At critical points, Dallas' streetcar system runs without overhead cables. Two batteries underneath the car store enough power to propel the train across a mile-long bridge.
Dallas has joined Guangzhou, China as one of the only cities with a "wireless" battery-powered streetcar. Bill Zeeble reports, "Unlike almost every street car in the world – from San Francisco to Strasbourg, France – this one lacks a pole constantly connected to a live wire overhead."
The hybrid system lets the train cross the Houston Street Viaduct, a bridge with some special requirements. "'That bridge is approximately a mile long,' says Mark Ball, a DART spokesperson. 'And obviously we could not build a street car system with overhead wire on a historic structure. So we had to come up with a way to self-propel or push something across that bridge.'"
Detroit and Washington D.C., among others, are interested in hybrid streetcars. Art Guzzetti of the American Public Transportation Association commented: "The wires sometimes interfere with the city. They interfere with the vistas. They interfere with historic preservation issues. They're not a problem in some places but in some certain parts of the city, you don't want wires overhead."
FULL STORY: Dallas Has Something Many Other Cities Want: A Hybrid Streetcar
Dallas Council Begrudgingly Keeps Downtown Streetcar Alive
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Dallas Nixes Subway Plan
A proposed subway line was removed from DART’s 20-year plan, with the agency citing low ridership projections and local opposition.
How Extreme Heat Impacts Transit
Heat waves are causing damage and delays on commuter trains from New Jersey to Dallas.
‘Forward Together’ Bus System Redesign Rolling Out in Portland
Portland is redesigning its bus system to respond to the changing patterns of the post-pandemic world—with twin goals of increasing ridership and improving equity.
Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny
The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.
Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?
New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?
700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah
A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.
More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus
Drive-thru fast food restaurants might be a staple of American life, but several U.S. cities are actively considering prohibiting the development of new drive-thrus for the benefit of traffic safety, air quality, and congestion.
Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says
Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
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