Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Streetcars

Atlanta’s Streetcar Investment Is Not Paying Off

By Yonah Freemark | Mar 9, 2017 | No Comments

Unable to assemble new funding from the state to significantly improve the rapid transit system, the city of Atlanta chose to focus on a cheaper-to-implement streetcar line. But more than two years after launch, ridership on the streetcar is falling far short of expectations.

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Reminder: Just Laying Track Is No Guarantee Riders Will Come

By Angie Schmitt | May 12, 2016 | No Comments

Laying track isn’t enough to build a successful transit system — as some cities are learning the hard way. A slate of new rail projects — mostly mixed-traffic streetcars, but that’s not the only way to mess up — are attracting embarrassingly few passengers. Some of these projects may be salvageable to some extent, but for now, they don’t […]

If NYC Builds the Streetcar, It Will Run Right Through Flood Zones

By David Meyer | Feb 17, 2016 | 76 Comments

As others have noted, the proposed Brooklyn-Queens streetcar route would run right through city- and FEMA-designated high-risk flood zones. This raises questions about how the streetcar infrastructure and vehicles would be protected from storm surges, as well as the general wisdom of siting a project that’s supposed to spur development in a flood-prone area. Yesterday, reporters at […]

BQX Streetcar Doesn’t Make Any More Sense Now Than It Did Yesterday

By Ben Fried | Feb 16, 2016 | 58 Comments

Today Mayor de Blasio rolled out the full court press for his Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar proposal, known as BQX. A story in the Times compared the street-running BQX to Jersey’s Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, which runs mostly on exclusive rail rights-of-way. The City Hall press shop sent out waves of endorsements from various elected officials, advocates, business executives, developers, […]

4 Reasons a $2.5 Billion Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar Doesn’t Add Up

By Ben Fried | Feb 4, 2016 | 125 Comments

Later today, Mayor de Blasio is going to deliver his State of the City speech, and one centerpiece is expected to be a new streetcar running from Sunset Park to Astoria along the Brooklyn-Queens waterfront. It’s an idea that’s surfaced repeatedly in one form or another as developers have transformed sections of the waterfront into new residential neighborhoods. As alluring […]

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Cincinnati Will Complete Its Streetcar

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 19, 2013 | No Comments

“We’re gonna have a streetcar.” That was the announcement, met with cheers, from Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley this afternoon. With an active proposal in the City Council to resume construction on the streetcar, Cranley said he “would not sign the legislation because” he “thinks it’s wrong.” But he was flanked by Council Member Kevin Flynn, the […]

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