The price of gasoline has become horrendous, and we are held at the mercy of big oil companies that gouge us at every opportunity. I figure any opportunity to save a gallon or two is worth examining.
I was looking online one day at some old pictures of Noble Street when I noticed how busy the street was with people all about. Then I noticed the mode of transportation they had — streetcars.
Down the middle of Noble Street was a streetcar track. People were getting on and off at the intersections. A few automobiles were on the street, but the streetcar stood out in my mind.
In the 1920s, streetcar lines ran for several blocks in Anniston, starting at 6th Street and eventually ending at West End. That area was referred to locally as “the end of the line.”
I wonder if it would be feasible to do away with the park that now hampers Noble Street and run a streetcar line from somewhere on north Noble Street to Oxford and the Quintard Mall area? People could park somewhere in Anniston and have cheap transportation to the mall. The increased traffic on Noble Street might, just might, be an incentive for shopkeepers to re-open some of the buildings on Noble Street.
If Veterans Memorial Parkway is ever completed, less traffic should be expected in downtown Anniston. We should examine every avenue to increase “customer” traffic on Noble Street.
Jerry W. Brown
Anniston
