Conducting a little research here - I’d like to present three potential alignments for the Near Southside leg of the streetcar and ask for comments from Readerland. These should not be taken as official alignments - I am just doing a bit of comment-gathering for various purposes. Inquiring minds want to know.
All three are very similar - the difference comes in the details of one part of the route. They are meant to hit all the major hospitals as well as utilize both South Main Village and Magnolia Village.
Option One - South Main to Magnolia to 7th Avenue to Terrell to Henderson to Magnolia to South Main.
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Option Two - South Main to Magnolia to 7th Avenue to Terrell to 6th Avenue to Magnolia to South Main.
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Option Three - South Main to Magnolia to 7th Avenue to Terrell to 6th Avenue to Humboldt to 7th Avenue to Magnolia to South Main.
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The streetcar study committee will be having a special meeting on the 24th to discuss the Near Southside alignment.
Option one for the sheer fact that you would have more blocks exposed to the street car. More blocks = more possibilities for development along the LR, and more opportunities for folks to hop on board.
Option #1. But the Terrell/Henderson intersection could be tricky. Might be easier to go down 6th or back down 7th. I’m sure the engineers will have some input on this.
One thing to consider when choosing Option 1 - it would leave a five-block stretch of Magnolia with only one-way trackage.
Options 2 and 3 exist primarily because of this issue. They reduce the amount of one-way trackage on Magnolia to two blocks and zero blocks, respectively.
In studying the Portland and Seattle streetcar maps, when track directions are on separate streets they’re never more than 1-2 blocks apart. Not trying to sway discussion - just pointing out the tradeoff.
Silly question, but how would it work once they added the extension to Bluebonnet Circle?
Would you catch a particular streetcar on Magnolia that was predetermined to head south on 8th?
Or would you have to transfer to another streetcar at a particular stop (like you would with a bus system)?
btw… I’m torn between Option 1 and 3. I like “more blocks = more development” theory in Option 1. But I also think Kevin’s got a good point about two-way trackage on Magnolia.
JP,
Well, I’m sure the specifics would be best left to engineers, but I figure there would be a line that branches off on Magnolia and heads south on 8th Avenue. I’d think the TCU extension would feature streetcars running from Bluebonnet Circle to the ITC in a loop, but I could be wrong about that and there would be a transfer on Magnolia. It’s still early so this is purely speculation on my part.
I know Magnolia is everyone’s favourite street in Fort Worth but we also need to consider the growth of the Near South Side beyond Magnolia. If the street car used Hemphill and Rosedale then that would speed up the redevelopment of those major streets which are in desperate need.