Eugene’s former streetcar rails were rediscovered by work crews as they prepared Willamette Street for a repaving project.
Eugene’s former streetcar rails were rediscovered by work crews as they prepared Willamette Street for a repaving project.
Whenever the daylight strikes the metal of an old rail, it seems to set rail enthusiasts to dreaming — of the past, when the streetcar shaped development of the Eugene, and of a future when they imagine the clang of a streetcar bell returning to Willamette Street.
The discoveries prompt news stories, public speeches and, sometimes, feasibility studies. In Eugene, the idea never seems to go away, said Tom Schwetz, a planning manager at Lane Transit District.
“I’ve been here for 27 years, and I’ve constantly heard people bemoaning the lack of streetcars,” Schwetz said Wednesday. “(It’s) like, ‘What’s wrong with this community that it doesn’t have a streetcar system?’”
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