I can't comment about the ridership of the street car. I can tell you that it is my belief that the ridership went down with the advent of the car. That isn't surprising. Of course, we are now in a different situation. We can no longer add lanes of traffic on most roads, even Grand. So what happens now when the traffic on Grand gets too heavy? I bet some of it moves to the neighborhood streets. By the way, I don't remember Portland's rail system being free. There is a free zone. Just like Salt Lake City has a free zone. While I don't know the considerations involved in deciding on the free zone, I would bet it has something to do with providing people with a means to travel without getting into and out of cars, finding parking, etc. It would be like the trolley system that used to run around St. Paul. Mike Fratto Payne Phalen
>>> Bruce Gaarder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 11/09/2004 9:31:10 AM >>> It seems to me that the number of people on a streetcar had an extra 0. 600 is the stuffed capacity of a three-car lrt train. A modern streetcar may carry 60. Will these be free as in Portland? If I remember correctly, the average speed of a Portland streetcar is about 10 mph. If you run them down Grand, Selby, or Fort Road (all one lane each direction, you will either have major trouble with cars passing them or cars going through on neighborhood streets. What will happen to the busees on those streets? On the historical side, if you read the annual reports of Twin City Lines, you see that the peak streetcar ridership was in 1921 or 22. I think that was long before Pohlad was in the picture. They started running buses in 1924, about the same time that they tried to get a public transportation monopoly by buying a controlling share in the taxi company. "Better for the public for one company to provide all public transportation." Visit www.EffectiveTransit.org The Independent Unsubsidized Voice of Citizens for Effective Transit in the Twin Cities (no lrt) * lrt isn't a potato chip, you can stop at just one * Bruce Gaarder Highland Park Saint Paul MN [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ St. Paul Topics - This Week: Light Rail http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul-topics _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ St. Paul Topics - This Week: Light Rail http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul-topics _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
