It looks like Suja finally got her feasibility study done. This is all from
www.presstelegram.com:
Desire for streetcars gets a look in Long Beach
By Paul Eakins, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/21/2009 07:59:32 PM PST
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Second District City Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal envisions a downtown crowded not with cars, but people - pedestrians who arrive by bicycle, bus and, perhaps, even streetcars.
Electric-powered streetcars such as those used in San Francisco and Portland - connecting Long Beach's neighborhoods, fostering pedestrian movement and spurring development - are an integral part of Lowenthal's vision.
Last week, the council heard a report on a feasibility study that had been commissioned in 2007 about installing streetcars in Long Beach, and other city officials seem to be warming up to the idea.
"We are at a fantastic time in our city when more and more people want to leave their cars behind," Lowenthal said last week. "People are looking for ways to exercise their right to different modes of transportation."
However, skeptics, including the head of Long Beach Transit and representatives of downtown residents and businesses, question the viability of such a massive public transit undertaking. The biggest obstacle would be the massive cost of the proposed project - more than $900 million of investment if all of the potential routes outlined in the study were to be implemented.
City officials say the funding would come from federal grants and wouldn't touch the Long Beach's depleted general fund or other city budgets.
"This project, wonderful though it is as a vision, is talking about spending a lot of money right now when that money could be used for other purposes," said Larry Jackson, president and CEO of Long Beach Transit. "My concern is that there's only so much money that comes to the region, and if this project becomes a political priority, is it going to jeopardize the other projects that we have?"
Streetcar study
The idea of bringing streetcars to Long Beach began with a trip by Lowenthal to Portland, where she was inspired by the many modes of public transportation used there, including a flourishing streetcar system. The council approved hiring an outside consultant a "limited" feasibility study, which ended up costing $69,000.
The study lists a dozen possible streetcar routes and extensions, some as simple as a downtown loop or connecting downtown to the Queen Mary, and others moving all of the way from the Westside, Naples, Cal State Long Beach and the north end of Atlantic Avenue to downtown.
In the proposal, all routes lead to downtown, which would be the hub of Long Beach's streetcar system.
Proponents say the benefits of streetcars are that they provide a sense of certainty for businesses that open along their routes and for residents and visitors who use them. They are also simple to use because they essentially link two destinations, such as downtown to Belmont Shore or to Bixby Knolls.
"If you see a track, you know where it's going," said Sumire Gant, the city's transportation officer.
She said streetcars encourage people to walk more and often are used to travel short distances, rather than the longer distances of buses. For example, a visitor to the Convention Center might hop on a streetcar to head a few blocks up Pine Avenue for dinner. Or, tourists staying downtown would have an easy way to get to other shopping and restaurant areas - again, such as Bixby Knolls and Belmont Shore - that they otherwise might not know how to reach.
Streetcars typically carry 95 to 110 passengers, seated and standing, and travel at 15 to 20 mph, according to the study. The cost of installing rails and electric cables to power the vehicles is between $18 million and $25 million per mile, the study says.
If the council chose to move forward with the project and had the funding for it, a more thorough feasibility project could be completed next year for $550,000, then an engineering and environmental study would be done in 2011 and 2012 for $1.6 million, and finally the first legs of the system could be installed over two years, according to a timeline in the report.
For now, Gant said she plans to ask for proposals from companies that might be interested in installing Long Beach's streetcars, then go back to the council to see if it is ready to take the next step.
A real need?
But how much does Long Beach need streetcars?
Neysa Colizzi, president of the Downtown Residential Council, which represents six downtown neighborhood associations, said that streetcars won't do much good if there aren't people to use them.
"It seems that the idea of street cars that are more like people-movers - jump on, jump off - it seems a little premature," Colizzi said. "It seems like we should be getting more people downtown to move."
Kraig Kojian, president and CEO of downtown Long Beach, said he wasn't certain that streetcars are what downtown or the city need. He said Long Beach Transit's buses are popular and serve the city's transportation needs, although he would like to see a stronger transportation corridor connection from east to west.
"I think moving people in from neighboring cities, from neighboring communities into downtown is always a good thing," Kojian said.
Some aspects of the streetcar proposal seem similar to what the buses already offer now, such as a free ride zone in the city center. Transit's Passport buses already connect Belmont Shore to downtown, offering free rides west of Alamitos Avenue.
Paying the fare
Between free service in some areas and the ongoing cost of running the streetcars, the general consensus among experts is that the streetcar system wouldn't be self-sustaining. The operating costs could be several million dollars per year, depending on how extensive the system would be.
In Portland, about one-third of the streetcar costs are borne by city parking meter revenues and other fees, according to Kay Dannen, community relations manager for Portland Streetcar Inc.
Still, Portland has also sparked hope for funding streetcars in Long Beach and other cities across the country - West Sacramento, for example, is moving toward installing a streetcar system - after it received a $75 million federal grant to install a new leg of its streetcar lines. The city, however, had to match the grant, but it's a change from when Portland began installing the system in the 1990 s solely with city and state money.
Dannen said that the Obama administration has begun opening up dollars for innovative public transportation projects such as streetcars.
That is how Gant says Long Beach can and must fund its streetcar system. In a city that can barely afford to fill its potholes and a state with a ballooning budget deficit, the feds may be the only option.
"When I said we'd go for federal dollars, I fully expect that we would get them," Gant said.
On the other hand, Jackson questioned using any transportation money for a new and unproven transit project, when Long Beach Transit has had to hike its fares this year and will do so again in February and needs funding to improve its service. He said that Long Beach has other priorities as well, such as a proposed transportation project on the Long Beach (710) Freeway to alleviate congestion caused by Port of Long Beach traffic.
Furthermore, Jackson said that Long Beach would be competing with not only other cities around the country, but also potentially those right here in Los Angeles County, for transportation funds.
"I don't think it will be built in my lifetime, if we're going to go the route of competing with other cities across the nation for federal funds," Jackson said.
At the operational level, Lowenthal suggested those costs could be funded through fees charged to the businesses that are expected to spring up along the streetcar routes.
Breathing new life into underdeveloped corridors may be the true goal of a streetcar system, and it's certainly worked in Portland.
"Streetcar is really viewed as an economic development tool more thana transit tool," Dannen said.
Would development follow?Dannen said that as streetcar lines have spread out from the city center, the transit corridors have prospered with new businesses and development.
According to Long Beach's study, Portland has had $2.8 billion in development investment in the streetcar project areas since 2001. Tampa, Fla., has had $1.1 billion of investment since it installed streetcars in 2003, and other cities have had similar results.
However, skeptics in Long Beach point to the Metro Blue Line running down Long Beach Boulevard and through downtown as proof that rail lines don't always lead to development. Lowenthal admits the Blue Line corridor isn't what it should be, but she said that was a matter of planning more than anything else.
"The leadership of the city at the time treated the blue line as a liability rather than an asset," Lowenthal said.
Still, Jackson was firm in his opposition, simply because of the logistics and funding, though he said he supports all forms of public transportation, even streetcars.
"I'm not against this project," Jackson said. "I'm just the one that has to implement it."
One thing Jackson and Lowenthal agreed on is that making streetcars work in Long Beach relies on changing the city's transportation culture and lifestyle. "When it's available, I think residents of Long Beach will leave their cars behind," Lowenthal said.
paul.eakins@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1278
I would love to see this happen in my lifetime. Imagine a Long Beach without a breakwater and with a streetcar network. How different would things be? I know, I'm a dreamer. . .
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