City of Tallahassee Aims for Busier Businesses and Safer Streets
One of the new trolleys stationed before a night service.
Photo courtesy of City of Tallahassee Utility Marketing
By Diamond Hunt-Coleman
Senior Outlook Writer
Pretty soon there will be no reason for Tallahassee residents not to enjoy local businesses. This is all due to the new trolleys that were donated to the city this summer courtesy of the City of West Palm Beach.
On Aug 28, Tallahassee representatives unveiled two of the five trolleys and put them to work. On Fridays and Saturdays residents can take part in this free trolley service between the hours of 6 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. The trolleys will travel along Star Metro`s Rhythm Route and will stop at places such as Madison Social and The Warehouse in College town, Harry’s, 101 and Andrew’s Capital Grille in downtown and Red Eye Coffee, Kool Beanz and Waterworks in Midtown.
“This is the beginning of the renaissance of Tallahassee,” said Sandra Manning, Tallahassee Utility Marketing Administrator
But a good time is not all that residents can expect from this trolley system. By encouraging more people to use this system, the city is promoting a cleaner and safer environment for residents.
In a report released from advocate group Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Florida made 40,677 DUI arrests last year. Of the 40,677 arrests, 26,291 were convicted of driving under the influence. With the implementation of this system, the City of Tallahassee and local business owners are hoping to cut those numbers down tremendously while still boosting the economy.
“I think it’s a great idea. People will have free transportation to our local businesses and being that restaurants serve food and alcohol and people will not have to drive to and from those places I think its great,” said Kai Childree, Shift Manager at 101 Restaurant. “It’s a lot safer and is more convenient for the people in Tallahassee.”
With football season kicking off in the city, residents and visitors alike will have more time to tailgate and enjoy the games and will have to spend less time looking for parking. With trolleys arriving at their stops every 20 minutes, the system is geared at getting more people out of their cars and to their destinations in a timely manner without spoiling their fun due to traffic jams.
“I`m looking forward to the upcoming collegiate and professional football seasons,” said James Scott, a junior computer engineering student at Florida A&M. “When my friends and I go out we want to make sure that everyone is going to have fun. The trolleys will help make sure that our goal is achieved. We can now go to local restaurants and not have to worry about the parking or how we are getting home.”
With two of the trolleys already functioning, Manning is hoping to have maintenance work done to the other three very soon so that the trolleys can begin to have their full effect on the city.
