Steveston British Columbia - Richmond's historic tram has stalled again, and it has nothing to do with lack of track.
After spending countless hours debating whether to run the interurban tram #1220 through the streets of Steveston, civic politicians are now caught up in another long debate: where to park it.
Last October city council abandoned plans to relocate interurban tram #1220 to Britannia Heritage Shipyard, over cost and community concerns that a shipyard wasn't the right spot for a historic rail car.
Council opted instead to leave it at its current home in a barn in Steveston Park until a new location could be found.
But at Tuesday's parks, recreation and culture committee meeting, staff recommended moving it to Britannia anyway, at a cost of up to $1.3 million. But few around the table liked the idea.
Coun. Bill McNulty said people visit Britannia for "a maritime experience, not a tram experience."
"The tram does not fit at Britannia," he said, adding, "We tend to put clutter at Britannia and leave it there and nothing gets done."
Coun. Harold Steves was alone in fully supporting a move to Britannia. He argued Britannia has staff to operate a tram exhibit and the location is in keeping with history since there was once a tram station there.
"Whether it runs or not I think it's important to have the tram there."
But Steveston resident Dave Fairweather, who favours leaving the tram where it is, disagreed.
"It's totally incompatible with the role of Britannia Heritage Shipyard," he said. "It's an intrusion that's unwarranted."
Richmond Heritage Commission's Graham Turnbull and Bob Butterworth, a member of the Britannia Heritage Advisory board, agreed Steveston Park is the most logical place - not at a maritime museum.
"We've kicked this thing around until we're almost sick and tired of looking at it. Now you want to put it in a place where it's not even thinkable - in a shipyard," Butterworth said.
"You keep wanting to dump stuff at Britannia. It's not a dump," said Turnbull.
Staff have been asked to deliver a more comprehensive report to the next committee meeting, 26 Jun 2007, outlining the pros and cons of stationing the tram at Britannia, Steveston Park, the lane between the Steveston Hotel and Gulf of Georgia Cannery and Garry Point Park.
Coun. Linda Barnes, parks committee chair, hasn't made up her mind, but said something needs to happen "fairly soon."
"I'm waiting for more information. I'm not convinced the park is a good location because there's so much going in there, but I'm certainly waiting to hear what they have to say."
Last May, the city announced it paid $400,000 to secure the tram from the Steveston Interurban Restoration Society.
The society had been restoring the tram, but since the purchase, no work has been done. The tram still needs another $203,000 worth of restoration work, according to a staff report.
The tram had earlier been a point of contention among Steveston residents, when the city pushed its plan to connect heritage sites with tracks for the tram to run.
But council backpedalled and voted against that decision after hearing from hundreds of residents who didn't want a rail car rumbling through their neighbourhoods.
Top locations for tram:
Author unknown.
