By: DAN TIERNEY
Since opening in 2001, the streetcar system in Portland, Ore., has seen a boom of development near the streetcar line and more than double the weekday ridership.
The Charlotte City Council now wants to know whether Charlotte can find the same success.
Council members recently approved a $500,000 streetcar study to be conducted by the Charlotte Economic Development Office and Charlotte Area Transit System to determine, among other things:
• An updated cost estimate.
• Economic benefits.
• Charlotte’s eligibility for federal funding.
The study’s approval could mean that Charlotte would try to build the first leg by 2013, rather than its pushed-back date of 2018. The city, though, faces numerous hurdles, including funding issues and other transportation projects.
Plans call for the streetcar to first run through uptown from Beatties Ford Road to Presbyterian Hospital, with possible future extensions to Eastland Mall and the airport.
The streetcar would run on its own line along current roads and cost about $211 million for the first phase of around five miles.
CATS officials also have intentions of extending the light rail to University City by 2015 at an estimated cost of $750 million and building commuter rail to the Lake Norman area by 2012 for an estimated $261 million.
Charlotte streetcar detractors say the city could better spend funds on street widenings. With construction costs likely to continue rising, streetcar proponents say now is the time to build.
CATS chief executive Keith Parker said in March that CATS can’t do all three projects at once without a new funding source.
Ron Tober, former CATS head, said the electric-powered streetcars could increase efficiency while reducing pollution. He added that a new presidential administration could increase the amount of federal money offered for public transportation.
“It’s a question of putting together an innovative funding process … sooner rather than later,” Tober said.
Many Charlotte transportation officials point to Portland as a model for streetcar success.
Portland used a mix of federal, regional and city funds, with the largest single chunk of funding coming from a public parking bond. The city took 11 years from planning to opening, said Portland Streetcar project manager Vicki Diede, because it stopped for a period to focus on a community redevelopment.
Since the streetcar’s opening, Portland’s seen an influx of development along its eight-mile loop. According to a report given to Portland in January 2006, developers have invested more than $2.2 billion in residential and retail units within two blocks of the streetcar’s route.
Portland also has four light rails, Diede said, and several transfer points where people can change from the far-ranging light rail to the streetcar. The system’s now looking for more operating money because the streetcar sometimes is too crowded, Diede said, despite stops about every 12 minutes — every three or four blocks along the line.
As for Charlotte, City Council member James Mitchell said the publicly funded study could help get federal money in the future as it shows the city’s serious about streetcars.
Economic development office spokeswoman Jamie Banks said the study’s findings will likely get presented to the City Council sometime after Jan. 1.
I love the light rail and use it regularly. Often I pay for the week even when I’m only using the rail for the day just to throw support toward this form of public transportation.