Negative local editorial on the Memphis trolley. Any comments?

http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=1712975
ryarger@rypn.org

I've never been to Memphis, but I thought they had been running some W2 and Gomaco cars for several years already. Is this a new line they are talking about here? What cars are run on it?


n2xjk@yahoo.com

> I've never been to Memphis, but I thought
> they had been running some W2 and Gomaco
> cars for several years already. Is this a
> new line they are talking about here? What
> cars are run on it?

It's the second extension to the original line. The original line was up and down the pedestrian mall, and the first extension was the Riverfront Loop. Tis is a new extension to Medical Center. I beleive the new extension was built to be plug-and-play compatible with modern LRVs with an eye toward extending it to the airport and switching to LRV operation in the future. For now it is operated with the same Gomacos and Portos and Melbourne cars as far as I know.


eledbetter@rypn.org

John Smatlak's page shows that some of the cars have been modified with pantographs for use on the new line.

Vintage Trolleys Memphis
eledbetter@rypn.org

John's writeup certainly doesn't leave many unanswered questions. Well done!

> John Smatlak's page shows that some of the
> cars have been modified with pantographs for
> use on the new line.


ryarger@rypn.org

Let's dissect this editorial on the Medical Center Trolley. It starts:

"It cost $56 Million. Most of it from taxpayers in all 50 states."

Yes, and it came in UNDER budget, and MATA got federal funding (like most transportation projects) under the 80-20 federal-local allocation formula. (As a New York resident, and a US taxpayer, I am pleased that Memphis is using its federal transportation dollars so effectively.)

"It took almost 3 years to build it. And the result is a trolley that runs down Madison Avenue for two miles, that dead-ends near the intersection of Madison Avenue and Cleveland Street in Midtown Memphis. We're not talking about the garden spot of the city."

Yes, but we are talking about serving the two primary activity centers of downtown Memphis - Main Street and the Medical Center. I can't comment on a 3-year construction period, but this seems reasonable, especially coming in under budget. And a line that terminates at a park-and-ride facility is not "dead-ending."

"And the people who are in charge of running this old city on the bluff will admit, the best way to look at this project is to put on a pair of 'I CAN SEE INTO THE FUTURE' glasses. "This is the first phase of a line that will run from downtown to the airport area," says Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton. "Most great cities have good, light rail transportation. That's what we're going to do."

What's the beef? Rather that sitting around, Memphis built another functional link in its multi-phase regional light-rail transit system. Bravo!

"In the meantime, the trolley rumbles down Madison Avenue now. We took it. The vintage car rolled down Madison at a blistering 10 miles per hour."

That's not bad for urban surface transit, on congested downtown streets, especially with vintage equipment. One might reasonably argue that yes, now is the time to spring for full-ledged light rail equipment, especially as this route is not on the historic/tourist axis. But, obviously, MATA has decided to stretch its dollars as far as it could, in terms of equipment. The jump to light rail is a "light year" leap in terms of purchase cost and maintenance expense, and will doubtless have to await the next phase of system expansion funding.

"The two mile trip took close to half an hour by trolley. By car, it took us 10 minutes, and we hit virtually every light on Madison."

This 30 mph average, given that the writer hit all the lights, would indicate to me that you travel at speeds up to 50 mph on city streets, suggesting that, a) this was probably not a rush hour trip, and b) auto speed limits are too high along this street to build viable, pedestrian-oriented commercial or residential development.

"Still, officials are hoping that this will be stimulate growth along the trolley line. And there are some folks who say they'll take it. 81 year old Ray Allen used to live in Midtown. "It's the perfect way to get downtown, and not have to worry about paying to park, or finding a place to park," Allen says. He'd use it, Ray would...if he still lived in Midtown. But he moved out East a few years ago, and rode the trolley on opening day for "...nostalgia."

Even given Mr. Allen's stated pleasure at reliving the thrill of the original trolley era, most 81 year olds, like most 14 year olds, or low income residents, ride transit out of necessity. Not everyone can cruise the downtown streets at 50 mph in an automobile, nor care to.

"Some business owners downtown aren't too happy about the new trolley line, either. Coffee shop owner John Gasquet saw the bottom fall out of his business, while they were building the new line. "Before they started construction we were making about $950...maybe $1,000 a day in sales. It dropped at one point to about $200 dollars a day," Gasquet said. Now, the line is running, and Gasquet figured his shop, right at the corner of Main and Madison would be smack in the middle of things. But the Madison Avenue trolley doesn't stop at Main and Madison. It stops about two blocks away from his shop in either direction. "This is not what I expected," Allen said. "I'm not very happy."

One can hope that Mr. Gasquet's business picks up, as the system matures. But his grievance against construction diversion of his business should be addressed.

"This line is not for the tourists. "This line is for people who live in Memphis, who want to get back and forth from downtown," says Memphis Area Transit Authority Director Will Hudson. In order to try and attract riders, all trolley lines will be free for this one week."

Good promotional strategy, what's the follow up?

Any comments from Memphis residents/visitors?

jgerlach@trainsofthought.com