The Trolley’s Worth It

If all goes well, in the spring of 1986 the San Diego Trolley, which has had such good success with its initial southern line, will begin operating a line eastward to Euclid Avenue.

Not only will that new 4.5-mile line make efficient mass transit available to those living east of downtown, but it also will increase the frequency of the trolleys running along C Street and give workers and shoppers in the city’s business district a more reliable way to get around.

As it is now, trolleys traverse C Street at 15-minute intervals, and only one trolley at a time can travel on C west of 8th Avenue. This is because only one set of trolley tracks is used downtown.

When the number of trolleys doubles, both sets of tracks will be needed, and this will require some modifications of C Street. The Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB), operator of the trolley, has proposed closing C Street between 2nd and 3rd avenues and between 5th and 6th avenues. At other points, the street would be widened to allow room for traffic to pass safely.

It’s a good plan, one that retains C Street’s access to freeways while using parts of it to create space for trolleys to pass one another, for safe passenger unloading and for wheelchair passengers to board the trolley.

The MTDB proposal is not without significant opposition, however. Business groups and merchants along C want the street left totally open, as do the owners of Ace Parking Inc., which operates most downtown parking lots. They say confusion will be created by breaking the flow of the east-west street.

Confusion probably will exist for awhile. It’s not natural to have a major artery interrupted in two places. But just as people are having to learn new ways to drive downtown because of the Horton Plaza shopping mall, they will soon learn about C Street, too.

And the payoff is worth the confusion. Increased trolley traffic should reduce the number of cars being driven downtown. More frequent trolleys along C Street will make it easier, not harder, for people to patronize the area merchants. And the landscaping that will be added on the two closed blocks will mitigate the loss of landscaping where the street is widened elsewhere.

The City Council should approve the MTDB plan when it takes the issue up later this month.