Hello, Yupette,
I have been looking at the four options for transit on the Pike, same bus service, improved bus service, articulated buses, streetcars, and streetcars make no sense at all.
No one has even spoken about derailments and prolonged power outages. It's a huge operation to get a derailed streetcar back on the rails, the Pike would be closed in both directions for many hours.
If there were a prolonged loss of power, and this could occur for a number of reasons, streetcars would be immobilized, possibly for days. It would take hours for power to be restored if an overhead wire providing power to streetcars were to be damaged.
I've looked at cities that have had streetcars for decades (like Toronto) and many residents of these cities are exasperated at the problems streetcars cause.
It's beyond me why anyone with common sense would want an expensive and antiquated mode of transportation in a high density corridor with a high volume of pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle traffic.
Pike Rider
