1,800 HIGH paying GE jobs to Cincinnati... THANK YOU STREETCAR!

[Ocklawaha]

Battery powered streetcars circa 1912, Daytona Beach to Seabreeze.

[Jdog]

http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/development/article615681.html

Another system not even built yet: 

Kansas City Star on the 25th of June. 


"Development agency considers streetcar-related projects"


"...Scott Richardson of Linden Street said the developers were attracted to the site because it's on the streetcar route. 'The reason we're here in town and doing the project is the streetcar...There's an incredible demand for living downtown, especially with millennials, and the same thing happening in Minneapolis and Denver is happening here.'"

[Ocklawaha]

Mann: Portland streetcar brings economic development
By David Mann, 2014


STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Economic development along streetcar line attracts new taxpaying residents and adds to the tax base.
Portland's model suggests streetcars work better when they tie into a regional light rail system.
It's taken decades for Portland to learn how to recoup operating expenses.

David Mann is vice mayor of Cincinnati.

Last weekend, my wife, Betsy, and I visited Portland, Ore., the city with the most successful modern American streetcar system. We joined a delegation of Cincinnatians organized by local businessman and streetcar advocate John Schneider. My council colleague Amy Murray, chair of the Major Transportation and Regional Cooperation Committee, joined us. (We personally paid all of our expenses for the trip. No public expenditures were involved.)

We looked for ways to make sure that the Cincinnati system comes in on time and under budget. We had a very busy agenda of meetings with public and private sector leaders. Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and local U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer were very generous with their time, sharing a meal with us at one of Portland's fine new restaurants.

Like Cincinnati, Portland has had a long history of debate and skepticism about its streetcar system during the 30 years of its development. The need for community engagement of all stakeholders from the beginning was one of the essential lessons I learned from the trip. Neighborhood leaders successfully persuaded property owners on each leg of the streetcar route that they should support taxes on themselves to pay a major portion of the front-end capital investment.

After all, they stood to benefit the most from the streetcar. The fact that we did not do this in Cincinnati from the beginning has made covering the costs harder. We have no choice but to turn to property owners along proposed new legs for tax support as we contemplate future phases for our streetcar system.

It is also worth underscoring a point made by Rick Gustafson, who leads Portland Streetcar Inc., the nonprofit company that operates the Portland streetcars. Yes, streetcars move people and provide for public transportation, but perhaps the major benefit from a streetcar system is in the substantial economic development that occurs because of the fixed streetcar line, development that would occur in a diminished form without it. This development attracts new taxpaying residents and adds to the real estate tax base.

Based on Portland's model, streetcars are more effective when they tie into a light rail system that connects downtown to the airport and to outlying neighborhoods.

Even as we move forward with the streetcar in Cincinnati, we need to continue the conversation about the best regional transportation options, and we must do this in cooperation with the county and the state. There is no way that the city of Cincinnati can assume these costs alone.

Still, for all the good that is clearly happening in Portland, there are some notes of caution.

Portland has been working on its streetcar system in one way or another for 30 years and is only now learning how to fully recoup operating expenses.

Portland has seen gentrification of the downtown area and is struggling with providing needed affordable housing options throughout the city.

And Portland has a far less diverse population than Cincinnati, with an African-American population of less than 10 percent.

So, while there are many things to reflect on and learn, we have our own unique challenges to figure out. I truly appreciate the opportunity to have taken this trip with my colleagues and friends from Cincinnati. It underscored all the work that still needs to be done to ensure that our system, moving forward, will be a success. ⬛


DAVIDMANN

@dsmann115

[Ocklawaha]

To those excellent questions about vintage, heritage, modern, or light-rail, running on the same track, in the same schedule mix all day long, here are a few photos I found that really illustrate how far the Portland System has come.

57 years at 10th and Morrison

The two photographs below were taken at SW 10th and Morrison in Portland Oregon, the first in 1949, the second in 2006. The same street corner in the same city but in very different worlds.

The photos show that even with many of its elements present, the past is elusive quarry. Todays Portland along the streetcar and Max line is a sea of new development... and empty seats or not (and they're not empty) these buildings and businesses pay taxes!


10th and Morrison, in PORTLAND 1949


10th and Morrison, in PORTLAND  Today


10th and Morrison, in PORTLAND  Today; NOTE the line the heritage car is on merges into the modern cars line... its all in the family!

[thelakelander]

Pretty cool set of images, Ock.  Today, streets like Adams, Laura, Julia, Forsyth, etc. look a lot like Portland's in 1949.....minus the streetcar and 50% of buildings. Similar in building scale, street width, number of roadway lanes, parallel parking, sidewalk width, etc. Looking at the second and third images of the Portland street, it's amazing how "right-sizing" a street for all modes, can dramatically alter an urban environment.

[IrvAdams]

Portland is a trail blazer for this type of thing. Very progressive there. At some point they admitted that the best way was the old way.