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Original Proposal


  1. 1) Heritage Trolley Cars

    Old style cars to compliment the Old Louisville Market Street

    historic revival, Belle of Louisville, and museums. A tourist 

    attraction with functionality.


  1. 2) Local funding

    Set up fabrication shops in the West End on brownfields and

    train local workers including programs for criminal offenders.

    Good paying blue collar jobs with health benefits to reduce 42%

     unemployment in the west end, reduce crime rate and social

    services costs.


  1. 3)Local corporate buy-in.

    Site job training at the brownfields location to fabricate heritage

    trolleys. Extend lines in the future and export finished trolley

    cars as local industry.


  1. 4) Small business enhancement

    Create Market Street trolley district to encourage business along

    the fixed rail corridor. Build transit stations at each end and

    middle with police station and/or government services.


See, Moving Louisville to a Sustainable Future HERE


  1. •Shawnee Station

  2. •Baxter Station

  3. •22nd Street Station


  1. 5) Explore Zero carbon footprint


  1. •photo-voltaic on top of cars

  2. •ni-cad battery power

  3. •possible cable car using Ohio River water wheel


  1. 6) Local workforce development to lay tracks


  1. 7) Explore continuation across bridge to New Albany along

    existing tracks


  1. 8) Role of KIPDA and TARC ?


9)  Role of GLI, Metro Council, Mayor?


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Benefits of Heritage Trolley Lines      from      <http://www.heritagetrolley.org/>

Denotes permanence

Investing in the fixed facilities needed for an electric, rail-based trolley system conveys to potential passengers, investors, and visitors that a permanent commitment has been made to provide transportation to the area. This can have important psychological benefits that tend to make positive contributions to urban development. The following is a statement prepared by a transit advocacy group relating to the potential return of light rail to the suspended Arborway streetcar line in Boston:

 “The investment in construction of a permanent way, such as a street railway, conveys a long-term commitment to provide a high quality service now and into the future. Bus options, making no such commitment, are too easily rerouted or curtailed. The presence of such permanent facilities has demonstrated tangible, positive, private sector economic and social spin off effects. Real estate values in Brookline, Milton, and Newton (MA), would be just such an example, as well as the enduring popularity that light rail has in these localities. Often overlooked is the psychological factor where public facilities are concerned. Consider how many government and private institutions conduct their business in structures made of large stone blocks, or other durable materials. This serves to reassure the general public with an appearance of stability and endurance through the ages. No doubt it would have been more cost effective to place several trailers or tin sheds in an asphalt parking lot in lieu of the current Boston City Hall and plaza, but what does it say about our civilization? A street tramway conveys these same characteristics the public want so see preserved in our public facilities. Tramways can and do function in many places as a mobile traffic calming device, making the streetscape more pedestrian friendly.” – Fred R. Moore, Association for Public Transportation, Saugus, MA, June 2001

Inspires economic development

The permanent commitment demonstrated by the rails and overhead wire conveys to potential investors and residents that transportation will be available. Cities such as Portland, Memphis, and Tampa report strong developer interest along heritage lines, in some cases even before the line has opened. Both residential and commercial developments can benefit from the certainty that rail transit will be available. In Tampa, businesses have been so convinced of the benefits that heritage trolleys will provide that many have made financial contributions to the construction and/or operating costs of the line.

A Tampa report states: “Just the announcement that the [heritage trolley] project was going to be implemented has resulted in heightened development activity all along the corridor. An estimated $800 million in new development is either currently under way or will be under way before completion of construction of the line. This includes approximately 1,600 units of upscale high-density residential development never contemplated at the time that the project was in the development phase.” (See Tampa Project Description).






FROM 2008 TO 2010 METRO COUNCIL APPROVED MORE THAN $ 758 MILLION DOLLARS IN PUBLIC FUNDED

PROJECTS IN DOWNTOWN LOUISVILLE INCLUDING THE YUM ARENA--ALL THE PROJECTS WERE EAST OF 9TH STREET.


JEFFERSON COUNTY LEADERS ARE PURSUING THE $ 1.12 BILLION DOLLAR EAST END BRIDGE THAT

WILL EXPORT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF JOBS TO SOUTHERN INDIANA. LOCAL STUDIES SHOW

42% UNEMPLOYMENT IN WEST END COUNCIL DISTRICTS 1-6,  AND 6000 FORECLOSURES IN THE AREA.


METRO COUNCIL HAS FUNDED FEW INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS TO IMPROVE MOBILITY FOR

THE AFRICAN AMERICAN GHETTO CREATED BY NEGLECT IN THE WEST END. IT IS TIME FOR THE NEW

GENERATION TO CHOOSE THE FUTURE IN LOUISVILLE --WILL IT BE MORE SEGREGATION AND BEATING THE POOR

WITH A BIG ENFORCEMENT STICK - OR EQUITABLE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT?