Rail Streetcars vs. Trolleys (Potato Chip Trucks)

[thelakelander]

Fort Lauderdale is going through some of the same discussions we're having here.  The major difference is that the naysayers are the public instead of the city.

Rail streetcars vs. Sun Trolley: Redevelopment sought in Fort Lauderdale

By Brittany Wallman

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

April 27, 2008

FORT LAUDERDALE

Proponents of a light-rail streetcar system downtown aren't just focused on getting more people aboard mass transit. They're also banking on more development.

That's why downtown power brokers aren't worried when they see the red and yellow Sun Trolley roll by, most of its seats empty, on the route the proposed streetcar would travel. Proponents of the streetcar say that if Fort Lauderdale sees the kind of development along its rail line that other cities have, the streetcar will have no problem drawing 8,000 riders a day.

Currently, the trolley carries about 84 passengers each day.

The ample-sized trolley makes its run from courthouse to bus terminal, over the New River bridges, stuck in traffic just like The Wave's rail cars would be. Many of the properties the trolley passes are in need of a re-do, the Downtown Development Authority thinks. That's one reason the board of developers and business people are pushing The Wave, a streetcar system that would cost about $50 million a mile and would replace the rubber-tire trolley that could cover the same route for less. The Wave would run on rails embedded in the roadway, and would be powered by overhead electrical wires.

For now, the Sun Trolley offers a way to leave a car behind. But few do.

Only about eight people an hour ride it on the loop from the bus terminal to the county courthouse, according to the Transportation Management Association that operates the Sun Trolley. The route is similar to what's proposed for The Wave.

The downtown authority members and their streetcar consultants say thousands of people who shun public transportation would climb aboard a rail car, a prediction supported by other cities' experiences. Unlike rubber-tire trolleys and buses, the streetcars are thought to lure a different type of passenger: one who has a car but chooses the rail instead.

If the line sparks mass redevelopment of housing and offices, like a similar service did in Portland, Ore., and other locations, the number of riders would soar, the downtown board says.

The trolley riders on a recent weekday were mostly people who had no choice but public transportation. Like the woman whose errand was to drop off money at the main jail downtown for her husband, who was incarcerated in Pompano Beach. Or Rufus Ragin, who is homeless and took the trolley from near the county courthouse to the bus hub.

Those who already ride mass transit downtown were skeptical of the high-dollar proposal. They already have a clean, air-conditioned ride.

"Why have a substitute for something that's already working?" asked Akili Tucker, 32, who lives in Lauderhill and boarded the trolley recently from the main bus terminal off Broward Boulevard. Like many riders that day, Tucker was on a long journey to the county courthouse.

The downtown board knew that question would be a common one.

"Q: Why do we need The Wave when we have the Sun Trolley?" the agency asks on its Web site.

The answer given: The streetcar would "promote an economic development benefit that rubber-wheel vehicles do not," while being "more convenient, more reliable, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly."



Other cities' successes

Downtowns across the country are looking at streetcar systems as magnets for redevelopment.

Portland has a system that Fort Lauderdale officials envy. Developers spent $2.2 billion to build new housing, office and retail space within two blocks of the rail line, according to a 2005 study done for Portland. More than 7,000 condos or apartments went up along the line.

Tampa's system is newer, and transportation officials there give it credit for $1 billion in direct redevelopment.

The Wall Street Journal reported last summer that the rail system in Tampa was "a dud" as a transportation system, but great for economic development.

Downtown Development Authority board member Alan Hooper, who is in charge of selling the public on The Wave, said it's no secret that development is one of the goals.

"I've been very upfront that it's about bringing smart growth to downtown," he said.

Downtown needs help, he said.

"There's blight, I think there's dilapidation, there's stuff that has to be replaced with new stuff," said Hooper, a developer.

The Sun Trolley rolls by some of the older, small buildings that might one day be replaced along the rail line. The route hasn't been set, but is roughly a loop up and down Andrews and Northeast Third avenues, from the north end of downtown to the south.

More than a dozen new condos have been built downtown in the past decade; a new hotel was built; new offices have risen. But downtown developers still see problems. Development Authority Chairman Jack Loos thinks if a community isn't moving forward, it's sliding backward.

Chris Wren, executive director of the Development Authority and former city planning director, said, "walk the entire downtown from Searstown to the hospital at night. There's no lights, some places you don't feel safe, some places you might not be safe, I don't know."


Banking on more riders

The streetcar would have a lot to live up to. It would have to persuade 7,900 people who now drive downtown to leave their cars behind every day.

Wren and others at the Development Authority say The Wave would have more elaborate stopping points; it would be reliable; it would come by every 7 /1/2 minutes, instead of every 16 or 20. It would go farther south, down to Broward General Medical Center, a major job center.

"It's apples and oranges," Wren said of the comparison.

Hooper echoed that.

"If you have a rail system and people know where it's going, there's a big difference."

The Wave would attract 8,000 riders a day, according to the downtown board's consultant, Parsons Brinckerhoff. The highest ridership is expected from the bus terminal, the hospital, the court complex and Las Olas Boulevard, according to Development Authority documents.

According to the analysis by Parsons Brinckerhoff, the riders will be residents headed to and from work or running errands, and tourists.

Only with ridership that high would the cost per rider be kept below a dollar. The Development Authority has to prove cost-effectiveness to win federal aid. City, county and state officials are backing the proposal. But the last financial piece, $75 million in federal aid, is still being sought.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flblightrail0427sbapr27,0,41729.story

$150 million - Estimated cost of light-rail project

$50 million - Estimated cost per mile

8,000 - Estimated riders on streetcars per day

84 - Sun Trolley riders per day

an image of the Sun Trolley

[thelakelander]

Portland, Ore., showed the way for Fort Lauderdale's streetcar plan

The Portland, Ore., streetcar system is the model for Fort Lauderdale's plan.

Portland, Ore.

Route: Four miles, double-tracked, with stops every three or four blocks.

Opening date: 2001.

Frequency: Streetcars run about every 12 minutes during most of the day Monday through Saturday and less often in the early morning, evenings and Sundays.

Fares: Outside a "fareless zone" it costs $1.75 for two hours for adults, $1.40 for youths. An annual pass costs $100.

Time between initial planning and start of service: 11 years.

Links: Suburbs are linked to downtown Portland by a regional light rail system.

Expansion: The system is undergoing another expansion.

Economic development: $2.2 billion in private development, including 7,248 new housing units and 4.6 million square feet of office space, was built within two blocks of the rail line starting in 1997, when the route was identified. The development was denser than what was built before the rail plans.

Cost per track mile: $12.9 million.

Ridership: 9,000 riders a day by the fall of 2005.

Operating cost: $4.9 million a year.

For more information: www.portlandstreetcar.org



Fort Lauderdale

Route: None selected, but the preferred proposal would cover 2.7 miles, with 10 stations and six vehicles.

Opening date: projected to be sometime in2013.

Frequency: Every 7 1/2 minutes.

Fares: The Downtown Development Authority wants rides to be free; county officials would decide.

Time between initial planning and start of service: Estimated at 11 years.

Links: Could link with proposed east-west bus rapid transit on Broward Boulevard, county bus system and Sun Trolley system.

Cost per track mile: estimated at$49.3 million.

Ridership: estimated at 8,000 a day.

Operating cost: estimated at $2.24 million.

Who would pay: Owners of the thousands of new downtown condos would be expected to pay $99 a year for 30 years if city commissioners pass the assessment. Commercial owners would pay 12 cents a square foot, or $1,200 for 10,000 square feet. Owners citywide would see their property taxes used toward a $10.5 million city contribution. Broward County would pick up costs when the project is built. The yearly operation cost is estimated at $2 million. The state would contribute $37.5 million, and the federal government $75 million.

For more information: Downtown Development Authority, www.ddaftl.org

[JeffreyS]

Wow local government trying to invest in how they want the future to be instead of saying what is the ridership today.

[Jason]

The answer given: The streetcar would "promote an economic development benefit that rubber-wheel vehicles do not," while being "more convenient, more reliable, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly."

I wish the JTA was making statements like this.  Who knows, the trolly studies and recent interests from private developers may be the push we need to get more rail based transit on our streets.

[Ocklawaha]

My theory is pretty well backed up by the Fort Lauderdale studies. My message to JTA is NOT a war cry as much as "WILL SOMEONE LISTEN TO LOGIC?"

Here's how I see the stack up:

Your son is a great baseball player, he reaches the age for Little League and every kid on the block gets a new glove and baseball. So you run to Wal-Mart and buy him a Gardeners glove and a gumball machine baseball... Duh? Does he want them? Will he show them to his friends? Will he play with them? Obvious!

You see a Toyota ad on TV, some nut is dressed like a caveman, little kids are dancing around, and some announcer is shouting at you. Down the road, another dealer is offering a very attractive program for the same car. It's elegant, sleek, stylish, sexy, and no pressure... in fact the ad's are beautiful, which dealer do you go to first?

More? you buy a ticket to the Jaguars game. You are pumped up, then after everyone is seated, Smoke pours out, jets fly past, and... and... "Ladies and Gentlemen, a rare case of food poisoning has canceled our game today, however, we present you with the Jacksonville Jaguars POP WARNER team! After all you did pay to see great football right?"

There is a distaste in America and much of the world for fraud. In much of the world you bite the coin to see if it's REAL gold (gold is soft like Lead unless it's mixed with other metals). Faux trolleys are toys, they are NOT real and don't fool anyone who thinks. People shy away from fraud, many advertisers loose their businesses for making themselves look like public fools. Would you buy your house siding from the guy who claims it's "Chicken Proof and Peanut Butter Proof, then clucks in a chicken suit on your TV?" (a real 1980's Jax ad before the guy got arrested for...FRAUD!) Ever feel that flush in your face while hosting a party of important friends only to have something like this blast from your own TV? The feeling of Oh my God, why did they have to see THAT side of Jacksonville?

DITTO THE POTATO CHIP TRUCK TROLLEYS...

FAUX

FRAUD

NOTHINGS

They would however make dandy artifical reefs or perhaps Wild Adventures would buy them for parking lot shuttles in Valdosta, where they at least have a REAL theme park. In Jacksonville we bit the RUBBER TIRE and called it TRANSIT!

Ocklawaha