Historic Streetcars

It may be a moot point now that funds are allocated, but MTA Director Malcolm Heinicke today questioned whether the MTA should be spending $18.7 million to enter into an agreement with Brookville Equipment Corporation to refurbish 16 historic streetcars. Some of his comments seemed to echo a Streetsblog piece a few months ago questioning whether those streetcars keep Muni stuck in the past.

Don't get me wrong, I love San Francisco's historic streetcars. I have ridden them often and can appreciate the nostalgic bumpy rides, even more so if I don't have to stand, and can grab a seat and peer outside the small windows.  But when I saw Rachel Gordon's story in the Chronicle this week about how Muni plans to renovate Streetcar Number One for $1.9 million it really got me thinking: In these tight budgetary times, is that really where we want to be investing our precious transit dollars?