Los Angeles — Trolley Study Funded

Rail Transit Online — May 2005

The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) board of directors on Apr. 7 voted to award a $100,000 contract to IBI Group for a feasibility study on a downtown streetcar circulator system.  IBI will analyze physical requirements, costs, operational issues, anticipated ridership and community impacts.  Six firms competed for the contract, which should be completed in six to eight months.  It will provide sufficient information for local officials to determine whether to begin a formal alternatives analysis as required for federal funding.  A conceptual design was completed by Korve Engineering in 2001 calling for a 10-car fleet providing service 12 hours a day on a five-mile (8 km) loop with 24 stops running from Chinatown on the north end of the central business district to the Staples Center arena at the south.  The route would serve virtually every major downtown traffic generator including the Music Center, Union Station, the financial district, the Convention Center, Little Tokyo and hotel and shopping areas.  Replica historic trolleys would be purchased, although a few authentic museum pieces, possibly Pacific Electric or Los Angeles Railway cars, would be sought.  The proposal has already generated widespread and enthusiastic support from the political and business communities