Simone WilsonMayor Villaraigosa and the Subway-to-Sea dreamers aren't the only ones with pricey public transportation on their lists this holiday season.
The Pasadena Star-News reported yesterday that city officials and Pasadena businesses have set their sights on a shiny new trolley that would run a one-way, two-mile loop, connecting the city's three downtown sectors for ultimate shopping glory. (Like Disneyland, but for environmentally forward grown-ups.)
City Councilman Chris Holden said out loud what we know Villaraigosa has been thinking all along:
Although city buses already serve the area in question, “there's nothing romantic about the bus.” Even better: “It's just another jewel in the crown of the city.”
Strategic Economics conducted the $100,000 study, finding that a trolley in Pasadena would up property value and boost the downtown economy. It also determined that Pasadena would have to gather $75 million before President Obama might cover any remaining costs. Outlook good: Expensive and romantic public transit is totally the president's bag.
The Star-News noted that the Pasadena and Los Angeles Electric Railroad — running from the city to Los Angeles, and later dubbed the Pacific Electric System — went out of business in 1951. Then there was the Pasadena streetcar system that folded in 1941. Here we go again.
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