Quote:
Originally Posted by RyeJay
A streetcar on Spring Garden Road will never happen. Ever. ... And I also completely agree with the avoidance of Barrington.
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You're not providing much explanation here. My reasons for thinking it could work are:
1) More and more cities have streetcar and LRT systems and the costs are falling. The advantages of streetcars in these cities are the same as they would be in Halifax; more comfortable and permanent service than buses, quieter vehicles that are better for the environment and last longer, and less reliance on fossil fuels. I predict that we will see more and more electrification in the future as the cost of oil goes up. Realistically I think Halifax will be backed into a corner where it has an expensive and inefficient bus system and will be at a disadvantage when it finally converts. The "it can't be done!" crowd will probably be among the first ones to say "WHY ARE WE PAYING SO MUCH FOR BUSES?" and "WHY AM I STUCK IN TRAFFIC EVERY DAY?!". But that's life in a backwards city I guess.
2) Most of these cities run the lines right along major streets. Go to San Francisco and you will see streetcars right on Market Street. Toronto has streetcars on King and Dundas. Those streets are all busier than Spring Garden Road.
3) Halifax used to have streetcars. They ran on Spring Garden Road and Barrington, and back then Barrington was probably busier than it is today. It even had plenty of car traffic by the time the trolleybuses were running.
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