Matt

Tue, 29 Nov 2005 09:32:45 -0500

Didn't someone try to do something like this in Redhook a few years ago. They laid a bunch of track and refurbished a bunch of cars, then something happened and the city made them pull up most of the tracks.

Toby

Mon, 28 Nov 2005 15:43:04 -0500

Yes, the Dodgers were the named that because the good citizens of Brooklyn dodged streetcars, since the borough was filled with them at one time. Some thoughts about streetcars: 1. Streetcars cannot go around double parked cars. A grade separated line would be the best option, , as was mostly done with the Hudson-Bergen line in New Jersey. This means they would not be running with normal traffic except where they cross streets. 2. Streetcar tracks in the street pose a hazzard. If youe ever get your bike tire stuck in a streetcar track you would not like them. I had that happen in Toronto and it was not fun. 3. Boarding streetcars that run in the middle of the street can lead to pedestrians getting hit. Again, you would need a grade separated line. 4. Streetcars create noise polution. Steel wheels on steel rails can make some wicked noises. 5. Streetcars are not polution free, as there is the noise polution mentioned above and the electrical generation causes polution, however not where the streetcar actually is, but at the power generation plant. 6. Why not trolley buses? Toronto used to have them, San Francisco has them. Since they are basically rubber wheeled streetcars, they have many of the same advantages as the steelwheeled streetcars, but they have some pluses like no need to lay dangerous streetcar tracks, they can go around double parked cars, and go pick up passengers at the curb. 7. A lot of people think streetcars are this nice quaint reminder of times gone by. If you want to ride on old streetcars, go to a museum, but don't clog city streets with these dangerous antiques. It looks like this "Brooklyn City Streetcar Company, Inc" wants to use old streetcars instead of new ones. One thing I remember about those old streetcars in Toronto, which were doppelgangers for the ones on their website. was they had no air conditioning. Do you want that on a hot humid August day? (They were nice and toasty warm on cold days, though.) Do we really want tax funds going to subsidize a bunch of foamers who want to drive old streetcars around Brooklyn? No. Build something useful and modern which serves legitimate transportation needs, like Hudson-Bergen over in New Jersey, instead of some rolling museum for "Trolley Jollies".

garth

Mon, 28 Nov 2005 13:59:13 -0500

I'm so for bringing trolleys back to Brooklyn for one big reason: that way when the Nets move to Brooklyn they can legitimately be renamed the Brooklyn Dodgers (why? because, if I remember correctly, the Dodgers were technically the Trolley Dodgers...)

Gothamist: Will the Trolley Will Go "Clang, Clang"?

Matt

Toby

garth