Streetcars
as Economic Development
Many Streetcar Companies are Mimicking the Same Tactics of Those Wanting to Build Stadiums in Your City
If we look at streetcars as economic development,
then we should see them a success. The
Streetsblog says, “The primary benefits of streetcar projects were always
intended to be related to development.” (1).
Lauren Fischer and David King published a report
in the Journal of Transport Geography in 2017 that
looks at the limits of streetcars. The intention is not to improve transit, but
to increase economic development.(2).
The trouble with this is that the groups usually
pushing for the streetcar, don’t want to pay for them themselves.
They want taxpayers to pay for them.
The illusion is that ridership will fund the running
and building of these streetcars. That
is never the case. Streetcars remain
heavily subsidized. Sometimes the money
meant to build the street car line is sent to non-existent companies.
Yes, let’s not forget the City of El Paso was shammed into paying invoiced to sham companies for work they did not do on the streetcar line. Bliss states:
Yes, let’s not forget the City of El Paso was shammed into paying invoiced to sham companies for work they did not do on the streetcar line. Bliss states:
“Nothing is inherently
wrong with a streetcar beloved by developers, so long as developers are paying
for it. But they’re not, at least not on
their own. Taxpayers are picking up most
of the bill for the 21st century streetcar renaissance — money which could
otherwise support more effective forms of public transportation. Overall mobility suffers when transit dollars
are diverted to projects that are more about real estate than riders.”
(3).
Many cities are jumping on board with streetcars and
El Paso, predictably, did a giant leap for mankind.
And many streetcar companies are mimicking the same tactics of those wanting to build stadiums in your city: Let’s build something with your taxpayer funds, to make the city’s rich richer, something that will not be self-sufficient, and something that suck funds from your city’s infrastructure maintenance.
1. Schmitt,
Angie. “The Problem with America’s New Streetcars,” StreetsBlogUSA, October 4,
2017. Acess, May 6, 2018.
2. King, David and Ficher, Lauren Ames. “Streetcar projects as spatial
planning: A shift in transport planning in the United States,” Journal of
Transport Geography, February 2016. Accessed May 6, 2018.
