Sioux City, IA — No Trolley
Rail Transit Online, October 2003
The city council on Sept. 8 voted to cancel
a proposed heritage streetcar line through downtown after four years of planning
despite having a federal funding earmark of $1.7 million for continued design.
A preliminary analysis in 1999 by Jim Graebner of the Lomarado Group found that
a vintage rail line was a feasible project. A second consultant study costing
nearly a quarter-million dollars suggested six route options. The line would
have been approximately 2.5 mi. (4 km) long and linked the city’s major traffic
generators including the historic district, the new Tyson Events Center, the
riverboat casino and the Lewis and Clark interpretive center. “The general
consensus among the council is that in spite of the fact the city would receive
$12 million to $15 million (in federal funding) for this, it is not felt to have
a significant amount of merit from the council's perspective,” Mayor Craig
Berenstein told the Sioux City Journal. Added Councilman Marty Dougherty, “I
think you could say we have thoroughly analyzed and studied the options. The
options are too expensive.” The council then voted in favor of the “no build”
alternative, although one lawmaker noted that the federal grant doesn’t expire
until Sept. 30, 2004, providing a year for the council to reconsider. |
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