WHAT YOU NEED NOW - CONTENT UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY -

February 11, 2005
 
Engineers Visit City to Develop Feasibility Plan for Proposed 4th Avenue Trolley System
 
by Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Columnist
 
Huntington (HNN) — With the cold wind blowing snow flurries into one's face and gloves covering hands, the nonprofit Huntington Electric Trolley Association met Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005 with engineers from Burgess & Niple of Columbus, Ohio, discussing ways that a short light rail system could benefit the downtown, Pullman Square and Marshall University.
 
Since Marshall University has experienced tremendous growth, the student parking dilemma has again reached the beyond frustration stage, specifically with parking places taken by construction on the Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Center and now operating new dormitories and dining hall.
 
However, less than a mile past campus, the Nick Rahall Intermodual Facility has reasonable parking rates and available space. The problem: It's a brisk ten or fifteen minute walk back to campus or a lengthy wait to catch a bus.
 
The HETA has proposed a vintage streetcar line that would link Fourth Avenue at Hal Greer Boulevard to Eighth Street, putting the car within one block of the new parking garages at Pullman Square.
 
Douglas Moore, project manager for Burgess & Niple, a Columbus, Ohio, engineering firm, explained that streetcars like the one proposed for Huntington typically become "local people movers." A prohibitive ten or fifteen minute walk turns "into a two or three minute transit trip." Moore said, people who would not walk a mile readily "jump on a street car that's conveniently operated."
 
As the Huntington line would initially serve only Fourth Avenue, the car would be available frequently, rather than hourly like a typical bus line. Fares for the ride range from a freebie subsidized by local merchants to an amount similar to local bus fare.
 
However, a vintage trolley system has additional economic development benefits. Besides enhancing storefronts, it "provides better access and higher visibility" for businesses along the route. In addition, the electric powered car is environmentally friendly and historically harkens to the city's founding. Streetcars ran in Huntington from 1889 to 1937.
 
Although the proposal remains in the early planning stages, Sam St. Clair, the group's founder, indicated he has received nothing but positive responses. "We're just trolley people who think this would bring a lot of fun and creativity downtown" and "create a commerce conduit" along Fourth Avenue, St. Clair explained.
 
The Burgess & Niple firm is currently working on a Columbus, Ohio project with Pullman Square developer, Tim Rollins. The firm has begun planning a Richmond, Virginia, line that would connect the convention center on top of a hill with the historic area at the bottom. Moore indicated that Virginia commonwealth University and the Medical College of Virginia would be on the street car line, under the current preliminary proposal.
 
Moore has worked on the main street light rail line in Houston, Texas, the Minneapolis Hiawatha Corridor, and Portland's North interstate line. "If you measure success by the number of people using them, they have been highly successful," he said.
 
The purpose of today's visit by the engineering firm was to develop and present proposals for a fiscal analysis of funding necessary to build and operate the system. Typically, 50% of the funding comes from federal grants, 25% from state aid, and the final 25% through local government or private funding. Moore said it is too early to project a cost for the Huntington proposal.
 
Today's initial visit by the engineering firm was a data and fact-finding tour at the firm's own expense.
 
View Photos of Trolleys Past and Present
 

 Related: 
— 11/22/05 Rollins Hopes Pullman Square Reshapes Downtown; Endorses Plans for Authentic Trolley Project
— www.burgessniple.com Burgess & Niple Web site
— www.huntingtontrolley.com
— www.heritagetrolley.org/planHuntingtonRTOL1.htm
— www.sugarhousetrolley.org
— www.charlottetrolley.org - Charlotte Trolley of Charlotte, North Carolina
— www.islandtransit.net Island Transit of Galveston, Texas
— www.phillytrolley.org/council.html Philadelphia, PA, City Council votes to restore Trolley Service
 
HNN is not responsible for the content of external Web sites.