Build it again! 2012

Bringing the streetcar back to
portland!
How they built it before and how they can build it again!
Presented by carfree maine

Saturday, September 15, 12

Part 1. They Built It Before
The Streetcar Network of Portland Maine
Slides 1-12
1890s-1940s

Part 2. They can build it again!
Proposal A- “Heritage” Trolley Along Commercial St. Slides 13-22

Proposal B- Modern Streetcar along Congress St. Slides 23-28

Proposal C- Modern Streetcar Circulator and “Park Once” Strategy.

Slides 29-32


Augusta
They Built it
before...
Lewiston
Until the 1940s there were
few places in Maine which
could not be reached by
streetcar. Powered by
electricity generated in
Brunswick-Bath
local hydrodams, a
comprehensive network of
streetcars and
“Interurbans”connected
everything from regional
commercial centers to the
smallest farming
communities.
Portland


The growth of cities like Westbrook, Gorham and the outer districts in Portland
followed the trolley lines as they reached as far as Lewiston, Biddeford and
Brunswick


A Wikipedia
contributor
created this
modern map
of how the
trolley network
would look
today.


Development concentrated
along major streetcar junction
hubs shaped Portland’s
landscape up to the present
Woodfords day.

Corner

Monument
Square Wash./
Union Cumberland
Station

Bramhall
Square

Knightville
Square


Cars Meeting on Spring St. At Bramhall Square

A Westbrook Bound Car Turning down Preble
Turning Down Temple Street
from Mounument Square


Congress St. Activity in the 1920s

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-omYAwAWPIQE/TyLETxRWKBI/AAAAAAAAAM8/S5PhIgzQsQc/s640/CongressSt1918.jpg


Trolley Tracks at Monument Square


By the 1940s the trolleys
were replaced by busses.
Planning has prioritized auto
trafﬁc ever since.
Former Trolley Shed on St.
John St.

Currently the site of the
Portland METRO Bus Garage

1972 Portland Master Plan


Knightville Village in South Portland

Knightville VillageToday
Growth has been
stagnant since the
time of the trolleys


They can build it again!


Proposal A- Commercial Street Heritage Line

3.44 Miles
2.59 Miles


Commercial St. Heritage Trolley

Based on NelsonNygaard’s assessment of
Commercial Street operations, the following
elements describe how streetcar service could be
installed.
• By taking advantage of the wide Commercial Street
right-of-way, a streetcar could be operated in the curb
lane against the water-side sidewalk.
•On-street parking would be converted to a parallel
configuration with loading zones, and the center loading
lane (former railroad tracks) would be eliminated.
•With placement along the water’s edge, traffic conflicts
would be eliminated and the streetcar alignment would
be well-defined and easily accessible for riders.
•The streetcar could operated from the terminal, connect
with the diesel light rail, and eventually provide service to
and beyond the Casco Bay Bridge. Excerpted From Portland Peninsula Transit Plan Nelson
Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc-.


Portland peninsula transit plan
Streetcar service along the Commercial
Street waterfront corridor would be visible
for most Portland residents and visitors,
though utilization would likely be limited to
recreational and tourist uses.In the long-
term, streetcar service could provide needed
transit connections between future
waterfront developments, existing transit
services, the Casco Bay Lines terminal and
possibly as far as the Portland Transportation
Center. However, in the near future,
Commercial Street service would mostly
serve only tourist traffic, as most of today’s
primary trip patterns are oriented to and
from the waterfront not along it. Therefore, a
historic vehicle resurrecting Portland’s past
system would be appropriate. Nonetheless, Red Zones showing two major
the waterfront is becoming an increasingly developments, the Eastern Waterfront
important destination for cross-peninsula Development and Thompson’s Point.
movements, and a high level of activity is Both sites already contain
present, especially north of Temple Street.- transportation terminals already.
Nelson/Nygard Engineering Kenosha Wisconsin
Population 99,000

ha

Rendering of a Heritage Streetcar at Ocean Gateway

*Original Ocean Gateway Photo Credit- Cory Templeton

Case Studies
A two-mile streetcar line recently
opened in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
K
PARKING
STREETCAR ROUTE The total cost was just $4 million,
STREETCAR STOP
A County Administration Building
B Kenosha County Courthouse
IJ
H
or $2 million per mile, including
C Kenosha Area Convention &
Visitors Bureau
D Dinosaur Discovery Museum
E Civic Center Park
G ﬁve restored PCC streetcars.
F U.S. Post Office
G Kenosha Public Museum
H Civil War Museum (Opens 2008)
I Kenosha Municipal Building C
Thats nearly half of the average
B
A
cost of a new parking garage!
J Veteranís Memorial Park
K Kenosha History Center
E F
D


Lowell Mass. is currently undergoing a study to
expand an existing heritage streetcar line to
better serve downtown regions. The streetcar
system is planned in partnership with the
SEASHORE TROLLEY MUSEUM OF
KENNEBUNK-BIDDEFORD MAINE


The Seashore Trolley Museum was founded in 1939 with one open trolley car, No. 31 from
the Biddeford & Saco Railroad Company. Over the years thousands of members have
followed the founding fathers by helping the Museum grow to be the premier electric
railway museum in the world.
Today, our collection contains over 250 transit vehicles, most of them trolleys, from all over
the United States, Canada, and many other countries. We are the oldest, and largest
electric railway museum in the world.

The APTA Streetcar and Heritage Trolley Subcommittee (of the APTA Rail Committee) was
formed to promote the development of vintage/heritage trolley lines and modern streetcar
lines in urban centers, to foster information exchange among those planning or operating
such lines, and to encourage reasonable technical and safety standards.
As a member subcommittee, the Seashore Trolley Museum has helped a number of
heritage trolley operations by providing parts, historical reference, technical consulting,
and safety/operational training. It is currently working very closely with the City of Lowell,
Lowell National Historic Park, and Lowell Regional Transit Authority to plan a major
extension of the heritage trolley system.


Other Heritage Lines
and cost per mile

Little Rock, Arkansas, a 2.1 mile
line built for $7.1 million per mile,
including three streetcars.9
LA Waterfront
$4 million per mile

San Pedro, California, a 1.5 mile line that recreates
the old Paciﬁc Electric “Red Cars” for $4 million per
mile, including three streetcars, one Vintage and two
Heritage.

Tampa $13.7 million per mile

Tampa, Florida, a 2.3 mile line built for
$13.7 million per mile including eight
Heritage streetcars. The cars themselves,
replicas of 1920’s Birney streetcars, cost
$600,000 each (compared to up to $3
million for a modern Light Rail Vehicle).

City Urbanized Area Mode Cost per Passenger-Mile
Population

Memphis 972,100 Streetcar $2.26

Tampa 2,062,300 Streetcar $2.19

Seattle 2.712,200 Streetcar $3.47

Detroit 3,903,400 Rail AGT $6.75

Miami 4,919,000 AGT $3.02
Seattle 2.712,200 Monorail $1.1
Jacksonville 882,300 Monorail AGT $17.85


Proposal B. Modern Streetcar
Congress St. Extension
2.59 Miles+ 3.44 Miles= 6.03 Miles


PORTLAND STREETCAR RESULTS
• $3.5 billion in private investment.

• 12,000 riders per day.

• 10,000 new housing units.

• This housing in high density reduces by 70 million the annual vehicle miles traveled in the region.

• Density of Development


Bicycle/Pedestrian
Friendly Design

Bicycle Lane with Streetcar Stop-
Portland Ore. Streetcar Stop in Pedestrian
Plaza- Portland Ore.

Run-Through Trackage in
Pedestrian Plaza- Portland Ore.
Streetcar alignment through
Pedestrian Plaza- Portland Ore.


Original Track Alignment in Monument Square

http://portlandmainehistory.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html


Current alignment Possible alignment in
in PSU Urban Monument Square
Center


Rendering of Modern Streetcar on Monument Square


Circulator with multimodal gateways
Bayside Gateway
Thompson’s
Commuter/University
Point Bus Connections
Gateway Park Once Facilities

Intercity Bus/Rail to
Boston, Brunswick,
Bangor Ocean
Park Once Facilities
Gateway

Ferries-Casco Bay
Lines, Nova Scotia
Cruise Liners
Intercity Rail Portland
North to Auburn-
Montreal


Downtown Real Estate Dedicated to
The Cost of Parking Parking

Downtown Portland has 15 Parking
Garages and almost twice as many
surface lots. The cost of building a
parking garage is estimated to be
roughly $7,000,000 each. Surface
parking costs even more in the long run
as it deprives the city of needed
revenue.

http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/rsmeans/models/garage/maine/portland/


“Park Once”
Parking Garages
and Urban A “Park Once” strategy would
concentrate construction of new parking
Circulator facilities around dedicated multimodal
gateways at critical points around the
urban perimeter. This would maximize
urban density within the peninsula and
save on garage construction costs.
Revenue generated from construction
on lots formerly used for parking could
be used to fund operations.


Rendering of Modern Streetcar on Commercial St.


Presented by carfree maine

www.carfreemaine.org www.humblehackers.wikispaces.com

facebook.com/carfreemaine ﬂickr.com/user/carfreemaine
youtube.com/user/carfreemaine @carfreemaine

CarFree Maine

Build it again! 2012

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