Streetcars on Peachtree Street

Inspiration can strike someone in the strangest places. Today I was ruminating and experiencing low levels of anxiety over my long overdue reflection of Kenneth Jackson’s Crabgrass Frontier. My blog was already almost a week late and I did not know what Atlanta suburb (if I even know what that means) to showcase Jackson’s notion that the suburbanization of the United States was rooted in the expansion and advancement of transportation technology. As I was sitting in the very uninspiring waiting room of Jiffy Lube, I happened upon an article in yesterday’s Atlanta Journal Constitution. Much to my amusement, I happened upon two articles, one in support of reestablishing electric streetcars on Peachtree Street, and one against it. I stumbled upon the perfect prompt for my reflection in a newspaper that I do not read on a regular basis, in the waiting room of a company that aided me in the “pampering” of my automobile, which is the cornerstone of my suburban living. The entire situation was stocked with irony.

Kenneth Jackson theorizes that before the creation and the expansion of the streetcar, the suburbs were only obtainable to the affluent and were thus out of the reach of the blue-collar family (pg. 72). Jackson stated, “No invention had a greater impact on the American city between the Civil War and World War I than the visible and noisy streetcar…” (pg. 103). The electric streetcar could move numerous amounts of cars simultaneously and allowed for a copious amount of passengers. In addition to these advantages, the technology did not require the vast underground infrastructure essential for cable cars and did not require the constant upkeep of horses. Streetcars traveled straight into the hearts of the city. Business centers, shopping, and amusement were only a streetcar and a short walk away from nearby suburbs.

According to Jackson, the masses gained freedom of movement with the streetcar and were able to escape overcrowded metropolitan areas. Jackson strengthened this argument by sharing the statistic that streetcars, “made possible a continuing outward expansion of the city by ½ to 1 ½ miles per decade” (pg. 118). But, the heyday of the electric streetcar was fleeting. The demise of the American electric streetcar was based on many elements. One key financial challenge was that the construction of and upkeep of the tracks, electric lines, cars, etcetera. These very expensive responsibilities were held by the private transportation company. The only element the government seemed to control was the fare, which voters staunchly refused to raise. In contrast, automobiles and buses, or at least the roads they traveled upon, were considered worthy of public aid. Cheap gas, subversive actions by the automobile industry, and a change in culture in which the streetcar was considered old fashion, all lead to the crippling of the streetcar industry by the second half of the twentieth century.

Things change quickly. Within the span of sixty years, Atlantans are now arguing over whether we should dig up the remnants of our transportation history and bring them back to life. The inspiration for this debate lies in the fact that gas is no longer cheap and we are afraid to travel on our roads between the hours of seven to ten a.m. and four to seven p.m. In addition to this, Ed Ellis, author of the article, “Many reasons exist to get on board,” states “We need to drive less, live closer to work, walk more, pollute less and use transit more.” Ellis is in support of reestablishing streetcars on Peachtree Street, because as he says, “Atlantans are moving back into the urban core…” Whether Peachtree Street follows the lead of the twenty other U.S. urban areas, which are currently using or plan on establishing streetcar transportation, is still up for debate. Professor Carole E. Scott, who wrote the rebuttal to Ellis’ piece, “They’re noisy, slow, make repaving costly,” obviously disagrees with the streetcars’ appeal. Scott’s perspective is unique, in that she remembers living with functioning Atlanta streetcars as a child. Scott’s account is mostly anecdotal, but her primary source reveals a people who were by enlarge unimpressed and aggravated by much the streetcars had to offer.

The most interesting question that emerges from this new debate would be why the streetcar is again being considered as a possibility. Is it because gas is too expensive? Or is it because the automobile is considered a huge source of pollution? Or is it that the average Atlantan and American is disenchanted with the solitary lifestyle of the long commuter? If the answers to the previous questions are yes, then it would appear as if these articles and the debate over Peachtree streetcars is supporting evidence of Jackson’s argument that transportation inspires where people live. Because the car is becoming outdated and unpopular, people are driven to recentralize at the urban core near their work. The popularity of the streetcar may have begun the trend of mass suburbanization, but the unpopularity of the automobile may end it.