If it's a lead article in the Nation section of the New York Times, perhaps we can all take notice: after largely disappearing in the 1950s, the streetcar has returned to American cities. The Times article features the proposed system in Cincinnati, which will be closely modeled on the system in Portland, Oregon. Portland was the first American city to build a modern light rail system in 2001, and is substantially adding to the system. The Times reports that 40 other cities, including New Orleans, are planning a similar return to streetcars. Advocates point to urban renewal, traffic congestion relief, and environmental factors; critics point to the cost of bringing back streetcars to cities where they have long vanished.
With few alternatives to relieving traffic congestion and the sudden rise in fuel costs, the comeback of light rail in the United States is certain.
This trend is no surprise to readers of Tramways & Urban Transit, a glossy monthly published by the Light Rail Transit Association in the U.K.
Tramways celebrates light rail systems around the world with splashy color photographs, mainly in Europe, where most cities have expanded and revitalized their systems. Successful light rail systems aren't limited to nearly every European city, but also in countries as diverse as Uzbekistan, Argentina, India, and Cambodia. Alongside international locales, Tramways has reported monthly on a plethora of American cities planning, opening, and expanding light rail systems.
The streetcar returns.