Ithaca — Streetcar Proposal

Rail Transit Online, March 2004

A group of downtown business leaders is proposing a feasibility study for a heritage streetcar line possibly linking the central city, Cornell University and the waterfront.  The Ithaca Downtown Partnership (IDP) established a trolley task force two years ago which found that “…there appear to be no obvious technical issues that would prevent or negatively impact the construction of a fixed-rail trolley system on East Hill or the waterfront.”  The report further said the streetcar could itself become a tourist attraction.  Now, IDP wants a formal analysis estimated to cost between $20,000 and $25,000.  “We have a lot of good people saying it makes sense, and equally good people saying it does not make sense,” IDP Executive Director Gary Ferguson told The Ithaca Journal

.  “The only way we'll really have the information to make a good decision is to do a third party study.”  Fergusen said a technical analysis would be conducted first and, if the project appeared doable, an operations analysis would follow.  Funding would come from the city, IDP and other civic organizations.  So far, at least one city council member appears to support the streetcar but is concerned about the cash.  “I think it's a great idea,” Alderwoman Pam Mackesey told The Ithaca Journal.  “One of my questions is, do we have any money?  For me, that would be the driving concern.”  Ithaca’s last trolley ran in June 1935.