Salt Lake City reviews United Streetcar product
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefIt’s not the first city this fall to receive for display a prototype streetcar built by Clackamas, Ore.-based United Streetcar LLC—but Salt Lake City stands out as one municipality actually ready to consider buying the product.
United Streetcar’s prototype was delivered by truck to a temporary display side at Gallivan Center for public review by city residents, now accustomed to Utah Transit Authority’s TRAX light rail system but likely less familiar with streetcars per se.
The vehicle has previously been displayed in Cincinnati, like Salt Lake City a prospective buyer, and Fort Worth, Tex., where support for streetcar development is still poltically uncertain at best. The vehicle eventually will return to Portland, Ore., to be placed in revenue service on that city’s growing streetcar system.
Corey Yraguen, president of Oregon Iron Works, of which United Streetcar is a subsidiary, says that unlike LRT, streetcars make more frequent stops. "Street cars are integral to moving people around the city," Yraguen said.
Utah Transit Authority and Salt Lake City officials seek to apply a $26 million federal grant toward a two-mile streetcar project in the Sugar House district.
