New Orleans' streetcars roll again

[Canuckistan]

Story here.

Amid a Carnival-like atmosphere, streetcars began rolling past the historic mansions of this city's Garden District Saturday for the first time since Hurricane Katrina halted the St. Charles Avenue line more than two years ago.

While only about half of the line is reopened, many see the return of the 1920s-era green cars as a sign of progress in the city's recovery and a morale booster.


"It's like having another piece of the puzzle, another piece of the city" back, said Melisa Rey, who rode on the first of a string of cars with her husband, Tom, and 10-month-old daughter, Jeanne-Marie. "It's so nice to finally have some good publicity," Tom Rey added.

[Elkhound]

The one time I was in NO I was attending a convention there and stayed at my fraternity's chapter house at Tulaine. I took the streetcar downtown every day and thought it a wonderful system.

BTW, "Desire" and "Cemetaries" are bus routes now.

Some years ago, on a family vacation, we parked at the aquarium, saw it, then took the streetcar to the zoo. After the zoo, we took the boat back to the aquarium. It was really fun.

[Elkhound]

From what I was given to understand when I was there, the streetcars were not just for the tourists, but were used by the locals, too.

[Tarquin Farquart]

That is excellent news. Hopefully it'll contribute to everything getting back to normal.

[Canuckistan]

Originally Posted by Elkhound

From what I was given to understand when I was there, the streetcars were not just for the tourists, but were used by the locals, too.

Has anyone said otherwise?

[Towknie]

Huh, we're going down to NO next month. Add this to the list of things to try out.

[putitinwriting]

A friend of mine that's lived in NO all her life (and returned as quickly as she could to rebuild and restore her home) posted in her blog yesterday about this. She said she was sitting in a bar with her girlfriend, eating lunch and drinking a beer, heard the noise, figured out what was going on, and they both teared right up. She said living there these days involves a lot of crying without being quite sure if you're mourning losses or celebrating the rebirth.

[Elkhound]

Originally Posted by Canuckistan

Has anyone said otherwise?

No, but there are quite a few places that have brought back streetcars as tourist attractions. I wanted to stress, in case any reader thought that NO was one of them, that it was not so.

[Canuckistan]

Originally Posted by Elkhound

No, but there are quite a few places that have brought back streetcars as tourist attractions.

Like where? I'm having a hard time thinking of any that would bring them back as tourist attractions -- everywhere I've gone, streetcars have served a very real transportation function.

[Elkhound]

Originally Posted by Canuckistan

Like where? I'm having a hard time thinking of any that would bring them back as tourist attractions -- everywhere I've gone, streetcars have served a very real transportation function.

Charlotte, NC, for one. There are a few others I have read about in various magazines, but that's the only one I can remember offhand.

Originally Posted by Elkhound

Charlotte, NC, for one. There are a few others I have read about in various magazines, but that's the only one I can remember offhand.

San Francisco brought back the Market St. street cars for mainly tourism purposes (the BART and MUNI run underneath the street). True, they are used a lot by locals, but at least from what I remember reading a few years ago, they were brought back as a tourist attraction.