The Return of the Streetcar?

CNN published an article today that posits an interesting question on a subject I've talked about with my parents on occasion:  What if the streetcar returned en masse to the boulevards and backroutes of America's cities? 


When one thinks of early twentieth-century Americana, one is sure to bring the streetcar to his/her foremost thoughts.  Once a dominant feature across cities and suburbs alike throughout North America, streetcars began to suffer a decline as the Great Depression strained urban resources and forced the closure of many of the operating companies for their lines.  The problem was further exaggerated in the 1960s, as the oil and tire companies bought off many of the remaining lines to help sell tires and gasoline to the new public busing lines that would take their place.  Now, however, the idea of reinstalling the old car lines has taken hold amongst business owners and city planners alike in cities like Dallas, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Charlotte, NC.  


On the one hand, proponents of these new lines state that businesses in other cities have benefitted from the presence of streetcar lines.  The creators of Portland's new streetcar line "credit it with $3.5 billion in surrounding development, including shops, restaurants and 10,000 new housing units (Source:  CNN.com)".  Streetcars are also considered to be a "greener" form of transportation than the public buses that were all the rage in the '60s, and today's environmentally-friendly atmosphere creates new marketing opportunities for streetcar expansion. 


However, these opportunities do not come without costs. Critics of the streetcar lines say that buses are faster, more efficient, and can reach more areas of the city than streetcars can, and have the added advantage of being less expensive to maintain.  Buses don't clog city streets as much as streetcars, and ridership projections are expected to be lower on streetcars than for buses. 


So, readers, what do you think?  Will streetcars return to the American landscape, or are they going to be  resigned to the scrap heap and reserved for more wistful longings of "simpler" times and "greener" pastures?