Last week, I reported on a trolley-based transit-oriented development plan for Red Hook and the Brooklyn waterfront. Spurred on by years of advocacy by the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association, the NYC Department of Transportation will spend $500,000 on a feasibility study that will examine a proposal to send a trolley from Downtown Brooklyn to Red Hook via Atlantic Ave. and Columbia St. For an area of Brooklyn that doesn’t enjoy ready access to the subways, such a route could connect a disconnected neighborhood.
While a streetcar nostalgia with an emphasis on 21st Century transit-oriented development appeals to some, others see the flaws in the BHRA’s plans. Over at The Transport Politic, a site that has long advocated for an extensive Brooklyn streetcar network, Yonah Freemark questions the city’s goals here. Latching onto the aspect of the BHRA proposal that would restore old trolleys to the borough’s streets, Freemark condemns the plan: “These mobile museums are more about tourism than they are about meeting typical commuting needs. Unlike modern buses, these old streetcars are not handicap-accessible, nor are they air conditioned. Even more problematically, they often carry fewer passengers than the buses they’re supposed to replace.”
On a macro scale, Freemark wants the city to address some fundamental questions: ” How can the existing transit network be improved? What routes are missing or need to be reinforced? Where should future development be oriented?” Basically, he says, “if streetcars cannot provide improved operations over typical buses, why should cities spend millions of dollars installing them?” With an appropriate nod to Bob Diamond’s tireless and badly-needed advocacy work, Freemark notes that streetcars can certainly be useful in improving transit access, but a modern rolling stock and a sense of purpose behind the route might be required before the city should restore streetcars to Brooklyn.