Having recently had the opportunity to ride the Florence
tram (“Tramvia”), I’m happy to report that it appears to be a great
success. It’s modern, clean, frequent,
smooth-riding, and very popular.
Although one line has been operational for a few years, a recent
extension of that line to the other side of town and the inauguration of Line 2
from the main train station to the airport has created a real system. Most of the system is on reserved – but
not grade separated – right-of-way, so there is enough cross traffic to keep
speeds slower than I would like and to generate occasional collisions.
As I have commented before with respect to the Strasbourg
and Luxembourg trams, this mode really seems to work well in medium-sized cities
which can’t justify a full-blown metro but need more than buses. Why can’t we do this in the U.S.?
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