A streetcar is a small train that runs on steel tracks in mixed traffic. They are modern, sleek vehicles that are electrically powered, quiet, and offer a smooth ride for up to 199 passengers on board.

The tracks are placed in a lane of traffic near the curb. At places where the streetcar stops, the curb is bumped out and passengers step directly from the curb onto the streetcar.

Cities around the country are building or planning new streetcar systems to spur and focus development in their urban cores. Portland is the best example of a modern streetcar system, but smaller cities such as Little Rock and Kenosha, Wisconsin have had successes with streetcars as well. After opening and extending their $100 million streetcar line, the city of Portland experienced $2.8 billion dollars of economic development.

Cincinnati hired HDR Consulting to do a detailed economic impact study of Phase 1 of the streetcar system. The results were promising, predicting an investment of $128 million could lead to $1.4 billion in economic activity and thousands of new residents in the urban core.