Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Streetcars

Freight Rail, Streetcars Are Tops in U.S. DOT’s TIGER Chase

By Elana Schor | Feb 17, 2010 | 8 Comments

The Obama administration today announced the winners of $1.5 billion stimulus in highly competitive stimulus grants under the program known as Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER. Southeastern and midwestern freight rail projects were the day’s biggest winners, with urban streetcar projects also making a big splash. Freight rail in Chicago, where the CREATE […]

Better Transit Service, Space for Peds Top CB4 Goals for 34th Street

By Ben Fried | Dec 18, 2009 | 3 Comments

Manhattan CB4’s transportation committee passed a resolution last night in favor of speedier transit and improved pedestrian conditions on 34th Street. The vote followed a brief presentation from NYCDOT outlining several options for a second phase of transit enhancements on the crosstown corridor. It’s still very early in the process: The decision whether to pursue […]

In New Orleans, LaHood Unveils $280M in Streetcar and Bus Grants

By Elana Schor | Dec 1, 2009 | No Comments

During a visit to New Orleans, where city planners are seeking nearly $100 million in federal stimulus money for three new streetcar lines, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced plans to award $280 million in grants for streetcar and bus networks. New Orleans is counting on bonds, backed by sales taxes, to finance new streetcar […]

The Power of Transit-Oriented Development

By Ryan Avent | Aug 26, 2009 | 7 Comments

Back in the late 1970s, when Washington’s Metrorail system first began operating in Arlington County, Virginia, the future of Arlington and other old, inner suburbs was far from certain. Across the Potomac, the District of Columbia was suffering from depopulation, rapidly rising crime rates, and serious fiscal difficulties. Ballston Metro station, Arlington Co. Photo: Point […]

Streetcars in Seattle, Or Why America Should Mind Its Transit Gaps

By Alex Marshall | Jun 9, 2009 | 34 Comments

Photo: Don Maxwell/Flickr The rider went down — Boom! — just as she turned to see if the streetcar was getting close to her. Turning to look was her undoing, because her wheel got caught in the big gap between rail and street, toppling her hard. The big blue streetcar was only ten feet or […]

Barcelona, 100 Years Ago: A Model for Streets Today?

By Alex Marshall | Apr 3, 2009 | 23 Comments

This film, as featured on YouTube via Infrastructurist, shows the streets of Barcelona a century ago, taken from the front window of a tram going down the street. It’s an amazing film. The central avenues of this Catalan city are so vital, so alive, a mix of every activity. Then the film compares the old […]

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