Pleading case of streetcar
By SUSAN THURSTON
Published March 10, 2006
When Patricc Petti has guests in from out of town, their itinerary usually includes a ride on the streetcar to Ybor City for lunch at Carmine's or dinner at Bernini.
They like the shiny yellow trains and can walk to stops from Petti's condo in the Channel District. Overall, they declare it a fun experience, something different from what they have at home.
So when Petti, 39, hears talk about mothballing the streetcar or cutting hours, he can't understand it.
"Just because it's not making money right now doesn't mean the streetcar won't make money down the road," he said. "We're just starting to develop around here."
If anything, he said, we should extend the streetcar farther north into downtown and add morning hours for office workers.
Finally, some sanity.
Although I too only ride the streetcar with out-of-towners, I think we need it and should support it. Visitors, including those from as close as a county away, get a kick out of it. Conventiongoers find it useful. And, let's face it, Tampa could use more attractions.
Static from County Commissioners Ronda Storms and Brian Blair could lead some to believe the streetcar is a lemon doomed to fail. It's draining HARTline resources from suburban areas, stranding the elderly and disabled.
Claims like those are ridiculous. Grants paid the bulk of the $53-million streetcar line between the Channel District and Ybor City, not HARTline, which is paid to run the system for the nonprofit Tampa Historic Streetcar Inc.
The 2.3-mile streetcar line might not be a mass transit marvel, but it serves a role. From the beginning, supporters touted it as an amenity for tourists and conventiongoers. People staying at the Marriott Waterside Hotel would use it to grab dinner at Channelside or catch a movie in Ybor.
And they have, increasingly.
About 434,000 people hopped on board last year, enough to fill the St. Pete Times Forum about 22 times. That was up from about 426,000 passengers in 2004 and 420,000 in 2003, well above initial projections. Not huge increases but not decreases, either.
And definitely not reason enough to pull the plug.
Critics need to consider the regional impact. When a bay area committee sought to land the 2009 Super Bowl, its pitch included the streetcar. What graced the second page of the bid packet? Busch Gardens' SheiKra? Nope. Lowry Park Zoo's baby elephant? Nope. The streetcar on a sunny day.
The Tampa Convention Center pushes the streetcar whenever it can. Visiting groups consider it a big plus.
"I've seen numbers spike when there are major conventions in town," said John Moors, administrator of convention facilities and tourism, and a member of the streetcar board. "I look at it as another piece of the puzzle. It's coming together nicely; it's just taken a few years."
Moors opposes trimming hours, even if it hurts the bottom line in the short term. Fewer hours means fewer riders, making the streetcar less accessible and reliable.
As it stands now, service doesn't start until 11 a.m. on weekdays, making it virtually impossible for people living near the route to get to office jobs downtown.
Michael English, president of Tampa Historic Streetcar Inc., says morning hours are a strong possibility if the line is extended 0.3 miles to Whiting and Franklin streets, closer to the heart of downtown. Other options: express routes and more modern cars to better accommodate locals.
The extension would cost $3-million to $4-million and could be open in two years, English said. HARTline, using a federal grant, plans to start a feasibility study soon.
While critics would oppose throwing good money after bad, a little creative thinking might get us over the hump from red to black. People are moving to Channel District and elsewhere downtown, but it takes time. Buildings don't go up overnight, just like ridership doesn't double overnight.
City Council member John Dingfelder has suggested expanding the streetcar tax to homesteaded property owners along the line. It's not fair, he argues, that an owner who rents out a unit has to pay the tax, but an owner who lives there doesn't.
"Now is the time to do it," he said. "Right now, you have 50 people who are going to moan and groan. Pretty soon you're going to have 1,000 who are going to moan and groan."
Other, seemingly less controversial, options include setting aside some hotel tax dollars for the streetcar, as well as some of the special tax district money generated in the Channel District and Ybor City. The city also could lobby for legislation limiting the streetcar's liability. (Higher than expected insurance rates have eaten a lot of the streetcar's endowment.)
Whatever happens, supporters say we can't abandon the streetcar now. It's doing what we asked, and expected, of it.
With a little patience and innovation, we locals might get on board.
THE LAST DROP: The Rough Riders Streetcar Hop starts at 6 tonight. Riders pay $35 to ride the streetcar from restaurants and bars in Ybor City and Channelside. The party starts at Champions Sports Bar at the Marriott Waterside, Rock-N-Sports Bar & Grille or Gaspar's Grotto. Each stop will offer food and drink. For information, call 248-1898.
- Susan Thurston can be reached at thurston@sptimes.com or 226-3394.