I was catching up on local news after having been out of the country during the holidays and this snippet from the ProJo about the Mayor's inaugural speech caught my eye:

"The city has been looking at mass transit options through the Transit 2020 Working Group, which is expected to return a report soon. Cicilline said he favors a variation of a streetcar system, comparable to the system in Portland, Ore.

Streetcars, he said, could reduce automobile pollution and fix Providence’s notorious parking problem. While it might be a long shot, he said it is possible to actually have construction under way on some sort of mass transit option by the time this four-year term is over."

(Here's the complete article: http://www.projo.com/ri/providence/content...ID.2f5d193.html)

Does anyone have any details on this? I'm curious what routes are being considered, if they're talking about real streetcars (rather than the RIPTA "trolleys" that currently circulate), etc.

In Dallas, they have a streetcar line from downtown to one of the surrounding commercial areas along McKinney Ave. What was interesting about that line was that every streetcar was from different parts of the world and from different time periods. Made for a unique attraction. I think it would be a real plus for Providence.

i knew i liked cicilline

The new scope of work for commuter rail phase 2 has a section to investigate lrt or brt down Alllens Ave onto the harbor junction line into Cranston, possibly to the Pastore Center.

Yes, the mayor is actually serious about actual streetcars on actual steel tracks embedded in the ground, not the silly """"trolleys"""" we have now (<---The word 'trolley' in this case deserves a liberal helping of air quotes).

The Sasaski report suggest a tranist arc from Allens Avenue up through the Jewelry District to the mall then along the Promenade to Olneyville. Another obvious route is Broadway to Downcity then either through the current bus tunnel or the abandoned rail tunnel through the East Side to the East Providence waterfront district. Also my favorite alignment, though I don't know that it has been offcially researched is along Broad Street to South Elmwood and Roger Williams Park. And of course, many are fans of street car service along North Main to Pawtucket.

I think if the city buckles down and the state gets behind it, there's no reason we should not be breaking ground on a new street car line before Cicilline's gubenatorial inauguration in 2010. (IMG:http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/style_emoticons/default/whistling.png)

^would these be along the MBTA the green line, I think C and parts of E, C has a seperate section where it is blocked off, and then the E is in the middle where cars drive. Did they say which kind? both?

Huh? We're talking Providence here, not Boston. Do you mean would they be like the above-ground portions of the green line?

Yes, they'd be like the above ground greenline sections. Most of Providence, given our physical environment will likely be more like the E with trains in traffic, though further out of downtown there is room for tracks in their own medians, like the C line.

I would love to see it down Elmwood Ave then down Route 2 into Cranston. Broad Street is much denser and has more destinations, but Elmwood would tie it into Route 2 better. Reservoir Ave is definitely wide enough, and if we brought it down to the Pastore Center then crappy places like Chapel View could destroy some of their parking and become more TODish.

I think it would be kind of cool to end up with cars similar to what they have in The Hague or Amsterdam. Because Holland is so close to sea level, they have the same water table issues that Providence would have with building a subway. (Although it would be slightly easier in Providence) Anyway, here is a pic from elsewhere on the up forums of a streetcar in Amsterdam. This doesn't really tell the whole story, they are everywhere.

(IMG:http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/7893/dscf9403cw4.jpg)

On a side note, how awesome are those gable houses?

And another note, how awesome are all those bikes?? There's more bikes parked than there are cars!

Yes, I like the Route 2 to RI Mall idea too. And then you blow up RI Mall and start over with a transit village there.

I get so excited about any of those things (lines) actually happening, I don't even know what to say...

Start with the busiest current RIPTA 'intercity' type lines and go from there. Links to PP mall, the port/HH museum, the zoo, the train station, and making use of the tunnel to the E side should be the basis for the network.

i loved the light rail when i lived in PDX, but i do not understand how for one minute we'll get light rail in a city where we can't even get overnight onstreet permitted parking.

maybe that'll change when the pilot is finished.

There was a protest on Academy Ave. (I think) over the weekend of residents demanding overnight street parking because their neighborhoods are too dense for off street parking and as vacant lots get developed they are losing their parking spots.

I hope so but I suspect that strong opposition by CHNA will doom its chances on the east side. This is unfortunate because I think some compromise is in order here.

students who rent, especially those who are planning on staying will need to speak up. the students are who this will affect the most on college hill. and whether the CHNA likes it or not, they are residents of the city.

This would be a dream come true for so many of us. Would put us on the map, big time. We would be the Portand, OR of the East Coast (which is ironic b/c they are named after our Portland, ME).

Let's hope this really happens.

the people who live in the predominately rental neighborhoods are the ones who will benefit the most from allowing on street parking. they either end up with paved or dirt backyards to accommodate cars or they use a parkign lot elsewhere because the driveway is too small for 3 apartments with at least 1 car each.

then there's my case where i live in a mostly single family home neighborhood, but my house has 2 apartments. the driveway can't accommodate both me and the woman below because we can't sync the times we leave. i end up parking on a grass lot next to my landlady's house (which is next door). it sucks because i have to drive over a curb everytime and it does a job on the alignment on my wheels and on my suspension. if i could park in the street overnight, i'd do it.