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New Orleans and Memphis have streetcars. That's not the same as light rail. Light rail (like St. Louis' Metro) runs on its own tracks not shared with street traffic, travels at higher speeds, and is designed to move large numbers of people like commuter rail.
New Orleans definitely punches above its weight, but I think St. Louis wins in a lot of categories just because it's so much bigger than the other two. Memphis is the real underdog here. St. Louis' riverfront sucks, though. Memphis wins there.
Architecture: New Orleans
Attractions: New Orleans
Culture: New Orleans
Economy: New Orleans/St Louis
Education: St. Louis/New Orleans
Family: ?
Food: New Orleans
History: New Orleans but all are interesting
Nightlife: New Orleans
Riverfront: IDK, St. Louis?
Scenery: St. Louis
Shopping: Probably a tie
Transit: New Orleans/St. Louis slightly better
Weather: St. Louis
New Orleans and Memphis have streetcars. That's not the same as light rail. Light rail (like St. Louis' Metro) runs on its own tracks not shared with street traffic, travels at higher speeds, and is designed to move large numbers of people like commuter rail.
Light rail in St Louis doesn't interact with the pedestrians at street level like street cars do where you can just hop on and off. The oldest system in the world is in New Orleans despite not having a lot of lines to the suburbs. St Louis lacks this kind of experience.
Light rail in St Louis doesn't interact with the pedestrians at street level like street cars do where you can just hop on and off. The oldest system in the world is in New Orleans despite not having a lot of lines to the suburbs. St Louis lacks this kind of experience.
Not for long, St. Louis is about to break ground on a new streetcar very soon and there is another one in planning.
New Orleans and Memphis have streetcars. That's not the same as light rail. Light rail (like St. Louis' Metro) runs on its own tracks not shared with street traffic, travels at higher speeds, and is designed to move large numbers of people like commuter rail.
New Orleans definitely punches above its weight, but I think St. Louis wins in a lot of categories just because it's so much bigger than the other two. Memphis is the real underdog here. St. Louis' riverfront sucks, though. Memphis wins there.
I was under the impression that anything that wasn't heavy rail, was considered light rail. To be clear, much of New Orleans' streetcars run at grade in the neutral ground (median). 90% of St. Charles line runs on it's own track, the Canal line, and riverfront lines also run on their own tracks. I'd rather New Orleans' setup if I had to take one or the other, but I wish the suburbs had service like in STL.
Architecture - STL
Culture - NO
Education - STL & NO
Food - NO
History - NO
Nightlife - NO
Transit - STL
Weather - MEM
I actually have a lot of love for Memphis.
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