Transit 2020

[f1rehead]

Professor Scott Malloy from URI gave a talk on The Age of Trolley Transportation in Providence last week at the WBNA Annual Meeting. It was pretty interesting and he really loves the subject.

[Recchia]

i heard, but i don't know where so its possible i dreamt it, that only 100 people in washington park signed up to be part of the pilot program.

[dgreco]

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.

[Baines]

I went on the "internets" and found some interesting stuff on streetcars. Evidently, at one time, the streetcar system in southern New England was quite extensive. In fact, you could travel from New York to Boston via Springfield, MA or Providence by taking the interurban streetcar lines! Hard to believe that such an option existed.

Here are some streetcar links:

Photos of Providence streetcars

Blurb on RIPTA streetcar study: According to this blurb from May 2006, 2 routes in Providence are being looked at along Allens Avenue and Valley Street plus a third route along the waterfront in East Providence.

Article from The Economist - Aug. 2006 and LA Streetcar Feasibility Study: These two links look at the move by a number of cities towards investment in light rail and other public transportation. I quickly glanced through the LA study which has a section about the benefits of streetcars, particularly in downtown commercial districts. Good information for making the case.

[pdxstreetcar]

Here's some information on Portland's Streetcar which this proposal would be modeled after. It is quite different from a large scale regional Light Rail system or historic trolley lines...

NYC Subway.org - Portland Streetcar

Portland Streetcar website

Portland's 3-D Streetcars

Simple Track Construction:

heritagetrolley.org

Stops:

heritagetrolley.org

Likely Streetcars for Providence (Portland, DC, Tacoma, Seattle, Miami, Atlanta all either use these or will use these):

heritagetrolley.org

Atlanta Streetcar (proposed):

http://www.atlantastreetcar.com/

Seattle's South Lake Union Streetcar (under construction):

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/stcar_slu.htm

http://www.buildthestreetcar.org/

Miami Streetcar (proposal):

http://ci.miami.fl.us/MiamiStreetcar/pages/

Washington DC Anacostia Streetcar (under construction):

http://www.dctransitfuture.com/

[Jerry2]

[tracer1138]

I've ridden a good chunck of Portland's Streetcar System (and the light rail system as well) and I have to say that it is fantastic. If I could get to work every day like that, life would be so much more enjoyable.

[matt]

I WANT THAT!!!

[MapmanNo1]

There's no overnight on-street parking in Providence!? Good God, people, get with it! A residential permit program is a no-brainer, though it might get hairy with the CHNA and/or others when it comes to college students getting permits.

Newport's had a (seasonal) residential permit program for years! Most streets are permit-only at night, but a few are 24-hour permit-only zones. I just can't believe Providence hasn't done this on the East/West Sides yet because of the restaurants.

[runawayjim]

There's no overnight on-street parking in Providence!? Good God, people, get with it! A residential permit program is a no-brainer, though it might get hairy with the CHNA and/or others when it comes to college students getting permits.

Newport's had a (seasonal) residential permit program for years! Most streets are permit-only at night, but a few are 24-hour permit-only zones. I just can't believe Providence hasn't done this on the East/West Sides yet because of the restaurants.

[TheBostonian]

No forumers have made maps with ideas for lines?

[runawayjim]

No forumers have made maps with ideas for lines?

[Cotuit]

[dgreco]

[smcbride11]

the way the program should work is that you have to show a signed lease to get a permit.

[urbie]

That's the way the pilot works... Your car either has to be registered at a valid address or you need to show a valid lease (if your car is registered at another location, like a student's would be).

I'd be amazed if even 100 people signed up for the pilot, though...

[c.a.haynes]

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.

[runawayjim]

I don't understand why the CHNA and others are so vehement in their opposition. There does not have to be a carte blanche overnight parking permit for every street in the city. The City has every right to allow overnight parking on particular streets on a case by case basis. Many streets on the East Side are simply not wide enough. People would still park on the street and walk even if they weren't able to park in front of their house, no?

[urbie]

I don't understand why the CHNA and others are so vehement in their opposition. There does not have to be a carte blanche overnight parking permit for every street in the city. The City has every right to allow overnight parking on particular streets on a case by case basis. Many streets on the East Side are simply not wide enough. People would still park on the street and walk even if they weren't able to park in front of their house, no?

[runawayjim]

Well, what's wide enough? If a street is wide enough to park on during the day, why not at night? Do cars get fat after 2:00 am?

Urb

[Cotuit]

Well, what's wide enough? If a street is wide enough to park on during the day, why not at night? Do cars get fat after 2:00 am?

[mental757]

Awesome Map!!

I'd like to use Cotuit's ideas and add my own:

the red line could loop from the Park Ave/Cranston stop using the old ROW to Warwick Ave, to Post, to Braod, to Norwood, to Narragansett, and back to Allens to complet the loop.

the green line could turn south after Olneyville square to follow the old Kent county ROW to Budlong, to Garden City and then follow the route from there.

An orange line could be added from KP to W. Exchange, to Dean, to PV Parkway, to Valley, to Olneyville Sq., then turn west to follow Cotuit's green line from there. Olneyville SQ. would also act as a trasnfer point between the orange and green line. The southern branch of the orange line would depart KP and basically follow Weybosset to Broad, to Elmwood ending at the zoo with a transfer point there to the red line.

[Cotuit]

Awesome Map!!

[eltron]

Regarding onstreet parking and a perfect reason why this city is so backward:

PPD put one of those speed sign things that tell you how fast you are going on Federal Street. During the evening, Federal Street has lots of Atwells overflow parking, and is pretty full of cars parked onstreet. It is IMPOSSIBLE to go over the posted limit of 25 when the cars on the street. Hey, instant traffic calming! Late at night, when there are no cars parked on the street, you can go 40, blow through stop signs, run over children, whatever. The fact they stationed the speed thing here just kills me, and illustrates one very significant potential benefit of trying to become a real city with something as simple as onstreet parking...

[runawayjim]

Regarding onstreet parking and a perfect reason why this city is so backward:

PPD put one of those speed sign things that tell you how fast you are going on Federal Street. During the evening, Federal Street has lots of Atwells overflow parking, and is pretty full of cars parked onstreet. It is IMPOSSIBLE to go over the posted limit of 25 when the cars on the street. Hey, instant traffic calming! Late at night, when there are no cars parked on the street, you can go 40, blow through stop signs, run over children, whatever. The fact they stationed the speed thing here just kills me, and illustrates one very significant potential benefit of trying to become a real city with something as simple as onstreet parking...