Fort Worth planner makes case for downtown streetcar

$24.9 million grant for FW

Jon Boyd, Jul 30, 10.

Fort Worth is the recipient of a $24.9 million FTA grant for a proposed urban street circulator project, as reported on July 9th in Houston Tomorrow. But some in Fort Worth have suggested that the streetcar line should not be a priority there.

Mike Brennan, a special correspondent writing in the Fort Worth Star-Telegraph, makes case for conducting a study for a Fort Worth urban circulator:

The Federal Transit Administration award of $24.9 million doesn’t bind us to a specific route, a specific finance plan or, for that matter, any project at all. Accepting the agency’s decision poses no risk at this point.

The streetcar does not threaten Tower 55 or commuter rail, as was clearly explained in a City Council work session. Saying “no thanks” to the agency or prejudging the streetcar study due in November would do nothing to expedite those other priorities.

The streetcar would not exacerbate the current general fund deficit. The most likely funding approach for the project matches the one being explored for the SW2NE commuter rail project: tax revenues from future development along the new transit corridors.

It’s not “political spin” or “flowery language” to cite the documented economic effects of a modern streetcar system; there is irrefutable empirical evidence from streetcar cities, including those visited by council members and other city leaders two years ago.

To many, before this discussion started, a return of the streetcar sounded more like a tourism gimmick than a game-changing modern transit system. Two years into the discussion, however, most of us actively working to revitalize our central city would never call the proposed modern streetcar a gimmick. We have seen how the competitive advantages of walkable, transit-oriented urbanism have returned and how modern streetcar systems are transforming central cities into sustainable economic engines.

Companies are locating along modern streetcar lines, and developers are building thousands of housing units along existing city streets instead of along new and expensive roads at the edge of town. Highly skilled workers with choices are shopping for cities that offer a full range of transportation options.

Fort Worth needs to enhance its appeal to new businesses and residents. We can’t ignore the negative effects of sprawl-related problems—congestion, unhealthy air and far too many generic developments that aren’t sustaining their value. Those issues have deep roots and won’t go away soon, making it clear that we must promote a vibrant, distinctive and prosperous central city to stay competitive with our peers and that we must act quickly.