I recently visited San Francisco where I saw the usual gaggle of tourists lined up to ride the Cable Cars. Now don't get me wrong, I love the old cars myself. They represent a past that few cities have been able to preserve. But what really caught my attention were the Trolley Cars! The San Francisco Railway Museum has been actively engaged in building a Museum in Motion. They are making trolleys relevant again as a solid part of a public transportation system. The cars span many years and several vintages: old U.S. trolleys and so-called "PCC's". The cars have been refurbished and put back into active service. What a great idea!
Folks here in the Twin Cities are now engaged in a (largely partisan) debate over whether we should extend the Light Rail line to more points than the single line we have today. I hope we do. San Francisco can help other cities to see how it can be done. San Francisco's trolleys are not just a tourist attraction. The newly refurbished cars are part of a working public transportation system that ties the past to the future. And the people love 'em. Sometimes Old really is New.
1 comment:
I've always thought that a sign of genuine civilization is a successful mass transit system. My experiences have been in the NYC boroughs in my youth, and the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. corridor in my adulthood. It should exist in every metropolitan area.
P.S. Can they make those old cable cars accessible?
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