A Manchester streetcar system

Editor’s note: The following is part two of a two-part series discussing the future of public transit in Manchester. Part one, published yesterday, discussed the need for a better public transit system. Today’s installment imagines what such a system might look like.

By Michael Bellefeuille

Since visiting Portland, Ore., and considering an improved transit system for Manchester, I have developed and tweaked one potential plan for a streetcar system in the city. I am very pleased to have been invited to share it here in the hopes that it will generate some discussion about both a potential streetcar system for Manchester and more generally about an improved transit system in the region.

My proposal is rather extensive, but I tried to approach it realistically. I considered my familiarity with the city where I was born and grew up, and my limited knowledge of transit planning to design as extensive and efficient a system as I imagine Manchester would be able to support. I considered the city as it is now, as well as how it might be altered by the self-reinforcing nature of streetcar lines—well-designed and run lines tend to promote growth along them, supplying their own ridership demand—and designed accordingly. A system of this sort, however, would likely be implemented in phases over several years or even decades, beginning with the urban core and extending outward as funding and demand allowed.

If a streetcar system were to be considered seriously by the city or region, many other possible plans would likely emerge; this is just one idea.

The System (to see the proposed route map in its entirety, click here)

The streetcar system would be anchored by a Downtown Loop, running approximately the same route as the current downtown circulator bus. As long as it ran frequently, it could likely run in a single direction; I have proposed counter-clockwise (north on Elm, south on Commercial). This would mean building half as much track as a two-directional loop, and is based on successful single-directional loops in many existing systems. The Downtown Loop would serve the Elm Street corridor and Millyard, as well as the long-discussed but as yet underdeveloped Gaslight and Warehouse districts.

The Downtown Loop would be served by various spurs into the surrounding neighborhoods, which could be built over time. Each of the spurs would work as an extension of the Downtown Loop, circulating along the Loop (possibly more than once depending on demand) before returning to the linear spurs.

The Rivers Edge spur would continue along Elm Street south of the Gaslight District and Verizon Wireless Arena to the Elliot at Rivers Edge complex now nearing completion. This area, sometimes referred to as Downtown South, is a redevelopment priority for the city. The line would help spur development in the Gaslight and Warehouse districts, as well as along Elm Street and around the economic/health care anchor at Rivers Edge. Additionally, it would connect residents in the Bakersville and Kalivas/Union neighborhoods with Downtown.

The Rimmon Heights spur would cross Bridge Street and run along Kelley Street to Pinardville and Saint Anselm College. This would serve the dense, vibrant Rimmon Heights neighborhood and further encourage the development of neighborhood businesses along Kelley Street. Connecting to Saint Anselm College would provide an important link between the city and the college, bringing residents to sporting and cultural events at the college, as well as more regularly bringing students downtown:

The Granite Square spur would cross Granite Street and run south along Main Street to the dense Piscataquog neighborhood, with the possibility to extend further south to Bedford to serve commuters and shoppers in the future. Granite Street is likely the most important gateway to the city, and Granite Square was once a distinct neighborhood center closely tied to Downtown. The city’s master plan considers this area part of Downtown, and a spur here would help promote growth and investment in this vital neighborhood:

In addition to the Downtown Loop and spurs, there would be an East Side Loop, which would connect Downtown with the proposed Arts District of the inner East Side, as well as the dense, diverse neighborhoods of Janeville/Corey Square and Hallsville, particularly around the Hollow. The East Side Loop could possibly be extended along a former rail line to a commuter lot or garage in the Eaton Heights neighborhood, though this would likely be served less frequently. The East Side Loop would provide a crucial link to institutions such as the Currier and promote the development of a true Arts District, as well as to the ethnically diverse communities and burgeoning neighborhood centers of Hallsville and Somerville:

The Rockwell site along Elm Street that is now set to house a Market Basket had previously been the city’s preferred site for a downtown commuter rail station and intermodal transit facility. This is also the historical site of the beautiful Union Station building, which was demolished over the city’s objections nearly 50 years ago. Assuming that it is no longer feasible to locate a major transit facility there, it is likely that the transit hub would be located at the city’s secondary site at the intersection of Spring, Canal and Commercial streets, currently the Bedford Street parking lot. In many ways this site holds the potential to better tie the Millyard with Elm Street, and given the small footprint of the site, it’s easy to envision a beautiful tower there to house the transit facility under several levels of parking and serve as a gateway to the city. This would serve as the connection to intercity rail and buses, as well as the hub of city and regional bus routes and the Downtown Loop.

In addition to the streetcar lines and loops, a better functioning system of city bus lines and regional commuter bus lines would be necessary. It’s possible that the streetcar system would lead to the ability to consolidate several bus lines and run them more efficiently. Regional commuter bus lines could likely extend along Route 101 West to Bedford, along I-93 to Londonderry, Derry and Salem, and north to Hooksett. Additionally, it would be important to link to the Airport and South Willow Street, perhaps with a BRT line along the old rail tracks parallel to Willow Street.

Getting There

There’s a tendency in New Hampshire to emphasize the cost when considering a public project, and while this aversion to waste can be good, it can also lead to the sort of unwise frugality that prevents public spending as an investment. Any improvement to the transit system—whether as ambitious as a streetcar line or simply a vastly improved bus system—will be expensive, but if done well, that expense will be an invaluable investment in Greater Manchester’s future, and the cost will be easily offset by economic development. Innovate public-private partnerships might also allow for forms of sponsorship or development fees to offset the public cost of building and operating a better transit system.

Given the limited hours, circuitous routes and infrequent service, it’s clear that the Manchester Transit Authority (MTA) is largely seen as a social service to be used by the city’s lower-income residents; while this is a crucial role of public transit, it’s hardly its sole purpose. Well-functioning and well-funded public transit would allow Manchester’s growing population of senior citizens to live at home longer without the need to drive, it would attract young professionals and recent college graduates who currently leave in high numbers, and it would allow families and residents to live and work in vibrant urban neighborhoods while reducing their dependence on (and the cost of maintaining) an automobile. It would also encourage redevelopment of various parcels in the city that were once buildings and neighborhoods but are now being used for parking.

If Manchester is to remain competitive as a place to live and do business, it needs to dramatically improve its public transit system. A streetcar line may be too ambitious for Manchester, but it may not be. As similar cities in New England consider and eventually implement streetcar networks, Manchester may be left at a competitive disadvantage. While the MTA should be commended for the work it has done with so little resources, public interest in a plan as ambitious as a streetcar might show the City, Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission and others that support exists for improvements beyond later hours or Sunday service (though those are hugely important).

The future prosperity of gGreater Manchester depends on improved public transit; whether that’s streetcars, trolleybuses, a bus rapid transit system or simply an improved bus network remains to be seen, but the city and region should not be timid in considering what such a system might look like. Residents need to speak up about the sort of system they want to see and use, and how they’d like it to shape their city. With the study of a regional transit system underway, the time to speak up is now.