Here are my responses:
Double parking.
My solution for double-parking is to install parking meters to increase turnover and to increase parking enforcement (using the revenue from the meters). The point is that if ever there is a car double-parked, a bus can maneuver around it, but a trolley has no choice but to wait for the person to move the car. This was an issue, I have heard, when the streetcars last operated on Centre & South Sts.
Bus stops.
Between Forest Hills and Brigham Circle, only 7 outbound and 2 inbound stops meet the MBTA's stop length guidelines for 60-ft buses. This is one reason why the artics do not pull over so often. There are some plans afoot to lengthen stops, and, I hope, also to relocate & consolidate stops (currently there are 71 stops over a 10 mile round-trip!).
Laws applying to streetcars
I am aware that there is a state law prohibiting passing of a stopped streetcar on the right side. I am also aware that the City of Boston code prohibits streetcars in mixed traffic from traveling faster than 15 mph. I did not know that streetcars have the right of way over all other vehicles, as jrc520 suggests, nor what that means. Please explain.
One-seat ride.
As juni0r75 suggested, the Orange Line provides direct access from JP to downtown. Since 1987, it has been closer to Centre St. than it was when the Arborway trolley was running. Because the Orange Line is so much quicker than surface route 39 (whether bus or streetcar!), it is quicker to walk to or transfer to the Orange Line than to have a "one-seat" ride downtown. And this would continue to be true if the Arborway trolley returns. The 1987 report on the Arborway Trolley shows that average travel time inbound was 2 min. faster on the trolley than the bus, but 2 min. slower outbound. The main point is that the speed is not that different. The second point is that the detour around Prudential Center makes the inbound trip 4 min. slower than the outbound (a figure confirmed by GPS-based reporting over the past 6 months).
Also, the "one-seat ride" from Forest Hills to Park Street was not a one-seat ride to Government Center or Lechmere.
I am asking the T to provide a free transfer from Rt. 39 to the Orange Line at Forest Hills (currently available only with a subway pass), to facilitate taking Rt. 39 outbound to Forest Hills to get inbound. I'm also trying to get free transfers between E and 39 anywhere along the route (choice is good!).
Loss of parking spaces.
Widening bus stops to accomodate the 60-footers will result in some loss of parking. I think this could be balanced by reducing the number of stops somewhat, although not as great a reduction in stops as currently proposed for the trolley restoration. (Parking meters & more turnover would help, too.)
Operating & capital cost.
Yes, streetcars last longer than buses. The way to compare is to annualize the purchase price over the useful life using an appropriate discount rate. But in comparing capital costs you need to also consider the infrastructure cost. In terms of operating costs, you need to include the costs to maintain track, wire, and substations. The conclusion is that streetcars cost more than buses per car mile both in terms of capital & operating costs. Now, it might be worthwhile to pay the extra cost if you can cram lots more people in the streetcar, as on most of the Green Line. But since ridership drops off considerably on Rt. 39 as you head to Forest Hills, it would not make sense. If streetcars were clearly cheaper than buses, wouldn't it make sense to restore the wonderful 1940-s era system described in Bradford Clarke's great Streetcar Lines of Boston?
The CNG buses, alas, are much more expensive than diesel buses, both in terms of capital & operating costs. And they basically provide no additional benefits (unless you like noise), since current generation diesels running on ultra-low sulfur fuel are as clean. Unfortunately, the MBTA listened to ACE and other activists who have targeted diesel as a great evil in the world, and thereby they have worsened air quality (by delaying or preventing the introduction of cost-effective clean diesel).
DEP Position
Actually the discussion is not moot. In February the DEP Commissioner wrote a letter to the MBTA & EOTC stating that all CA/T replacement projects must be completed to achieve air quality benefits, but that substitution is possible. This letter basically overrode the DEP's 2001 decision.
Bicycles.
vanshnookenraggen, I'm glad you mentioned this, since it is one of my favorite topics (see me in today's Boston Phoenix). It is in fact very easy to fall because of the tracks. Almost every cyclist I know in JP has done it at least once. (And usually no more than once, except for Seth Donlin, who is so clumsy that he did it twice within two weeks, but still thinks he is sacrificing for the cause.) Here's why: a bicycle always wants to fall over, and you must steer it just to stay upright (this is what you learned, without knowing it, when you learned to ride). If the wheel is channeled along a groove, such as a gutter seam or a trolley track, the rider can't steer and the bicycle falls over. To avoid this, the rider can deliberately and unnaturally steer across the track at a sharp angle. This is tricky to do in moving traffic while looking back to make sure no one is overtaking (and you have to do it once for each of up to 4 rails).
When riding along, you normally stay to the right of the rails. This is no problem on South Huntington where there is plenty of room between the tracks and parked cars. But in places on Centre & South streets, there is as little as 2-3 ft. between parked cars and rail. Since a car door is also 2-3 feet, this leaves very little room to ride safely outside the "door zone." It also makes it tricky to pass double-parked cars or stopped buses. Even if there is enough width you still have to worry about the tracks when moving to the center of the road to prepare a left turn.
It is tragic that there have been so many completely unnecessary injuries over the past 18 1/2 years because of tracks that will have to be removed anyhow (whether the trolley comes or not). However, the current plan will make things even worse for cyclists. The tracks are proposed to swerve to the curb at every stop, leaving insufficient room for a cyclist to safely pass between raised curb and rail. This is also planned for South Huntington, where the tracks are currently not much of a problem for cyclists. It also looks like stations between Heath St. & Brigham Circle will have to be retrofitted to be ADA-compliant, if the Rt. 39 bus no longer serves them. Thus there will be more hazards for cyclists all the way from Forest Hills to Brigham Circle.
What I find particularly gaulling is that the Arborway Committee's response to this is: you already have two nearby bike paths, why should you want to ride on our streetcar route? Well, state law clearly gives cyclists a right to, and it would be hard to change this if you tried. Secondly, people live, work, and shop on these streets. Thirdly, the paths are often a worse substitute, because of intersection conflicts, muggings, and ice in winter.
-TWT
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