Fresno, CA — Streetcar Stopped

Rail Transit Online, November 2007

The city council has narrowly voted to stop all spending on plans for a two-mile (3.2 km) downtown streetcar.  By a 4-3 margin, the council on Oct. 23 ordered Mayor Alan Autry to drop the project, with those in the majority claiming it’s too expensive and that improved bus service is all that’s needed.  However, Autry said he would ask the council to reverse itself, insisting that the streetcar would stimulate residential and commercial redevelopment.  The mayor had already received approval from the Council of Fresno County Governments to spend $250,000 in sales tax revenue on a streetcar study.  Council Executive Director Barbara Goodwin said her agency  will reconsider the grant now that city lawmakers have decided against the proposal.  Initial estimates place the capital cost at $60 million for a line linking downtown Fresno with the Tower District.