A desire named streetcar: Couples, tourists and transit planners have it, and they want to translate romantic notions of expansion into reality.
By SHERRI DAY
Published October 15, 2004
TAMPA - Joe and Helen Varsalona have a thing for streetcars.
Theirs is a public transportation love story: Boy meets girl at streetcar stop, falls in love during the ride home and asks her to marry him before heading off to World War II. (Never mind that she initially says no.)
When the young soldier returns the following summer, the two reunite. Hearts aflutter, they ride the streetcar to Ballast Point Park and to the pool at Sulphur Springs. Some days, their date is simply a ride on the streetcar.
"We dated, we rode the streetcar, and somewhere in between, love blossomed," said Mrs. Varsalona, 79, a retired Sears saleswoman who finally said yes in December 1945.
The Varsalonas are among 10 couples wed in the 1940s who will renew their vows Saturday as part of the second anniversary of Tampa's reborn streetcar line.
Last week, the Varsalonas rode Tampa's streetcars for the first time since 1946, when buses replaced the original ones. The couple sat side by side and reminisced about a time when rides cost a nickel.
Back then, people packed the streetcars, squeezing into seats, crowding the aisles and hanging on to hand rails. But during the Varsalonas' ride last week, passengers were sparse. And there were other differences.
In the old cars, "you could raise the windows," said Mrs. Varsalona, who lives in Brandon. "But these have air. Back then, we didn't know what it was."
Still, the magic that brought the couple together was there.
"We miss the streetcar," Joe Varsalona, 82, a retired orthopedic shoe shop owner, said. "When I was growing up, it was the only mode of transportation. They ought to really expand it in more places."
Transportation officials say the Varsalonas are just the kind of riders the TECO Line Streetcar wants to attract: locals exploring Channelside and Ybor City.
So far, tourists continue to make up the majority of streetcar riders, according to Tampa Historic Streetcar Inc., the nonprofit that manages the system.
But even with a turbulent hurricane season, canceled conventions and fewer visitors than expected, the number of streetcar patrons slightly exceeded last year's total.
In Tampa Historic Streetcar's most recent fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, ridership rose to 420,140 rides from 420,023 in the same period a year earlier, spokeswoman Jill Cappadoro said. The streetcars carry about 1,200 people a day and about 3,200 riders on Saturdays. Those numbers would rise considerably if more locals got on board.
To entice them, streetcar planners would like to extend the line from the Southern Transportation Plaza along Franklin Street to Whiting Street in the Fort Brooke parking garage.
"It will make access from the downtown core much, much better," said Michael English, president of Tampa Historic Streetcar. "We know that with a very modest investment we can pretty dramatically increase the use of it by local people."
Ultimately, the decision to extend the line, which English estimates could cost $5-million, is up to city officials. Mayor Pam Iorio has said she would not designate city funds for the project. But transportation officials say the extension could proceed with federal and state money, for which they have applied.
"Everyone is confident that we will be able to secure that funding in fairly short order and be able to make that extension within the next two or three years," said City Council member Shawn E. Harrison, chairman of the council's transportation committee. "That's the great thing about these projects. There is money from the federal government, and we need to be aggressive in trying to get as much of that federal money as we can."
Tampa's revival of its streetcar line mirrors similar moves in cities around the country. From Portland, Ore., to Charlotte, N.C., streetcar installation and expansion booms as local governments look for alternative means of public transportation.
While streetcars often engender goodwill among tourists, they rarely generate income.
Cappadoro said Tampa's streetcar line gets about 25 percent of its operating income from fares. The majority is state and federal funding. The streetcar system also makes money through endowment programs that sell naming rights for cars and station stops, in-car advertising and an assessment for businesses in the district. Individual cars are also available for private rentals for $125 per hour.
Cappadoro said the streetcar is a public service and cautioned against judging it in dollars and cents.
"The streetcar system ought to also be measured by the economic growth that happens as a result of the streetcar line," Cappadoro said. "The TECO Line Streetcar doesn't take all the credit for all the residential growth that's about to happen in Channelside, but we're part of the selling point about why it's an attractive place to live."
Streetcar officials plan to expand Tampa's fleet to nine cars, with the recent purchase of a new $600,000 streetcar. Cappadoro expects builders to finish the new car in January.
In a few weeks, an open-air streetcar with exposed seating - called a Breezer - will also take a test spin along Tampa's tracks while streetcar officials decide if they want to buy one.
Already, the Tampa & Ybor City Street Railway Society is showing off a 1923 Birney streetcar, which reflects more than a decade of restoration efforts. Streetcar buffs found the old streetcar in a Sulphur Springs back yard, where it served as a guest house and potting shed.
The Birney, outfitted with pristine oak floors and mahogany seats, debuts today. Volunteers who rebuilt the Birney will take its inaugural ride.
The railway society says the 1923 streetcar is the only operating one remaining from Tampa's original line. The car cost about $200,000 to restore and will run on special occasions, Jan Smith, president of the Tampa & Ybor City Railway Society, said.
When the Varsalonas saw the Birney last week, their eyes brightened.
"This is the original," Varsalona said, his steps quickening as he approached the car.
His wife saw the car and thought of love.
"That was our main mode of transportation during our courtship," she said. "Who knows, we might have ridden this one."
TECO Streetcar Fest begins tonight with the Birney Restoration Celebration from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. A daylong festival Saturday will have nickel rides; an antique and classic car show, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Southern Transportation Plaza; a farmers market, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Centennial Park; Channel District tour, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Channelside stop; and wedding vow renewals, 1 to 4 p.m., Southern Transportation Plaza. Birney Benefit, $50, includes ride on restored streetcar and reception at Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn, starts at Ybor Station. Call 636-0289 for tickets. Saturday events free and open to public. For general information, call 254-4278.
