I’m telling you, Savannah is full of surprises.  Just when I think I’ve seen everything this not-so-big city has to offer, something unexpected arises.  Which is precisely what happened yesterday when, as I busily typed away at my eco-geek dayjob, an email came across my screen from the Savannah Chamber and CVB with talk of a fully restored, green-powered 1930’s era streetcar in operation.  Do my eyes deceive me or are we getting freakishly progressive around here?

Yes, it’s true.  Savannah is unveiling North America’s first hybrid streetcar in celebration of Local Climate Action Week, which begins on December 8th and runs through the 12th.  Climate Action Week is sponsored nationwide by ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) and Climate Communities, a national coalition of cities and counties that is educating federal policymakers about the essential role of local governments in addressing climate change and promoting a strong local-federal partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Climate Communities coalition and ICLEI are working with local governments across America to release a blueprint to the next President and 111th Congress that calls for greater federal support for local government action on climate change.  To ensure that incoming federal decision-makers understand the importance of this blueprint, local government leaders across the nation will hold local media events to showcase local government successes and call for action during national Local Climate Action Week.

The streetcar’s debut takes place on Tuesday, December 9th during Savannah’s Climate Action Parade down River Street, where Mayor Otis Johnson, City aldermen and other civic leaders will showcase Savannah’s growing fleet of alternative-fuel vehicles and highlight the City’s commitment to alternative transportation.

The rail-bound streetcar will be fueled with B20 biodiesel, produced locally in part using grease collected from the very restaurants the streetcar will pass every day (you want some fries with that?). The parade will also include other hybrid and biodiesel vehicles, as well as City bicycles and electric scooters, that are all part of the City Government’s expanding alternative-fuel fleet.

“The streetcar is the culminative of a deeper discussion that’s been ongoing about how we’re going to move people around (particularly downtown) in the future,” explains Sean Brandon, director of mobility and parking with the City of Savannah.  “With the streets and lanes largely fixed we are now looking to other modes of transportation besides the car.  The streetcar will become a part of the DOT system integrating it with the water ferry and the downtown buses.  We hope this can become a method in other parts of the city to deal with future congestion”

For me, this is a particularly thrilling occasion because not only does it mark an historic, forward-thinking commitment on the part of the City, but it does so by taking us full-circle back to our roots.  The streetcar was once common in our community and an integral means of transportation.

According to Chatham Area Transit:

In 1890, the first electric streetcar ran across the rails of the Savannah Street Railway. These streetcars were the marvel of the dawning electric age and this form of transportation enabled Savannah to truly begin the extension of the city limits.

The electric streetcars continued to flourish through the 1920’s and 1930’s but were eventually overtaken by buses going into the 1940’s. In January 1946, the Savannah Electric and Power Company sold its holdings to the Savannah Transit Company. On August 26, 1946, the last streetcar operated in Savannah.

For more information on the parade, Climate Action Week, or the City’s commitment to alternative transportation, you can contact the Public Information Office at 912.651.6410.

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