Port of L.A. Starts Work on Trolley System
Trying to create a little nostalgia and boost local tourism, the Port of Los Angeles broke ground Monday on a $7-million trolley system along the waterfront.
The ceremony was at 6th Street and Harbor Boulevard, the site for one of four stops along the 1.5-mile route from the World Cruise Center to 22nd and Miner streets.
Port officials said the system will use the old right of way for the Pacific Electric Railway, the so-called Red Car line that operated in the Los Angeles area for almost 60 years before it was closed in 1961.
The system will feature two Red Car replicas and one restored original. They will stop at the port’s cruise line terminal, the maritime museum, Ports O’ Call Village, and 22nd and Miner streets, near the Cabrillo Marina. Construction is scheduled to be completed in November.
Supporters say the new trolley is an important step in revitalizing the port’s retail and recreational attractions. Critics say the Red Cars will do little to help the struggling redevelopment effort in San Pedro and will only replace the existing buses that look like trolleys.
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