Trolleys: The Smart Choice

Ogden has invested a lot, and wisely, in developing downtown as a historic district. The city promotes "Historic 25th Street" as a tourist attraction. Much of that promotion rests on the downtown's turn-of-the-century look and feel -- recalling a time when trolley lines criss-crossed Ogden and tied its neighborhoods to the city center. Remaining old buildings from that period are being restored, and new construction is designed to fit comfortably into a turn-of-the-century design.

A trolley line will fit perfectly with the architectural and historical "look" the city is trying to both preserve and restore in downtown Ogden. Steel stanchions towering above homes on downtown residential streets, and aluminum buckets clattering overhead 12 hours a day or longer, will not.

Trolleys have proven to be both effective means of urban mass transit and popular with tourists, particularly where trolley lines connect a city's historic district with other sites:

	San Francisco's historic trolleys (not cable cars, trolleys) connect the tourist area at Fisherman's Wharf with the downtown business district and beyond. They have proven very successful both as a mass-transit solution (anyone trying to find a seat on one during the rush hour can attest to that) and popular with tourists.
	Seattle runs a trolley from its historic district, Pioneer Square, into other parts of the city.
	New Orleans' trolley line from downtown to its Garden District was so successful, the city added two more lines to serve tourists and as mass transit systems during peak hours.
	Portland's historic trolley line proved so successful in both regards that it is being expanded and has become a model for other cities trying to solve transit problems and foster economic development.
	Salt Lake City is exploring adding a trolley line to carry people from TRAX to the Sugarhouse business district, and another trolley line downtown as a means of moving people efficiently around the area and as a spur to economic development. As D.J. Baxter, the city's transportation advisor, told the Salt Lake Tribune, "a streetcar, combined with the right kind of land-use policies and zoning, can lead to very aggressive private investment in urban development -- particularly in terms of housing." [http://www.heritagetrolley.org/planSaltLakeCityRTOL1.htm]

Salt Lake City is looking to Portland's example of successfully using a trolley line as part of its urban development plan. As the Light Rail Transit Association said of Portland's trolley lines, "America as a whole is now looking with envy at Portland, not only because it has benefited from inter-urban light rail but now an urban tramway as well. This has permitted many streets to be transformed into linear parks filled with sidewalk cafes." http://www.lrta.org/facts126.html That's what Salt Lake City hopes will happen when it introduces a downtown trolley line. It can happen in Ogden, too.

Trolley lines encourage business growth and investment all along their routes. A limited-access gondola system may encourage growth at its terminal points, but riders have very limited or no access to businesses and residential areas along the route. For that reason, elevated limited-access transit systems can create a kind of development "dead zone."

Trolley lines easily and inexpensively accommodate stops, providing access to small businesses, apartment complexes, condo developments, restaurants, specialty shops, professional offices and public service outlets all along the way. They also can connect easily and inexpensively with existing and additional bus routes to provide access to other areas as the city grows and changes.

Would a trolley line in any way interfere with plans to promote Ogden nationwide as a ski destination? No. Ogden has already a world-class ski resort, which draws skiers from around the nation and the globe: Snowbasin, venue for the Olympic downhill competition.

Ogden should investigate ways to improve access from its Historic District to the slopes at Snowbasin and to Powder Mountain, which also draws skiers from around the nation. A UTA ski-bus route from downtown to Snowbasin and Powder Mountain might be a good solution. UTA special ski buses take thousands from Salt Lake City to the Cottonwood canyons' slopes all season long.

The key to drawing more skiers to Ogden is finding ways to provide swift, inexpensive transportation to the upper Ogden Valley resorts from downtown, and making Ogden a more attractive place for people to spend their off-slope hours. Historic trolley lines, with historic cars purchased from older systems, or new cars designed on historic lines, have proven to be popular with tourists. Also, the kind of development such trolley lines have led to in other cities, such as Portland, would help make Ogden a more pleasant and interesting place for skiers, and all tourists, to visit and enjoy.

The transit option recommended for Ogden by the UTA and Wasatch Front Regional Council study -- a streetcar line from downtown to WSU and McKay-Dee Hospital -- is a proven technology. It is a solution to mass transit problems, and it has worked well in other cities while at the same time spurring business and residential development. It can work here, too. It's the smart growth choice for Ogden.