KENOSHA WISCONSIN:
Towns seeing boost from trolley systems
Streetcars attracting people back downtown in Kenosha, Wis.
Trolley and streetcar systems are by no means cheap. Nor are they self-sufficient, typically operating with the help of taxpayer money. They also aren't a magic solution to urban traffic congestion.
But for some cities that have incorporated trolley systems into their transit systems, the success comes from spurred development and interest in areas that previously went under utilized.
The city of Kenosha, Wis., used a streetcar system to help transform a nearly 70-acre brownfield that once housed automobile production to create about $150 million in new investments along Lake Michigan and the city's core, according to Kenosha's transportation director Len Brandrup.
"It was being used as an impetus to bring people back to the old downtown of Kenosha rather than continue sprawl," he said.
Part of a citywide master plan, the tax-subsidized system is nearing its seventh year in service. It cost about $5 million to build from scratch, has a $300,000 annual operating budget, counts some 60,000 passengers each year - about as many per hour that board the city's buses - and charges a quarter each time you hop on.
Brandrup admits the $5 million pricetag to build Kenosha's two-mile line could not be duplicated today based on costs, and it's no money-maker for the city of about 100,000 residents. However, commercial advertising - often used by public transportation to capture revenue - is not allowed on the five streetcars they have in operation.
The streetcars are an economic tool to "re-densification of the urban community," he said.
"It's about the only trick left in the bag," Brandrup said. "It's a worthwhile public investment, but make sure it's for the right reason."
Investments along the streetcar line include condos, a new museum, and a museum that has since reopened. Expansion of the streetcar line is in the works...
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