Quote:
Originally Posted by shappy
Really cool thread - enjoyed it.
Any plans to turn this into a dedicated ROW? This setup was very similar to the St. Clair line in TO. It was a mixed route with stations set up as islands but converted around mid-late 2000s to a full ROW. Indeed politically controversial.
Nothing overly fancy - curbs separating traffic and the stations are nicer and more comfortable. Like this. |
None. Not at all. It's almost miraculous that the trolley is there.
This line, Route 15, was one of the last three surface-only streetcar routes remaining in the city after all of the others had been dismantled and replaced by buses (one of the remaining three was the world's longest streetcar route at the time).
In 1992 our transit authority "temporarily" bustituted the three routes. They've remained buses to this day with the exception of Route 15 which returned in 2005 and only did so because neighborhoods along the east end of the line were gentrifying at the time and there was political will to make it happen. The resumption of streetcar service on The 15 was nearly killed by a local political committee member who was able to hold up the resumption of streetcar service over - and this was quite literally the case -
eight parking spaces near the car barn for the streetcars that would have to have been removed to allow for turns.
Parking is sacrosanct in this city and any changes to streetscapes that limits or reduces parking is typically met with
fervent resistance by the average longtime city resident.
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