A ‘trolley’ good time!
B’klyn transit renaissance on track
Brooklyn isn’t getting the Dodgers back, but the famous streetcars that helped give the team its name are making a borough comeback of sorts.
Officials are rolling out free trolley service on Saturdays this holiday season through the heart of Downtown Brooklyn, and they say that if the now gas powered streetcars are well received, it could pave the way to a fulltime return.
“With the creation of Barclays Center and Brooklyn Bridge Park, we need to think creatively of ways to move people between these two major attractions, since no such transit options exist,” said Tucker Reed, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, which is bringing back the trolleys.
“And along the way, riders would get easier access to so many of Downtown’s many other attractions.”
There will be a downscaled route for the pilot program, which begins tomorrow and runs each Saturday through Dec. 22.
The looping, milelong route starts at Boerum Place and runs east along Livingston Street, then down Flatbush Avenue, passing the Barclays Center arena.
It then loops north, briefly weaving through Fort Greene and passing by the Brooklyn Academy of Music district.
The route then heads back downtown, west along Fulton Street to Joralemon Street and south on Court Street before ending back at Boerum Place, passing the Fulton Mall, Borough Hall, Junior’s Restaurant and other attractions.
Reed said the free trolleys would include a tour guide to point out historic locations along the way.
Between 1888 and 1940, Brooklynites got around via first horsedrawn and then electric trolleys that ran on tracks in the street — so much so that the Dodgers’ name was based on local residents skillfully “dodging” trolleys while crossing bustling streets.
For two decades, the city has toyed with the idea of creating a lightrail or trolley line to connect transit-starved Red Hook to Downtown Brooklyn, but the plan has remained in limbo despite various studies.