"Imagine speeding down the street at the amazing speed of ten miles per hour. Gliding up hills effortlessly and traveling in style to all the corners of Spokane Falls for only a nickel."

This is how "rapid transit" was marketed in Spokane in the 1800s. Back then, horses pulled the streetcars along a route that ran from downtown Spokane to an area called Browne's Addition. It didn't take long, though, before Spokane residents became disenchanted with the smell and complications that this form of transportation created on city streets. Right about that time, a new-fangled kind of streetcar came to town called a "Steam Dummie, " powered by steam. Steam Dummies ran a loop from downtown up Grand Boulevard to what would eventually become Manito Park. When electricity became a viable option for powering streetcars, the Steam Dummies were converted to electric power. Electric-powered streetcars took on a new name; they were called "trolleys." As Spokane grew, new trolley routes were added. In 1889, new-home construction in the Ross Park area had grown to the point that a new trolley line was extended northward to serve that "outlying" neighborhood.

Then along came the automobile. After 1912, transit companies started reporting a decline in ridership as automobiles became more and more popular. Gas-powered buses weren't far behind, and it wasn't long before trolley cars just couldn't keep up with the competition. On August 23, 1936, the last of the Spokane trolleys were burned in a bonfire.

It seemed that the days of rail transit were over for Spokane.

Then again, maybe not. Today, the Spokane Regional Transportation Council and Spokane Transit are taking a fresh look at rail transit, and for many of the same reasons it started here in the first place. Even many of the questions to be asked today are the same as those asked more than a century ago. What will it do? How will it be powered? How will it affect the environment? What neighborhoods will it serve? How much will it cost? How fast will it go?

So, what brought on this new examination of rail transit? Ironically, it is the very thing that put rail transit out of business more than 65 years ago--the automobile. As Spokane continues to grow and attract new residents and businesses, an unintended consequence is increased traffic congestion. Solving traffic congestion will take a whole host of measures, and light rail transit may have a role to play.

Over the coming months, our community will be exploring the merits and shortcomings of light rail transit. We need to figure out if light rail is right for Spokane; if we can afford it, and if it can do the job we need it to do. That exploration requires you. We need to hear your thoughts, ideas, concerns and suggestions. We need you to encourage your neighbors, coworkers, friends and family to weigh in as well. This is a decision we all have a stake in. So let's talk about it. Let's talk about light rail in Spokane.

Special thanks to Discovery School in Spokane for their excellent website all about the history of Spokane.