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August 15, 2008, 02:25 PM ET
As Streetcars See a Resurgence, College Campuses Are Popular Destinations
A New York Times article about resurgence of streetcar lines in American cities mentions several planned light-rail routes that would have stops at universities, including Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati. And beginning later this year, a new streetcar line will pass through Arizona State University’s Tempe campus.
It’s no accident that these new routes will serve students, faculty members, and university employees. Many students don’t have cars, which makes them prime candidates for public transportation, whether by streetcar, bus, or rail. And students and university employees alike are affected by both high gas prices and global warming, which many people see as good reasons to rethink their commuting habits.
A number of existing streetcar lines serve campuses — most notably the St. Charles Avenue line in New Orleans, whose 90-year-old cars pass both Tulane University and Loyola University New Orleans. Philadelphia’s surviving street-rail lines, which run in tunnels in some downtown areas, serve both Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania. Boston’s assorted light-rail lines, which also run both above and below ground, serve a number of colleges in Boston and Cambridge. And San Francisco State University is served by streetcars of the Municipal Transportation Agency, better known as Muni.
Because campuses offer high concentrations of likely users, rail planners are eager to bring the streetcar lines to them, if possible — a boon for university architects seeking LEED certification for campus projects, since the LEED rules award points for projects served by public transportation. And while streetcars can save hundreds of dollars a year in commuting costs for students and others, the lines save millions for universities that would otherwise have far more serious parking problems — and many more costly garages and space-hogging lots.
Is your campus near a light-rail line, or a planned line? Has your institution calculated its benefits — and its drawbacks, if any? Let us know.
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