take. But as a new generation that’s demanding urban living and vibrancy chooses where to invest in their future, they’ll be paying attention to which cities do. It’s up to you.
LINK: http://www.omaha.com/opinion/midlands-voices-k-c-streetcar-exceeded- expectations/article_719ab0a2-1105-5024-9bd5-8215b6f873a5.html
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