Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Streetcars

Streetfilms: Take a Ride on the Seattle Streetcar

By Clarence Eckerson Jr. | | 15 Comments
Seattle’s South Lake Union Streetcar is a 1.3-mile line that opened in December 2007, the first leg in the city’s commitment to new transit and light rail. It passed the half million passenger milestone in its first year, surpassing ridership projections. The streetcar features many top-of-the-line tech amenities, including real time arrival message boards, solar-powered […]

Melbourne’s Complete Streets

By Ken Coughlin | | 6 Comments
In August, I had the pleasure of spending a little more than two weeks in Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne is the country’s second-largest city, with 3.8 million residents in the metropolitan area. Despite its size, from a walking and transportation standpoint (to say nothing of a coffee-drinking perspective), Melbourne almost defines the term "livable city." Trams […]

Portland Elects Cyclist Mayor; Obama Draws 8,000 on Bikes

By Brad Aaron | | 14 Comments
 On Tuesday, voters in Portland, Oregon elected Sam Adams as their next mayor. A former Congressional staffer and current Portland city commissioner, Adams — who is a cyclist — ran on a platform that emphasized environmental and progressive growth initiatives, including, in the words of the Oregonian, "use [of] the Portland Streetcar and better planning […]

“Carfree Cities” Conference Comes to Portland

By Brad Aaron | | 1 Comment
The World Carfree Network will hold its eighth annual international "Towards Carfree Cities" conference in Portland, Oregon, from June 16th to the 20th. This year’s event, entitled "Rethinking Mobility, Rediscovering Proximity," marks the first time the conference has come to North America. Registration is now underway at CarfreePortland.org, with a discount for those who sign […]

Good Streets Include Streetcars

By Alex Marshall | | 50 Comments
Last stop for Brooklyn’s trolley dodgers at Fairway Market in Red Hook. Devotees of the Red Hook, Brooklyn Fairway grocery store can have the pleasure, after loading up on gourmet salt and other essentials, of sipping coffee on their back veranda over looking the river. It’s a wonderful view. On your right is the Statue […]

Eyes on the Street: Bicoastal Streetcars

By Aaron Donovan | | 26 Comments
Brooklyn San Francisco Like Clarence Eckerson, I recently returned from a visit to San Francisco. I left with a feeling that San Francisco has the best urban surface transportation in the country: emissions-free buses drawing power from overhead wires, regular buses, cable cars moving up and down steep hills, many cyclists despite those hills, partially buried lightrail and […]