Savannah Mulls More Streetcars

How would you like to have a streetcar get you from place to place?  It's a plan the City of Savannah is looking at. 

There's already one on River Street, but they're hoping to add some more.

As News Three's Community Reporter Alice Massimi shows us it's a plan that will take some time and money to make a reality.

It's a blast back to the past..... Streetcars gracing Savannah's byways...

“This is a loved item down here and its helped to move a lot of people up and down this corridor,” points out City of Savannah’s Sean Brandon.  

An estimated eight thousand people hopped on the River Street Trolley for a ride last month... it's one of the reasons the city may add more.

The city used to have streetcars but in the 40s they decided to pave over the tracks and make the switch to buses. It’s a move that made sense at the time but one the city now questions.

“There is nothing wrong with the bus. The better question to ask is on any given corridor what is the best mode of transportation that can move people most effectively and do the best for the corridor in terms of economics and development.”

Targeting three corridors... DeRenne, MLK or Waters Avenue the city is hoping the streetcar can make a positive difference in the community.

The only problem ... the price tag....

“The range we are dealing with is 5 to 12 million per track mile. Now when you factor it out over the course of the system in some cases it might be comparable to a bus because you only have to replace them every 25 to 30 years.”

So will we see streetcars roll through town or will they remain just streetcars named.....well, you get it.

The city stresses they are in the very early planning stages.

The next step is to see how to integrate streetcars with public transportation that already exists.