What Streetcars Look Like

Highways, light rail trains, and most bus routes are built to connect commuters regionally, and transport people over long distances like, say, from your downtown flat to the Lake Michigan shore. But streetcar systems keep it local. They’re generally about circulating people on shorter trips around targeted urban neighborhoods and business districts.

The ideal routes are designed to move with little disruption through the city scene and ultimately stimulate pedestrian activity and street life.

As local leaders plan a system for Grand Rapids, they will evaluate the most effective routes through the central city. At this early stage in the process, there’s considerable agreement that a successful system initially must serve Health Hill, key downtown office and business locations, the museums, and Grand Valley State University.

The streetcar system in Portland, OR – shown in the above You Tube video – cuts a similar path. It links major job, entertainment, and education centers such as Good Samaritan Hospital, the Pearl District, and Portland State University, where it moves quietly through the middle of a public plaza as students eat and drink at Pizzacato, a popular hangout just feet from the tracks.
 
Another early and important decision for Grand Rapids surrounds the type of streetcar vehicle. So-called replica vehicles, which are basically new cars designed to look vintage, tend to have less room for riders, longer boarding times, and special ramps for people with disabilities.

Modern vehicles, on the other hand, are charaterized by more room for riders, street-level boarding, and easier access for wheelchairs, walkers, and guide dogs. Modern vehicles also have a stronger track record of driving private investment and new development along the streetcar alignment, according to Tom Williams, the private consultant leading the local streetcar study. They also can be more expensive than replica cars.

While the modern car has proven successful in Portland and Seattle, the replicas remain popular in cities like San Francisco, Memphis, and Little Rock.

Finally, another major consideration is the city’s ability and willingness to encourage development that compliments the streetcar infrastructure.
 
Developers agree the city’s new Master Plan is generally aligned with the streetcar concept. But Grand Rapids also has a decades-long history of orienting streets and buildings solely around the automobile.

For any streetcar system to truly succeed, proponents say developers and public officials must embrace land use, zoning, and development standards that promote walking, biking, bussing, and other transportation alternatives. That means locating front entrances next to bus or rail stops, reducing building setbacks, and reducing or even eliminating parking in new projects.

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Andy Guy, the managing editor at Rapid Growth Media, is a journalist who lives in Grand Rapids. He recently travelled to Portland, San Francisco, and several other American cities to investigate the role of public transit in cities in the 21st century. Andy also serves as project director at the Michigan Land Use Institute and authors a blog titled Great Lakes Guy.

The above video, titled The Modern Streetcar, was posted to You Tube by Streetcar01 one year ago.

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