Matt and Tom's Night Prowl Through Our Aromatic County

Today we have a Reader Submission by Tom Becker

Under the harvest moon and through the evening air, we scooted. Four intrepid riders were on the bill, but two turned out to be posers. Questioning our friends' claims to family responsibilities, we set out from College Avenue to the hamlet of Mastersonville just to say we had been there.

Having achieved that lofty goal, we turned south toward Mt Joy for a warm-up and beer at Mick's (formerly known as Carlos 'n Charlies and mournfully deprived of great salsa). We then motored to Washington Boro and back home via Charlestown Road, the perfect strip of road for filming a slasher movie.

Our Night Prowl was not difficult or noteworthy, except for the wonderful smells of farmer's fields, sleepy streams and decaying leaves. It was the first of many tours, we're sure. Pictured is my Ruckus and Matt's C3 parked with a Ducati sport bike in Mt. Joy.

A Folly Named Trolley

There is a debate in Lancaster about whether to bring back streetcars to the downtown. It has become an issue in the the upcoming election. I am for alternative forms of transportation, but I don't think this makes sense. Do I wish they had never gotten rid of the streetcars we had? Sure. You can't buy the kind of authenticity a continuously operating line would have. But to tear up the streets now and put the tracks back would be a tremendous cost, both in money and disruption to traffic, both during construction and on-going.

I understand the reasons why some want streetcars. Lancaster is an old city. It is essentially built-out. The streets, which were established before automobiles existed, are narrow and crowded. Parking is scarce. Areas of shopping, eateries and entertainment are sometimes separated by blocks of houses or offices. It is difficult for individuals to avail themselves of all the attractions downtown on foot. People want transportation that is convenient. How are we to solve this problem? If only there were an example we could look to...

Hey, wait, don't European cities have these exact same problems? How do they deal?

photo by Sweetgrzly and nicked from Google Images