The Sunday News article “City trolley put on slow track fails to get federal funding; not all on board with present plan” is hardly reason to celebrate. How often did we hear that the Convention Center / Hotel Project was dead just to have it be re-born at still greater tax payer expense?
The private Lancaster Street Car Co., consisting of persons self selected rather than elected or appointed through a public process, is determined to obtain funding from some government source, likely the state.
Which would mean that once again a truly worthy and necessary local project such as the Lancaster Public Library won’t receive a penny of what was budgeted for renovation and expansion in the state budget.
Tim Peters, Chairman of the Street Car Company, says “It doesn’t get ‘greener’ than streetcars.'” Apparently Peters doesn’t understand that electricity is largely generated by burning carbon fuels.
Trolley cars were a mode of transportation that came and went at the beginning of the 20th Century. The best thing Peters and his cohorts can do with the antique cars they purchased is to donate them to the Railroad Museum in Strasburg. Now that would be a laudable service to the community!
