Why Does Fort Worth Need a Modern Streetcar?
As a growing city wanting to shape a new and vibrant future for itself in the 21st century, a future that is competitive with cities across the United States for new economic growth, increased sustainability, and quality of life, we believe a modern streetcar system to be essential to Fort Worth’s prosperity.
Cities in America are changing. After decades of growth at their far-flung fringes and building solely for automobile use, cities from Portland to Tucson to Cincinnati to Washington, D.C. and everywhere in between are coming to understand that to create healthy, livable cities for the future, they must instead turn back to their central urban cores to create walkable, close-knit mixed-use neighborhoods where people can live, work, and play in close proximity. To encourage the development of those lovable and creative neighborhoods, to provide more choice for the mobility of their citizens, and to create healthier and more sustainable places, cities across the country are turning to modern streetcar systems.
Economic Development
The streetcar is a powerful catalyst for economic development. One of the streetcar’s greatest strengths is its ability to focus and spur investment along the route. In other cities, building a streetcar system has been an incredibly effective way to increase investment and development in their urban cores. Portland has seen $2.8 billion in added value to the city. Tampa’s streetcar line stimulated $1.1 billion in new development. Little Rock’s route brought $700 million into the city. Even Kenosha, Wisconsin (a city dramatically smaller than Fort Worth) has seen $175 million in new value along their streetcar line.
Streetcars promote economic development in a myriad of ways. They make urban housing more affordable, bring in more customers to support downtown retail, improve property values, create a more vibrant city, and increase public safety by putting more eyes on the street instead of on car dashboards, which improves the overall business climate.
The construction of a modern streetcar system in Fort Worth will be a vital investment in the urban core, unlocking the vast potential in Fort Worth’s central city. A streetcar will focus and shape development along the route, connect the existing economic engines of the central city, and likely bring in thousands of new residents and jobs to the central city.
The streetcar will increase the population of areas like Downtown, the Near Southside, and the Cultural District in development that is not dependent upon cars for transportation, allowing greater population and economic activity without the congestion and pollution costs of corresponding increased driving. For those living in the central city, the streetcar will greatly expand their walkable neighborhood, meaning they can work and shop in neighboring districts without having to drive. For those living outside the central city, the streetcar will create more destinations for work and recreation, and allow them to drive in or ride commuter rail, then move about the central city easily and comfortably while only parking once.
Getting people out of their cars and onto our sidewalks will mean hundreds of new customers getting off streetcars and strolling past the windows of central city businesses every day.
Developers will make long-term investments along the streetcar line that they never would on a bus line. The streetcar’s permanent infrastructure means residents, visitors, and developers can depend on its presence – the “flexibility” of bus lines is actually one of their biggest weaknesses in creating livable, vibrant central city neighborhoods.
Our central city neighborhoods were designed for walking and streetcars. By bringing the streetcar back, we’ll be enabling the revitalization of these historic areas of town without needing to demolish blocks of historic buildings for parking. By encouraging new development without the high parking requirements, the streetcar will encourage preservation of Fort Worth’s history.
By reducing parking requirements, the streetcar will reduce the cost of central city development. With structured parking costing a minimum of $10,000 per space (and usually quite a bit more), the required parking drives up the cost of the apartments and condos it serves, pricing all but the wealthy out of the central city. By reducing the amount of parking developers need, the streetcar enables central city housing for a wider range of people. A place that wouldn’t be affordable would become affordable for more people. Some people who would live and work in the central city might not even need a car at all, freeing up space in our city. A whole new section of buyers would open up for central city living.
Modern Transportation Choice
Streetcars are an extremely powerful economic development tool, but they are also an important component of modern transportation systems. A streetcar system would allow people to walk around more. Pedestrians can stroll until they get tired and then hop a streetcar to a new destination. Parents with children can take them on the streetcar when they get tired of walking. Elderly people can use the streetcar if they’re unable to walk longer distances. Because every streetcar stop displays the time the next streetcar will arrive, streetcars allow transportation on demand.
Unlike buses with confusing printed schedules based on approximate time points instead of stops, streetcar stops use electronic displays that tell passengers exactly when the next streetcar will arrive – and because of the streetcar’s fixed track, riders know exactly where the streetcar will take them. No confusing route maps to learn.
Creating Better Neighborhoods
Getting people out of their cars increases the vitality and vibrancy of a neighborhood. It leads to better street life. More sidewalk cafes, more pedestrians, all the amenities that make walking around a big city so enjoyable. The streetcar changes the fabric of a neighborhood – it changes the way of life for its residents for the better. Fewer people driving means more chance encounters with friends and neighbors. Getting people out of the isolation of the automobile allows people to meet one another and interact in ways they could not if they were surrounded by a few thousand pounds of glass and steel.
Attracting Young Creatives and Professionals
Young professionals of the 21st century are drawn to places with great street life and great public transportation – cities like Portland, Chicago, New York, etc. We hope that soon, Fort Worth will join that list of cities competing for the hearts and minds of the creative professionals of tomorrow. Streetcars help create walkable, 24-hour cities with a vibrant arts scene and great nightlife – exactly what these young professionals want. To attract and retain more young, upwardly mobile citizens, Fort Worth needs to build a modern streetcar system. These people are no longer simply choosing a city based on their work – they’re choosing cities based on their lives.
Fort Worth can be a city that generates buzz, a city that people talk about and want to move to. To do that, however, we need to attract members of the “creative class” – young professionals full of ideas and disposable income that can drive economic development in Fort Worth. A streetcar system will help Fort Worth attract and retain more of these young professionals, creating a more vibrant and exciting city.
Better Mobility and Independence for our Seniors
As Fort Worth’s population ages, it is important to provide great transportation for all citizens. Countless arts and entertainment options will exist along the streetcar route – and retirees along the line will be able to get around easily to the city’s great destinations. And by connecting central city residents to great medical care, the streetcar will help improve the quality of life for our seniors. Better transportation options mean that senior citizens who are unable to drive but otherwise able to live on their own can avoid having to move to managed care facilities and instead stay on their own longer.
Improving Mobility for Families
Streetcars make getting around the central city much easier for families with children. Unlike buses, children don’t have to struggle up adult-sized steps to board a streetcar. Because the streetcars have an open design, strollers can roll right on board and don’t have to be folded up.
You can purchase your ticket in advance or after you board, meaning a parent with children can get kids into their seats before having to get a ticket.
And, of course, kids love trains.
Connecting Neighborhoods
The Fort Worth Modern Streetcar can link together, for example, Downtown, the Near Southside, the Cultural District, Trinity Uptown, and other areas. A streetcar system linking all of these places would not cause any of them to weaken as people go elsewhere – rather, it would strengthen them all. Linking our central city neighborhoods with streetcars will allow people to easily move between them without having to worry about driving and parking, creating a more continuous central city neighborhood feel. People could ride the streetcar to, say, visit our world-famous museums like the Kimbell and the Modern before hopping the streetcar to dine in Sundance Square and finish the evening with Prohibition-era cocktails on Magnolia Avenue – all without taking up parking or polluting our air or having to drive between them. The streetcar will help lift all of our central city neighborhoods to new heights.
Pollution and the Environment
Streetcars are powered by overhead electric wires and are zero-emission vehicles. Fort Worth suffers from far too many smog and ozone problems and too many days where the air is unhealthy to breathe. The streetcar alone won’t cure our pollution problems, but by helping to reduce our car dependency, it will definitely be a big step in the right direction. The streetcar can be powered by any sort of electrical power supplier, including wind and solar. If we are to achieve energy independence, a modern mass transit system and the walkable development that goes with it are critical components. The streetcar system helps move us in the direction of energy independence.
