...Consulting company Parsons Brinckerhoff said laying track, installing overhead electrical lines and buying cars would run about $125 million...

...At least 40 other cities are exploring streetcar plans to spur economic development, ease traffic congestion and draw young professionals and empty-nest baby boomers back from the suburbs, according to the Community Streetcar Coalition, which includes city officials, transit authorities and engineers who advocate streetcar construction...

..In the years since then, 115 real-estate projects (PDF) — new construction and renovation — have popped up along the initial loop and its four extensions. Included are more than 10,000 new housing units and 5.4 million square feet of commercial space. Altogether, that represents a $3.5 billion investment — nearly all of it private — spurred by a $103 million capital outlay by the city...

...Ward Three Councilman Jon Grimm said he found the idea of vintage streetcars interesting. “I don’t know cost-wise if it would even be possible. I couldn’t even venture a guess. But if there was a private individual who wanted to champion a project like that, I would entertain it as far as the city was concerned. I would give it all the support I could,” he said...

...Plans for Boise's streetcar are much further along than Bieter's State of the City address indicated. A pair of committees aided by a federal grant for a multi-modal center—a highly designed, off-street bus depot with bathrooms, bike racks and sandwiches—has already completed an initial study, which includes maps and rough costs...

...The Sugar House route stretches for two miles behind dozens of warehouses and tire shops from the Granite Block's south edge around 2200 South to TRAX light rail at 2100 South. The two cities and UTA are splitting the cost of a $300,000 study, and the line ultimately could cost $37 million and serve 2,300 people a day...

...We are absolutely in love with the streetcar. The councilman often says he considers the streetcar the cherry on top of the revitalization effort. The more we've learned about streetcars, the more we realize that this has got to come first...

"There are a number of aspects to consider," said Kenosha Transportation Director Len Brandrup. "One is energy independence. If it’s electric powered, it’s domestic energy. Another is development. The truth is, developers don’t write checks for buses..."

..."The initial prototype route we’re looking at is where there’s housing density, where there’s activity,” Poole said. The prototype route “may very well be in the cultural district where we have 7 million visitors or downtown where we have the convention center."...

...In addition, Gadsden will build some of the streetcar line on its property and be reimbursed for the work, which Dixon said will help sell the streetcar plan to the Federal Transit Administration as a public-private partnership, a key component of getting federal funding for the streetcar...