By Zee Grega
| Today I walked down the street to witness the launch of the new streetcar, just about twenty-two minutes ago. There was speechifying beforehand by the mayor and others and then there was a countdown from 10 and the trolley set off to great applause. The festive launch site included booths with information about the trolley, businesses and business organizations on the trolley route, and the usual others, like Starbucks giving away some free coffee. Riders on the first three trips today will get a commermorative golden ticket but if one look at the long line didn’t turn me away, my claustrophobia would have anyway, as the trolley was jam-packed. It was cold and I didn’t stay long but everyone seemed to be having a good time. I am hoping to take a ride on the trolley myself when enough of the newness has worn off that the crowds around it are more manageable, but I am totally looking forward to hearing everyone’s experiences of riding it. |
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God, what an utter disappointment this turned out to be. It’s basically a moving umbrella.
Yeah. I really wanted to love the streetcar, because I still hope it will be the start of a bigger network, but between the slowness and the avoidable bike hazard I’m losing faith.
Yeah, well, at least half-naked (sometimes fully naked) scarf guy was there.