Streetcars

Background
Minneapolis is studying the possibility of having complete plans for a citywide streetcar system, with 4-5 primary lines that would replace existing bus routes on some of the city’s busiest streets and spur urban development.

Image: Streetcar in Portland, Oregon. Credit: 1000 Friends of Wisconsin.

Project Updates, News, and Events
Updates
The city of Minneapolis is moving forward with a plan to bring streetcars back to Minneapolis. Pushed by Mayor R.T. Rybak and a number of City Council members, an $800,000 study has identified seven potential routes for electric streetcars. By summer 2007, it will recommend which segments should come first, and how the city could raise the money to make it happen.

News

• Streetcars have been absent from the Twin Cities since 1954. Now Minneapolis officials are looking at bringing them back to improve transportation and spur development. (March 5, 2007).
• A student in Minneapolis says, “Unless [Minneapolis City Council President] Johnson is willing to give me rides to class, I suggest she hop on the transit bandwagon -- or streetcar, as the case may be." (March 12, 2007).

Events
No events scheduled at this time.

Project Resources
Mayor R.T. Rybak’s Transportation Proposals. “In many ways we are going ‘back to the future’ to rebuild a streetcar city where homes, workplaces and shops are woven together,” Rybak said at a November 2006 press conference. “Our transportation plans today and the principals behind them are about revitalizing neighborhood districts and making it more possible to work, live, and play in Minneapolis without total dependence on a car.”