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Jim Graebner, Lomorado Group
Chairman, APTA Heritage Trolley Subcommittee
OVERVIEW
While there is no rigorous study of the broader
economic and social benefits of a vintage trolley line, there has been research
done in this area. The material below was prepared for the River Rail project in
Little Rock, and represents 1998 data.
This overview is not representative of a
comprehensive statistical research effort, but reflects "snapshot" interviews
with individuals in several cities In addition to visits to several cities to
personally observe the current operations of vintage trolley Systems (Portland,
Dallas and Galveston), telephone interviews were also conducted with individuals
in Galveston, Dallas, Memphis, New Orleans, Portland, San Jose, Tucson and Fort
Collins. An attempt was made to acquire the unbiased impressions of the person
contacted.
During the conduct of
interviews, specific questions were raised to determine:
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The direct impact
of the vintage trolley system on business (increased sales, higher occupancy
rates, tourism, etc.)
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Disruption of
vehicular flow
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Impact of the
overhead power distribution wire
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Impact on
commercial real estate
In-depth interviews were conducted
with business leaders as well as transit system personnel.
Summary of Conclusions
Recently implemented vintage trolley
systems are closely tied to revitalization and enhancement of commercial
districts. Several additional conclusions can also be derived:
The collective business communities in
the cities researched give vintage trolleys high marks for being positive
influences in those cities.
The projects have been positive
activities for both the city as a whole as well as the commercial interests
directly affected.
Disruption due to construction has
been minimal and more than overcome by the positive factors once operation
began. There does not appear to be any significant impact on general traffic
flow on those systems where mixed traffic is allowed.
The use of an overhead wire for
electrical power is not perceived as having any negative impact on the aesthetic
of the urban landscape. On the contrary, vintage trolley projects offer
opportunities for improvement of the urban scene through lighting improvements,
sidewalk amenities and other beautification.
Vintage trolley projects have been
shaped by the involvement of the local business community, with individuals and
associations playing major roles in planning, implementing and operating the
systems.
Detailed Observations
Individuals from Galveston, Memphis,
Dallas, New Orleans, Portland, San Jose, and Tucson stated that the impact of
the local vintage trolley ranged from negligible to immense. In cases where the
impact was considered extremely positive, the trolley was seen as an important
component of overall downtown improvement efforts, and thus could not be given
sole credit.
Impact on
Business Activity
A vintage
trolley's positive impact on business was substantial in many cities surveyed.
Representatives
from both the Memphis Chamber of Commerce and the Memphis Center City Commission
expressed elation with that city’s trolley project. The trolley was seen as
taking a liability (the unsuccessful pedestrian mall) and turning it into a
tremendous asset for the community. It was seen as the key activity in setting
off a flurry of development downtown. The Director of the Center City Commission
credited the trolley system as being responsible for a variety of developments
ranging from a $100 million Peabody Place development to rehabilitation of many
small storefronts, One of the projects related to the major development will
provide corporate headquarters for an auto parts retail chain and bring 800 jobs
with it. The Commission offers low interest loans to restore the facades of
buildings. With the construction of the trolley more than twenty such loans have
been made (with only three made prior to that). The Commission can also offer
tax freezes to small businesses to assist with retaining business in the central
city. Prior to the trolley project, two tax freezes had been arranged; since the
coming of the trolley, nearly 15 have been awarded. One eighteen-story building
near the trolley line had been vacant for 17 years, but will shortly open as a
202-unit apartment complex. Lunch traffic on the trolley street is also seen as
a plus. As one interviewee said, a person can now go farther during lunchtime,
thus both broadening eating choices and allowing more expanded shopping
opportunities. The system also attracts a large number of visitors and Memphis
residents who do not live or work downtown. The positive impact on weekend
retailing was adjudged high.
In Portland,
there is extremely high occupancy of business locations on the rail line. One of
the executives of the downtown association expressed his belief that this was
due in part to vehicular traffic being allowed to operate within the trolley
system right-of-way. He said that, in that way cyclists, pedestrians, motorists
and trolley riders all had direct access to local establishments. The manager of
a Starbucks Coffee shop at Powell Square in Portland was effusive about the rail
service. She claimed a definite direct positive impact on her business, with
increased walk-in traffic almost every time the trolley or light rail car
stopped nearby.
As mentioned
several times, the trolley projects are not seen as being solely responsible for
the positive business environment, perhaps with the exception of Memphis. In
Portland, there was a great deal of effort focused on the downtown area,
including sidewalk amenities and public places (squares, plazas, etc.) The
combination of these factors has led to a true rejuvenation of the downtown
environment that reflects a great deal of pride in the city's central area.
The same can be
said of Galveston. The rejuvenation of The Strand was already underway, and the
trolley project was an added facet of this jewel of restoration. Individual
retailers who were contacted did not see much direct impact on their business
from the trolley, but they were very favorable to the system and its general
influence on the area’s aesthetics.
The McKinney
Avenue line in Dallas engenders similar comments. Few of the restaurant owners
contacted could point to measurable patronage increases on account of the
trolley, yet all but one were very favorably disposed toward it.
The St. Charles
and Riverfront Streetcar systems in New Orleans are unique in considering their
impact on business. The St. Charles line has been in continuous operation since
the 1830s. As such, it is considered as much a part of New Orleans as any other
public or private institution. It serves residential areas and downtown,
providing a link for residents and a way to tour the city for visitors. The
Riverfront Streetcar was an idea born of the developers who made the most of the
infrastructure created for the World’s Fair in New Orleans. The Convention
Center and several private developments sprang from that international
exposition.
The Riverfront
Streetcar served to tie together those developments—it has been extended once
since initial service began in 1988, and other extensions are currently being
considered. Restoration of trolley service on Canal Street has subsequently been
approved and is underway) Original ridership estimates of 2,000 per day for the
extension proved to be 40% of the number actually recorded. Throughout its
planning and implementation, the line was a partnership of public and private
interests. Funds were contributed by private interests, and all of the fifteen
organizations—public and private—were included in the process. One restaurant
owner along the Riverfront claims that his business increased one third when the
line opened. Other retailers in New Orleans have freely attributed their store
location decision to the proximity of the trolley line.
In each of the
systems investigated, it was the business community that was at the heart of the
development of the vintage trolley. In some cases, the local community was a
participant in the development of the system, and it continues to play some role
in the operation of the trolley service. Community participation in the projects
was varied and widespread, from private corporate contributions to assessment
districts to providing volunteer labor.
Several of the
systems were characterized as appealing to tourism ridership—such as the
Galveston Island Trolley, the McKinney Avenue line in Dallas, the Waterfront
Streetcar in Seattle, the San Jose Trolley, the Fort Collins Municipal Railway
and the Old Pueblo Trolley in Tucson. Of these systems, most business owners
judged the general impact on business minor. However, reflecting a common view,
one of the major Dallas developers with a large hotel/retail/office complex
having frontage on the street served by the trolley system felt that the system
provided cohesiveness to the whole district. He also reported that his own
favorite restaurant owner had told him that the diners took great pleasure in
“watching the trolley go by.”
As mentioned,
trolley systems were often part of a larger effort aimed at the revitalization
of certain areas. Such was the case in Galveston, where emphasis was being
placed by the entire community on the redevelopment of The Strand, an historical
area with high tourism attraction levels. The trolley system in Tucson has been
a key to the development of a number of small retail establishments and
restaurants that might not have occurred without it. Systems in Memphis,
Portland, and New Orleans are seen as being a local transportation alternative
as well as attracting visitor ridership.
The impact of
construction related to the systems’ implementation differed. In the case of
Memphis, where an existing pedestrian mall was used for the Main Street Trolley,
the impact was minimal. The Memphis Center City Commission coordinated an
intensive information campaign during the construction period. In the case of
the New Orleans Riverfront line, very little impact was apparent during
construction because the line was built largely on an abandoned railroad
right-of-way, and in the case of the St. Charles line, the construction of 1831
had preceded development of the area.
In Portland and
San Jose, the vintage trolley uses the same trackage as the light rail line, and
there was some impact. An official with the Portland downtown business
association said that some weaker businesses were lost during the construction
phase, although he was quick to add that every business that had been lost was
eventually replaced. In San Jose, a major participatory effort was undertaken to
maximize access to local retailers during construction and minimize disruption,
to the extent that construction was entirely shut down during the Christmas
shopping season.
Impact on
Vehicular Traffic Flow
None of the
individuals interviewed mentioned any negative impacts on vehicular traffic
flow. In Portland, the trolleys share the street with autos, trucks and buses,
as in many vintage trolley cities. In some cases in Portland, the vehicular
traffic is confined to one lane and some left turns are restricted, but there
were no complaints about traffic slowdowns, and no one contacted there knew of
or mentioned anything about trolley breakdowns. Indeed, they all felt the
trolley vehicles were very reliable.
In Portland,
where most on-street parking was removed from the streets on which the trolleys
run, the lost spaces were more than compensated for by additional public parking
lots that were also in the planning stages while the rail system was under
development. Parking was not an issue in Memphis (where the former pedestrian
mall had no parking), nor in New Orleans, Galveston, or Fort Collins. In San
Jose, the rail development in the downtown was accompanied by a two-street
semi-mall, and widened sidewalks and pedestrian areas caused the loss of two
traffic lanes and one parking lane. However, compensating off-street capacity
was designed and built concurrently, and the end result was a much more
attractive and lively downtown business district.
Impact of
Overhead Wire
None of the
individuals interviewed felt that the visual impact of the overhead wire was an
issue. In Portland and San Jose, the rail project afforded the opportunity to
install attractive vintage street lighting, and that was implemented at the same
time that wire was erected. Several cities have used the opportunity to combine
functions and minimize the use of separate poles or posts in the business
district. In San Jose and elsewhere, the Fire Department was involved in the
design of the overhead to assure that it did not interfere with possible
emergency situations.
Impact on
Residential Areas
All of the
individuals contacted were asked about any impacts on residential areas. Few
were reported. In Galveston, one person living on the trolley line did not
believe there was any impact on residential areas—positive or negative.
Representatives of a Catholic school located on the Galveston line judged the
impact to be zero, except for the opportunity for students to take group
excursions. In Dallas, the manager of an apartment complex viewed the impact of
the trolley as nonexistent and that it was not a factor in tenant location
decisions.
On the other
hand, classified advertisements in the local Galveston newspaper highlighted
proximity to the trolley in describing residential property, as was the case in
Memphis. Even though Galveston’s system is used predominantly by visitors to the
island, there are a number of local riders who use the line for routine trips to
the post office, grocery store or other business purposes.
In Portland, the
vintage trolley was itself a mitigation measure to compensate for the impact of
the city's light rail line on two historically significant residential areas.
Historic trolleys had been considered previously as a possible linkage between
the two historic districts, and the construction of the light rail line served
as a catalyst to implement that idea.
In Fort Collins,
representatives of the streetcar system expressed their belief that several
home-buying decisions had been positively influenced by the presence of the
trolley.
Impact on
Commercial Real Estate
While it appears
that the Portland and Memphis trolley systems have been factors in commercial
real estate decisions, no quantifiable information exists. In Portland, there
are claims that real estate prices near the line are higher, yet this equation
also includes other improvements in the downtown area. In Memphis, because of
the over-abundance of available property, real estate rates have only recently
begun to be affected by the trolley line. (Recent anecdotal material suggests
that the trolley is beginning to have an impact). As mentioned, the impression
in Tucson is that the trolley’s proximity has attracted a number of small retail
and restaurant establishments. And while there is not specific data, the
impression is that the presence of the trolley in San Jose, Galveston and
Dallas—by itself—has not had major impact on real estate prices. Proximity to
these lines, as well as to the St. Charles line in New Orleans, is seen as a
plus, but no quantifiable data is available.
Public
Acceptance
An appropriate
measure of community acceptance of vintage trolley Systems is found in the
events subsequent to their initial opening. As has been mentioned, Memphis
extended its line almost immediately, and is currently building a connecting
link between downtown and the Medical Center. San Francisco is extending the “F”
line along the Embarcadero to Fisherman's wharf, and will be adding nine
rehabilitated cars from Milan to the roster. Portland’s success with the MAX
light rail and the Vintage Trolley led to the construction of a streetcar
circulator linking Portland State University, downtown, the Medical Center and
burgeoning in town residential development along the route. New Orleans added
the Riverfront line, and is now putting trolleys back on Canal Street. Even in
Little Rock, where construction of the initial segment is just getting underway,
it is planned to extend the line to serve the Clinton Presidential Library.
Ridership
projections made before the implementation of vintage trolley systems are
difficult to find. In Memphis, the projections were for about 3000 rides per
day, and that is approximately the current experience. However, on major
festival weekends, this figure has often been exceeded, by as much as 70%. No
specific pre-implementation ridership projections are available for the San
Francisco “F” line, but officials of the San Francisco Municipal Railway are
very pleased with the line’s use, and are increasing the fleet significantly. As
mentioned, the New Orleans Riverfront line exceeded preliminary estimates by
40%.
The vintage
trolley lines presently in operation have become vital and accepted parts of
their community, and have often achieved a “starring role”. The Memphis system
is featured on much of the promotional material put out to attract visitors and
conventions. New Orleans does the same thing in its promotional material. In San
Francisco, the “F” line is a transportation attraction second only to the cable
cars.
In short, vintage
trolleys have become an integral part of the transportation system in the cities
they serve, both for the use of residents and locals, as well as for visitors,
tourists, and convention attendees from out of town.
The following
table gives an overview of selected vintage trolley systems:
TABLE 2-1
CHARACTERISTICS OF OPERATING VINTAGE TROLLEY SYSTEMS
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