The real story behind the demise of America’s once-mighty streetcars – Vox

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The real story behind the demise of America’s once-mighty streetcars – Vox

The decline of the streetcar after World War I — when cars began to arrive on city streets — is often cast as a simple choice made by consumers. As a Smithsonian exhibition puts it, "Americans chose another alternative — the automobile. The car became the commuter option of choice for those who could afford it, and more people could do so."

But the reality is more complicated. "People weren't choosing to ride or not ride in some perfect universe — they were making it in a messy, real-world environment," Norton says.

The real problem was that once cars appeared on the road, they could drive on streetcar tracks — and the streetcars could no longer operate efficiently. "Once just 10 percent or so of people were driving, the tracks were so crowded that [the streetcars] weren't making their schedules," Norton says.

March 12, 2021 Morning

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Morning Folks! Yeah, it’s Friday! And I’m getting ready to go up to the Adirondacks, well tomorrow morning for some late winter snow camping. Three weeks to Good Friday ✝️ . That might be my next trip depending on weather, work and everything else. Mostly sunny and 46 degrees 🌻 in Delmar, NY. I have my windows open — it’s a bit chilly still but I like the fresh air and the heat is off. There is a west-northwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around noontime. ☃️

I believe in spring. 🌸 False spring should be hear for at least 8 more hours before winter returns for a few more weeks. That said, the cold of winter can’t resist the increasing sun angle, and while the high on Monday will only be 30, we will have temperatures actually fairly seasonable all next week with most days being in mid-40s or even low 50s. Sure, I’d like another seventy degree day like yesterday, but it will return again soon. We always have some warm days in March and April, although it seems like there is also endless cold in those months too.

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 56 degrees at 1pm. 13 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 10th. West wind 6 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 53 degrees. The record high of 69 was set in 2012. 30.4 inches of snow fell back in 1888.❄

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:06 pm with sun having an altitude of 44.2° from the due south horizon (-26.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 5:21 pm with the sun in the west (260°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (267°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:59 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 6:26 pm, which is one minute and 11 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 7:00 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 51 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 14 mph with gusts up to 24mph. Today will have 11 hours and 46 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a slight chance of showers before 9pm. 🌧 Partly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 25 degrees at 6am. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 14th. Blustery, with a northwest wind 15 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2020, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 40 degrees. The record low of -6 occurred back in 1885.

Today in 1933, was the first of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats. 🎙I heard the current incumbent in the White House sending out $1,400 checks to roughly 85% of households in Albany County. Which fortunately includes mine, which is good because rent is going up and my car insurance bill is due in a few weeks. I am sure rednecks everywhere are thinking, that’s an AR-15. But on the other hand, I’m getting back a good sized refund this year, because I did an IRA, which I am going to invest in bonds mostly likely, because I’m too heavily in the stock market, despite it’s record amount. 📈 It’s good to restore some balance.

Tomorrow will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 41 degrees at 1pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 9th. Northwest wind 11 to 13 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 57 degrees. The record high of 70 was set in 2012. 22 inches of snow fell back in 1993.❄

Looking ahead to Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 43. 🌞 Breezy, with a northwest wind 8 to 13 mph increasing to 18 to 23 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Typical average high for the weekend is 43 degrees. Going be closer to freezing up north, which will be nice for camping and skiing. I don’t know how late I’ll stay up in the afternoon, as if the wind gets whipping around, it could be pretty cold for sure.

🌹🌻🌼Only 8 days remain until the first day of calendar spring!🌹🌻🌼 One week of winter left, and spring starts next Saturday. Although next week should remind us of spring, with the birds, a little warmth, lots of mud and manure smells. 🐮 It seems like we are in a moderating trend, but we can certainly get one more big one. I will just be glad when the snow bank is melted in my turn around spot, so I can park easier.

As previously noted, next Friday is Last Day of Winter 🏂 when the sun will be setting at 7:06 pm with dusk at 7:34 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2020, we had rain and temperatures between 51 and 38 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 46 degrees. We hit a record high of 78 back in 2012.