SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — More than a century ago, a network of streetcars was a cornerstone of life in San Diego, serving as the main mode of transit in and around the city's core. The vehicles, much like those in other North American metro areas, served as a catalyst for the city's urban growt h in the early 20th century, providing connection to then-largely undeveloped neighborhoods around Balboa Park, like Mission Hills, Hillcrest, North Park and East San Diego. And yet, as automobiles and buses gained popularity in the years after World War I, the streetcar's appeal petered out, eventually becoming obsolete by 1949. All that remains of the network's footprint are tracks repurposed to support the light-rail Trolley system and a few vintage cars the Metropolitan Transit System trots out on select holiday weekends — but that could change. Parking rate increases takes effect in San Diego Bay waterfront A coalition of uptown advocacy groups are now banding together to advance a proposal buried in early draft documents for the 2025 regional plan from the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) to revive the streetcar in its historic corridors around Balboa Park. It has been something that city leaders and community advocates have talked about for some time: reincorporating electric streetcars into public transit, following the suit of cities like Seattle and Portland. Back in 2012, MTS went so far as to conduct a study to assess the feasibility of creating a Balboa Park and downtown link as the first segment of such a network, but the project never made it out of the planning stages. These discussions were all operating on the timetable of bringing some form of streetcar system online by 2050. The proposal mentioned in the draft documents for SANDAG's next regional plan update is similarly listed with this distant target. The coalition, led by Vibrant Uptown, is pressing for a little more urgency, hoping to bump the timeline up to 2030 or 2035. "Things are changing in a way that makes rethinking our transportation system more appropriate now than it was years ago," said Michael Donovan, one of the founders of Vibrant Uptown. "We've talked about changes in transit for a long time … But, it's still not a connected network." For uptown, many of the recent transit-related changes have only really focused on bike lanes and bus routes. Outside those things, there have been other initiatives to increase short-distance options to get around, such as rental scooters and on-demand shuttles, but Donovan notes these have often been short-lived or are difficult to access. That leaves residents with fewer choices to take public transit all the way to their final destination, making it less appealing for some to ditch the car. This in turn can put further strain on parking and traffic problems as uptown communities expand. "We're getting a lot of housing in the neighborhoods, very large developments," Donovan said. "Not everyone can ride a bike, not everybody is able to walk everywhere, and a lot of people just are not comfortable riding buses. We need more options." As he and the other advocacy groups see it, the streetcar system would be the best, most feasible way to bring that variety necessary to meet the needs of a growing urban community. In their view, streetcars would be easier to integrate into existing neighborhoods than its counterpart, light-rail: It typically uses smaller platforms and vehicles, allowing it to run alongside traffic like buses do while ferrying riders around at intervals comparable to light-rail. "It's really a matter of scale," Donovan said. "They ride right at the ground level … It goes right down the middle of the street, so it's dropping you off right in front of businesses that you want to see, or the schools or the place where you work, as opposed to finding a way to a remote station." Many of the streets along the proposed revived streetcar route — like University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard — are already wide enough to support this infrastructure, he added, as the arteries were built in the early 20th century with that mode of transit in mind. La Jolla cityhood effort reaches milestone with more signatures Whether or not the advocacy groups will be able to convince SANDAG to bump up the timeline remains an open question, especially as several other major projects are long in the works at the planning agency — like the airport transit connection — that have yet to be actualized. Financing may also be an obstacle given the failure of Measure G, which would have generated funds for SANDAG's projects. Donovan said there are alternatives they can explore down the line, like creating a special property tax district similar to the one being pursued for Midway Rising. For now, Donovan says the coalition's efforts are focusing on drumming up support among uptown residents and local leaders to get the ball rolling on a potential streetcar comeback before engaging in any concrete planning. This work will include hosting a number of community forums on the topic. The first is set to take place during Vibrant Uptown's monthly meeting on Monday, April 14. ...read more read less