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What's Brewing

Here's a tale of 2 streetcars

By SUSAN THURSTON
Published September 15, 2006

Geographically, they are just about as far apart as you can get in the United States. About 3,100 miles separate Tampa and Portland, Ore.

Portland is known for its roses, logging industry and dreary weather. Tampa, well, is not.

But when it comes to transporting people, both have a big thing in common. Streetcars.

Portland started its downtown streetcar system in 2001. Tampa followed a year later. Both lines began with about 2.4 miles.

Portland streetcar officials came to Tampa this week to talk to local leaders about their experiences and successes. About 150 people attended a Tampa Downtown Partnership breakfast meeting Tuesday aptly titled A Tale of Two Cities: Streetcar Systems in Tampa & Portland.

The cities' tales started much the same - both were on the leading edge of the national resurgence of streetcar lines - but since then have taken quite different paths.

Tampa certainly can learn a lot.

Portland's system is credited with spurring about $2.4-billion in private investment in the area. Ridership has gone from a projected 2,700 passengers a day to 9,000.

More than 7,200 housing units have sprouted, most of them on the edges of the line. Old rail areas expected to develop in 10 to 15 years came to life in three.

The result: extensions in the line and more streetcars.

And they've done it all without federal funds, relying instead on money from a regional transit agency and the city's parking department. Amazing, considering Tampa's streetcar, which cost about the same, was funded mostly through federal grants.

From early on, Portland wanted the streetcar to be a transportation mode, not just a photo opportunity, said John Carroll, a developer and former chairman of Portland Streetcar Inc. Coupled with buses and light rail, it was designed to be a piece of the transit puzzle, not the entire solution.

The goal was to create a vibrant mixed-use environment where people walk, bike, drive and use mass transit to get around. They wanted to revive existing neighborhoods and develop the riverfront area.

Portland has found that where the streetcar goes, development goes. Despite the cooling condominium market, developers still believe the demand is strong for high-density housing along the route, said Rick Gustafson, executive director of Portland Streetcar Inc. One loft project has a huge sign incorporated into the building that says "Go By Streetcar."

The streetcar operates from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. most days to accommodate commuters. It's also free in certain zones. Tampa's costs $2 per trip.

Portland's streetcar does no advertising but is "overwhelmed with customers," Gustafson said.

Its big claim to fame relates to stats on the number of vehicle miles traveled in the area. Despite an influx of new residents over the past several years, vehicle usage has actually gone down. More people are using mass transit and other means to get around.

Portland has no regulations for parking in downtown residential projects. Developers build according to market demands. Many buildings have surplus parking available for lease; at least one has no parking and still sold out.

Half of downtown workers use transit to get to work.

Those facts certainly put some zing in local efforts to expand the streetcar line and boost mass transit in general. Ed Turanchik, a former Hillsborough County commissioner and longtime mass transit advocate, was awestruck at Portland's ability to reduce vehicle miles and renewed his call for a connector between downtown and the West Shore business district.

He noted that Tampa has an advantage over Portland in that it could more easily tax residential units along the line from the Channel District to Ybor City because few people live there yet. Portland, by contrast, had older, established neighborhoods along the line, making it difficult to impose a new tax.

What Tampa will do with the information remains to be seen. If the high interest at Tuesday's meeting was any indication, some improvements to Tampa's streetcar should be just a whistle away.

THE LAST DROP: Brad Cooper has been talking about moving his gallery for a while. Now it looks like he's actually doing it. He announced last week he's moving it to Greece - and selling his building on Seventh Avenue in Ybor City. He promises to stay in touch with local art collectors, but his departure will leave a huge void in the art scene.

Susan Thurston can be reached at thurston@sptimes.com or 226-3394.

[Last modified September 14, 2006, 10:26:42]