Dayton — Trolley Proposal Revived
Rail Transit Online, September 2003
Backers of a heritage streetcar line to link the various sites of the
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park have revived a shorter
version of the proposal, which was abandoned three years ago because it
appeared there were too many problems to overcome. The Greater Dayton
Regional Transit Authority (RTA) commissioned a $900,000 federally-funded
study by consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff which was presented to the Miami
Valley Regional Planning Commission on Aug. 27. The commission would have
to approve the project before financing could be sought. The trolleys would
serve the Wright Cycle Shop and Interpretive Center at West Third and
Williams streets, continue through downtown and terminate at the Oregon
Historic District. The rail system would be supplemented by enhanced bus
service to other sites including the U.S. Air Force Museum. “What I really
like about this plan is that it is the historic route the Wright brothers
took,” Jerry Sharkey of Aviation Trail Inc., a nonprofit group which helped
create the national park, told the Dayton Daily News. If the planning
commission gives its stamp of approval, the next step will be an
environmental study and preliminary engineering, a process requiring three
to five years according to a Parsons-Brinckerhoff official. |
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