Oakland ponders streetcar planning grant
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefU.S. streetcar revivals are well-established in the West, with the mode firmly entrenched in Seattle and Tacoma, Wash., Portland, Ore., and San Francisco—the latter city never surrendering the mode in the first place. Now San Francisco neighbor and chief rival Oakland is weighing a decision to seek federal funds for an Alternatives Analysis to advance the mode for the Bay Area’s most populous municipality.
Oakland’s City Council may move March 15 to apply for $300,000 by next month, which would fund an environmental review and possible route options. Oakland’s general streetcar concept is credited to Stanford University undergraduate student Daniel Jacobson; the official plan was released last June, and received substantial support.
Supporters of the proposal say a 2.55-mile streetcar route would link Jack London Square, Chinatown, Old Oakland, Downtown, the Financial District, Uptown, Upper Broadway, and Piedmont Avenue, connecting to two BART Stations, numerous AC Transit (bus) lines, a ferry terminal, and Amtrak. Cost estimates range from $87 million to $92 million, with ridership estimated to reach at least 6,900 per weekday.
