Steveston British Columbia - Steveston's interurban tram is staying in Steveston Park.
 
Monday's decision by city council comes after years of study to move it elsewhere, namely Britannia Heritage Shipyard, which critics said didn't jibe with a museum of boats.
 
Council also directed staff to find money in the 2009 capital budget to finish the tram's restoration and build a permanent building where it can be displayed.
 
The Steveston Community Society, which previously made it known it wanted the tram out of the park, had a change of heart, according to a 20 May 2008 letter to council.
 
The society's board unanimously accepted "the tram be positioned on the tracks with a station house in Steveston Park north of Rolston Square." (Rolston Square is the corner of the park near No. 1 and Moncton roads - named after founder of community society Pete Rolston, according to Coun. Bill McNulty.)
 
"We envision a fully restored tram in full view of the park, with an accompanying station house modeled after the historic original Steveston tram station," said Jim Kojima, society president.
 
Tram number 1220 is one of the last remaining relics of the interurban rail line - a rapid transit system that met its end over a half-century ago due to a rising interest in automobiles.
 
A small section of the original rail line is still in Steveston Park, where the tram is currently housed in an enclosed barn next to the water park.
 
McNulty said the tram has been there for a dozen years and said the location is still a good spot, but the current structure needs to go.
 
"It needs a barn to work on it. More importantly, while we're working on it, we need to engage the public by maybe having a glass or Plexiglas structure around it, so people can actually see it and view it," he said. "I think that needs to be addressed quite quickly."
 
The last time the tram debate came up at council was July 2007, when Mayor Malcolm Brodie and councillors Linda Barnes and Harold Steves were the only council members present to vote in favour of moving the tram to Britannia at a cost of $1.3 million.
 
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