Streetcars Go Green: Building the First LEED-Certified Streetcar System

As part of a special feature on sustainability concepts, this article discusses the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified streetcar system. In May 2006, the city of Tucson, Arizona, agreed to fund a modern streetcar system as part of a Regional Transportation Authority Plan. It became one of 238 pilot projects selected in August 2007 to help create standards for a national certification system for sustainable neighborhood design and development. This is an extension of the LEED program, which has been in place for commercial buildings for more than a decade. The new effort is called LEED-ND (for Neighborhood Development). A description of Tucson’s transportation needs is given, along with a history of modern streetcar development efforts in the city, dating back to 1983. The city is in phase two of a three-phase deployment, with operations anticipated to begin in 2011, with 3.9 miles of track alignment, 19 stations and seven streetcars capable of carrying 130 passengers.