Hey, Streetcar Critics: Stop Making 'Perfect' the Enemy of 'Good'

[thelakelander]

American streetcar projects have gotten some tough love recently. Writers who advocate for walkable, transit-oriented urban neighborhoods are questioning whether streetcar investments really enhance mobility, and whether they're worth the money, if, as is often the case in the U.S., a new line has no dedicated lane or runs infrequently.

Matthew Yglesias wrote at Vox that streetcars aren't worthwhile unless they have a dedicated lane. He called the streetcar on H Street in Washington, D.C. "the worst transit project in America." Respected transit expert Jarrett Walker agrees, proclaiming that "streetcars mixed with private car traffic are overrated."

And on this very website, Eric Jaffe pointed out that most of the newer U.S. streetcar systems, with a few exceptions, aren't running frequently enough to meet the usual standards of good mass transit.

Still others criticize new streetcar lines that don't seem long enough. Kriston Capps wrote here at CityLab that Washington D.C.'s H Street streetcar, 2.4 miles at first, takes people "from where they aren't to where they don't need to go."

Full article: http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/10/hey-streetcar-critics-stop-making-perfect-the-enemy-of-good/380913/

[strider]

Good article. 

[tufsu1]

the article's author founded the website Greater Greater Washington, which is similar to Metro Jacksonville in many ways.

http://www.greatergreaterwashington.org/

[spuwho]

Interesting read.

Take the concepts expressed on transit investment in the article and apply it to the Skyway.

How does it hold up?