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Q&A on San Diego Historic Streetcars
Bobbie Bagel interviews Christian Chaffee
 You have invested so much time and effort in this terrific streetcars project. Where did your passion for streetcars come from?
At first I was enchanted by their Arts & Crafts style, and then I learned of their history in San Diego, and how they were custom made to take people to and from Balboa Park during the year long party known as the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. This project became a true passion when I found out they would meet all today's requirements to serve in public mass transportation. I envisioned them back on our streets, and could envision how they would add so much to the quality of life of our citizens, and be a financial engine for our city. These historic streetcars are part of who we are as San Diegans, and our own ancestors rode in these very streetcars. It is fortunate that they were made to be works of art, and are beautiful inside and out, as we can all enjoy riding in them, and they will bring us all a sense of pride.
The benefits were so numerous that they were overwhelming. The restored streetcars will be a new tourist destination, with National Historic Landmark status. They can bring speculative investments, revitalize commercial corridors in surrounding neighborhoods, and create jobs. They will reduce the congestion on our streets, and run on clean electric power. They operate on the same gauge track, and electrical supply as our red trolley, and can be serviced and maintained at 12th and Imperial. The Class 1 streetcars are double ended, and double sided, so our system can be built in usable increments, without the need for "Y's" turn tables, or loops. Best of all, they can be equipped with ADA cassette-style equipment, which is not visible except when in use. This allows everyone to ride them, and preserves the historic appearance during operation. These streetcars were made for our mild climate, and to carry large crowds quickly and safely. These streetcars were designed for the turn radii of our streets and the inclines of our hills. We know they will work, because they did from 1915 to 1939.
They were state of the art when delivered to our city, and can be restored to be state of the art today. They will be a new reason for people to come to San Diego on their next vacation, and to ride them people will gladly leave their cars at home. They will help meet clean air standards and reduce the dirty water runoff into our bays. I think "passion" is not a strong enough word to describe my desire to see these reintroduced on to our streets. I see this effort as worthy of my energy, time, and life.
Are there any recent developments?
We have been a participating stakeholder in the ongoing efforts of the Balboa Park Conservancy and have found that our project fits in wonderfully with their identified values for project evaluation. Their new CEO and executive director, Thomas Herrera-Mishler, is very interested in pursuing the project. We look forward to working with their organization as we move forward on a streetcar that seeks to reconnect downtown, uptown, and Balboa Park.
In 1915, the C1 took thousands of San Diegans from the Santa Fe Depot to Balboa Park. Is there a timetable for when this route might be reintroduced?
This is my dream route! There are a number of ideas to connect downtown and uptown, which provides the historic connection to Balboa Park on the west side.
According to the Uptown Community Plan, the goal is to establish a streetcar that connects uptown and downtown by 2020. However, SANDAG has recently pushed back this date some in the 2050 Regional Transit Plan. Our efforts will be centered on rallying the supportive stakeholders in downtown, uptown, and Balboa Park to unite around the vision of streetcar that travels up and down 4th and 5th Avenue, with an optional expansion to Little Italy, East Village, or North Park.
What is the reaction of city officials? Will they be supportive?
I think a lot of this depends on the communities and if they want to see our historic streetcars back on our streets.
We've found that all communities and city officials have been, and continue to be, very supportive of the Class 1 streetcar concept. However, it seems like they will look for the initial seed money to come from somewhere outside the City's current funding structure. We hope to develop some funding solutions over the coming months.
What do you feel are the most appealing characteristics of the C1 streetcar that could help enhance community support?
Different stakeholders will find different characteristics to be the most appealing. Some will be drawn to the important historic connection to Balboa Park and San Diego at large, some will be drawn to the Class 1's ability to provide practical transportation between the uptown and downtown communities, some will be drawn to the development of new heritage tourist attraction on the same value of San Francisco's cable cars, while others will see these streetcars as a potent generator of economic development and property value appreciator.
These cars will also provide clean, green transportation, bring parking relief, reduce congestion, and revitalize commercial districts.
A project like this requires long-term planning, funding, and infrastructure development. Based on the published 2014 Little Italy Community Plan, when might we see the first C1 streetcar rolling up India Street?
As of right now, we are pursuing all potentially viable routes. The key to returning the Class 1 streetcars to the rails in San Diego will be to identify the right combination of interests that will propel the project forward. The Little Italy project is still in the conceptual stages, but the city is aware of the project and supportive of the concept.
In our most current efforts, we are appealing to stakeholders in downtown, uptown, and Balboa Park to return to a historic streetcar connection that serves all three areas. We have found significant community support for this alignment thus far as well.
The Little Italy plan outlines some of the major costs for restoration, fabrication, infrastructure and implementation. Is there a current projection for the total cost of the project? And what funding sources might be available in addition to federal and state grants?
The capital costs of any streetcar will largely be determined by the conditions of restoration (the need to move utilities, alignment specifics, vehicle type, etc). However, we can say that using the Class 1 streetcars would be considerably less expensive than using modern vehicles. The Class 1s can be restored and have replicas built at a fraction of the cost, and they can potentially reuse the existing historic rail that was paved over when the streetcar lines were shut down in the late 1940s.We also plan to complete the restoration using lithium battery technology that would largely eliminate the need for overhead catenary wires. Once these streetcars are returned to the rail and designated as National Historic Landmarks, they may also qualify for specific historic preservation funding that other transportation modes would never be able to access.
Would the historic streetcars be operated by MTS or by some non-profit agency?
The Class 1 streetcars are ideal candidates to serve in modern public mass transportation and will meet every safety requirement, including modern ADA accessibility standards. These vehicles need to utilize our infrastructure downtown, which is operated by MTS. MTS also manages the existing transit maintenance and repair facilities, as well as the space to store the historic streetcars when not in service. It could technically be done through a non-profit agency as well, but we think it would be much more efficient if MTS were the operator.
What is your best hope for the project at this time?
I would like to see SANDAG modify their 2050 plan to provide the financing to reintroduce the historic streetcars connecting downtown, uptown, and Balboa Park as a top priority.
How can local residents and preservationists help support the project?
Call and write to your local representatives to express your support for the return of the Class 1 streetcars as soon as possible. Make public comment at relevant local planning meetings. Recruit your friends and family to do the same. We would also appreciate the support of local donors and philanthropists. Visit www.sandiegohistoricstreetcars.org for more information.
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