Streetcar is “a vehicle on rails used primarily for transporting passengers and typically operating on city streets”. (www.m-w.com)
When you come to the words “streetcar”, “light rail”, “trolley”, do you realize their differences or something in common? Actually most people may confuse them. Streetcar was the first to be used in public transit system in New York in 1832, which was pulled by horse and then replaced by machines. Streetcar today is featured by its rights-of-way sharing with automobiles and more localized service. In contrary, light rail has its own, reserved right-of-way. It always connects different places in larger region and was featured by its fast speed.
In many urban core revitalization strategies, streetcar has been widely used in public transit systems and successfully transformed some placed into a vibrant area of shops, grocery stores, restaurants and apartments. In some cities, such as in San Francisco, Portland, streetcars are designed in old-fashioned styles to enhance the city image and attract tourists. I believe in the future, there will be more streetcars running in American cities to bring vitality and mobility.
"Streetcars & Waterfronts: The F Market & Wharves Line"
"With a little creativity, San Francisco's F Market & Wharves historic streetcar line is the most successful vintage rail line ever opened, attracting over 20,000 riders a day. The restoration of the F-Line led to a billion dollars of redevelopment along the wharves and waterfront and has been so successful in re-energizing the economy that the city is reviewing plans to double the length of the route in order to fully redevelop the historically commercial waterfront. With developments like the Cannery and Ghirardelli square credited to historic transit lines, no one was prepared for the explosion of business and revenue that resulted from adding the vintage and often whimsical F-Line. In its wake however, the value of historic streetcars is finally beginning to be realized by planners across the planet. Can Jacksonville learn from San Francisco's experience?"
The distinctions between "streetcar," "light rail,", etc. are admittedly very fuzzy. Especially so for us not all that familiar with rail transit (e.g. most of the US).
ReplyDeleteNames also vary across the country and in other parts of the world as well (for example, "tramway" in Europe is more or less what we'd call a "streetcar" in the US.
Perhaps we should devise new terms for these services, and start afresh?