Thursday, March 7, 2013

Proposed Streetcar Systems in Charlotte, Milwaukee, St. Louis - All About Development

Hey Yupette,

If you look at what's occurring elsewhere in the U.S.A., in cities like Charlotte, Milwaukee, and St. Louis, you will see that the streetcar / trolley systems proposed for those urban areas have nothing to do with transportation and everything to do with redevelopment and gentrification, aka money. Like Arlington, the elected officials and 'community leaders' of these cities are committed to spending huge amounts on streetcar / trolley systems that will actually make traffic worse and impose significant social costs on the population from streetcar-related injuries, in-fill redevelopment, and gentrification / lack of affordable housing. As we've seen in Arlington, the only sure things any urban area can expect from mixed use redevelopment are budget deficits and tax increases every year. Thanks for your blog.

Pike Rider, 22204