I have received quite a number of responses to the first day’s journal of my trip to New Orleans to take a look at the trolley system here. It’s interesting to hear from some of our readers who are a little older and remember the trolley rides (usually with family and friends) with a fair amount of nostalgia. For them, this mode of transportation meant a lot more than just getting from point A to point B. It was about the clanging of the bell, the clacking of the wheels across the seams in the tracks, and the sights and smells of places and things that they passed. The trolley didn’t isolate people as much as today’s buses do from the real beat of the street and therefore allowed riders to connect more with the city around them.

Cliff writes: “I went to college in New Orleans in the ’90s, and used to take the street car fairly regularly. I took the line down St. Charles from Tulane to the French Quarter. They didn’t have the street car on Canal at that time. I found that almost everyone on it was a tourist or a Tulane/Loyola student. Though there were some people commuting to service industry jobs. Certainly no one in a suit. Despite the fact that it is not air-conditioned, it’s fairly comfortable even in summer months. But I never tried to ride it in a suit.

“But the street car is basically a nostalgic mode of transportation for tourists. Even I realized after a while that taking the bus (the Freret Jet) was faster.

“My guess is that something like the circulator (which I’ve never taken) is more practical and less expensive than a street car/trolley. I take Metrorail every day from the suburbs, and really don’t need anything like a street car or the bus in town. If they are concerned about emissions, I wonder if hybrid buses would make more sense. I’m not opposed to trolleys. But they really don’t seem practical or efficient.”

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Tom writes: “If you want to see a modern trolley system that is working, go to Portland, Ore. The cars are air-conditioned and carry lots of business people from NW (yes, Portland has a trendy NW as well) to downtown and I believe by now, to the water (river) front. Also, while you are there, check out the light rail system. Notice also that you can step into a crosswalk and cars stop for you (I almost got killed my first week here because I believed, foolishly, that I was safe in a crosswalk).”

Thanks for that, Tom. I’m sure that Portland is lovely, but New Orleans has a lot more to offer, even in the heat of summer. In addition to checking out the trolley service here, I have been able to volunteer a bit of time helping out (again) some of the areas still struggling to recover from Katrina. It’s something I feel I need to do.

Questions, comments, random musings? Write to Steve@SprawlandCrawl.com