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Mayor Supports Trolley Comeback!
By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 5, 2009
Modified Aug 5, 2009
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 5, 2009
Modified Aug 5, 2009
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Groups have been lobbying for a trolley comeback for years, and Monday night Mayor Bloomberg noted his interest in bringing them back to growing waterfront areas, according to NY1.
Bloomberg addressed those at the meeting, saying, "We'll look into the feasibility of using the city's old trolley tracks to create new streetcar service in growing waterfront neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn, starting in Red Hook." A trolley can hold twice the amount of people a bus can, and has zero emissions. The Brooklyn Historic Railway Association's president Bob Diamond noted other perks of bringing such a service back, saying "A light rail or a streetcar line usually costs about one-twentieth of what a subway line would cost. And they're outside, and they use existing streets, so there's no right-of-way acquisition and the track can be built very quickly."
Later this year the Department of Transportation will conduct a study looking at the feasibility of such a project in Red Hook. For now, take a look at an old trolley zooming through Brooklyn in 1938!
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Brooklyn Historic Railway Association
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mayor bloomberg
red hook
transportation
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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