Fantasy Trolley/Streetcar lines in Dallas

[TheDoubletap]

Had some fun with google maps, laying down virtual tracks for make-believe street cars. Enjoy, or make your own and post!

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=...59535,0.111494

[Hannibal Lecter]

Get your damn trolley line off of my street, dude!

[electricron]

Fantasy is a great description of your work. Why not take it a few steps further and put streetcar lines on every street downtown that doesn't have a light rail line?

In my opinion, streetcars should be built to connect adjacent neighborhoods within the city that's not already connected by light rail. There should be sufficient destinations attracting ridership in existence before a line is built. A streetcar line to Victory isn't needed now because there's already a light rail line connecting Victory with downtown. A streetcar line on the Continental Street viaduct doesn't have much to connect with along Singleton in Oak Cliff - yet. Maybe that'll change in the future, but it is not feasible now. Likewise, a streetcar line on the Houston Street viaduct works because Methodist Hospital exists at its western terminus.
I think a streetcar line north up Turtle Creek or Maple as far as Mockingbird Lane (to Love Field) makes sense. Build one first, build the other last. A streetcar line east on Ross, Gaston, or Live Oak makes sense too. Likewise, choose one line to be built first and build the others later. There's already two light rail corridors connecting South Dallas to downtown, I'm not sure a streetcar line from South Dallas to downtown is really needed soon. Instead, I would suggest connecting South Dallas to Oak Cliff over the Cedar Crest Bridge may be better, especially after Mark Cuban is completing his development on the Oak Cliff side of the river. Likewise, a streetcar line on Fitzhugh in East Dallas may be wise, not every streetcar line needs to be routed through downtown if there's a transfer point at an existing DART rail station.

[TheDoubletap]

Fantasy is a great description of your work. Why not take it a few steps further and put streetcar lines on every street downtown that doesn't have a light rail line?

Because that would involve just drawing lines down every street. The fun of something like this is making decisions. It's the same impulse as what made me play Sim City - the chance to think through very light planning decisions in a virtual environment, with low cost (my time) and meaningless consequence (my potential embarrassment). It's done without specific thought as to cost, ridership, ROW, the one-way nature of many of these streets.

In my opinion, streetcars should be built to connect adjacent neighborhoods within the city that's not already connected by light rail. There should be sufficient destinations attracting ridership in existence before a line is built. A streetcar line to Victory isn't needed now because there's already a light rail line connecting Victory with downtown. A streetcar line on the Continental Street viaduct doesn't have much to connect with along Singleton in Oak Cliff - yet. Maybe that'll change in the future, but it is not feasible now. Likewise, a streetcar line on the Houston Street viaduct works because Methodist Hospital exists at its western terminus.
I think a streetcar line north up Turtle Creek or Maple as far as Mockingbird Lane (to Love Field) makes sense. Build one first, build the other last. A streetcar line east on Ross, Gaston, or Live Oak makes sense too. Likewise, choose one line to be built first and build the others later. There's already two light rail corridors connecting South Dallas to downtown, I'm not sure a streetcar line from South Dallas to downtown is really needed soon. Instead, I would suggest connecting South Dallas to Oak Cliff over the Cedar Crest Bridge may be better, especially after Mark Cuban is completing his development on the Oak Cliff side of the river. Likewise, a streetcar line on Fitzhugh in East Dallas may be wise, not every streetcar line needs to be routed through downtown if there's a transfer point at an existing DART rail station.

There's also no time line or priority implied on the map. If any of these were really to be built, I'd start with the McKinney Ave extensions. The first new line I'd build is the Ross line, and the first "phase" would be Lower Greenville to the Arts district. The second is the Commerce line unless DART were ready to build the D2 line. In that case, I'd wait on Commerce.

But that doesn't really matter, because if we wanted to really build one, we'd want to look at potential ridership and cost.

[TheDoubletap]

Likewise, a streetcar line on Fitzhugh in East Dallas may be wise, not every streetcar line needs to be routed through downtown if there's a transfer point at an existing DART rail station.

Where would a Fitzhugh line run? I guess you could go up Capitol from city place and then turn southeast.


Update: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=...25791,0.045447

[txdore]

Fantasy is a great description of your work. Why not take it a few steps further and put streetcar lines on every street downtown that doesn't have a light rail line?

That's funny when you think that nearly every downtown street did have a streetcar line on it as some point in the past.