City Moves to Kill Unused Rail Franchises
Tacoma prepares to revoke streetcar franchise rights that have sat dormant for two decades.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The franchise rights of the T. R. P. company on several Tacoma streets expire next Monday. The city intends to initiate proceedings to annul these rights, as the original 20-year term for laying tracks has passed without development. Assistant City Attorney Baker is drafting an ordinance to invalidate the claims. Streets affected include portions of South Twenty-sixth, East F, and South Thirty-sixth. The Central Improvement Club has formally urged the city to clear these unused franchises from the books.
“The old ordinance is a jumble of inconsistencies.”
The struggle over public rights-of-way and the 'use it or lose it' nature of transit franchises continues to be a point of contention in modern urban planning and development in Tacoma.
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