Group Wants Electric Streetcar Brought Back to South Bend, Ind.
The proposed RiverRail system, still in its conceptual stage, would include approximately six miles of track running from Notre Dame into downtown South Bend. The tracks would be built on the street to run alongside regular traffic.
May 13, 2021 •
Shutterstock (TNS) Potential new pots of state and federal money for infrastructure projects has prompted a local group to make an attempt to bring back a storied South Bend tradition: electric streetcars.
Streetcars first appeared in South Bend in the 1880s, and reviving that fixture will grow the region s population and economic development, while decreasing its carbon footprint, members of the RiverRail task force say.
SOUTH BEND â Potential new pots of state and federal money for infrastructure projects has prompted a local group to make an attempt to bring back a storied South Bend tradition: electric streetcars.
Streetcars first appeared in South Bend in the 1880s, and reviving that fixture will grow the regionâs population and economic development, while decreasing its carbon footprint, members of the RiverRail task force say.
âIf we really want to rebuild our city, we need to go back in and look at that model and how we can drive that again,â said Jan Cervelli, a founding principal at urban design firm Serra Terra LLC and a professor at Saint Maryâs College.