Little Rock is a VERY nice place to live. (move, nightclub)

[cdcdguy]

Originally Posted by jenni-b

Someone says something complimentary about Little Rock and there's bchris, right on cue, spewing the same old lies and misinformation. Seriously, honey, it's time to move on.

If you read any post from BChris, you will find it is almost always negative no matter the topic. Can anyone really be that unhappy?

[txdave35]

KARK reported last night that the nationwide crime has gone done except for LR. It has gone up, and I heard we had 4 shootings last night, on top of a bank robbery, and then those horrible mall shootings over the holidays.

[thewizard16]

Originally Posted by txdave35

KARK reported last night that the nationwide crime has gone done except for LR. It has gone up, and I heard we had 4 shootings last night, on top of a bank robbery, and then those horrible mall shootings over the holidays.

That's not true. National crime rates have gone down on average, but LR is in no way unique in staying pretty level. Things have actually been getting better over the past decade in LR compared to how it used to be. Still above national averages of course, and we'd all love it to be better, but I don't feel in danger living here. There was no "horrible mall shootings", a police officer shot at some attempted kidnappers after they tried to hit him with their car, and it's currently under investigation. There were two shootings shortly after the new year and a bank robbery the 3rd, where the robber has been identified. All unfortunate, but nothing new or especially worrisome. Apparently there are more paroled criminals in Little Rock than in years past though, and with a weak national economy/job market that could be concerning. There was an article mentioning that today I believe.

[slcutguy]

I first visited Little Rock in 1993, I thought your downtown was quite run-down and deserted. I was there again last year and was amazed at the changes. Good job of urban renewal. I have a positive opinion of Little Rock and think it is a nice city. I live in Utah.

[annie_himself]

How much is the streetcar used? I was downtown last year but didn't get a chance to ride it.

[AllenKarber]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

How much is the streetcar used? I was downtown last year but didn't get a chance to ride it.

Not much,or so it seems unfortunately.

[thewizard16]

Originally Posted by AllenKarber

Not much,or so it seems unfortunately.

I think the trolley is pretty cool and I enjoy watching it move around downtown, but I have yet to ride it or have talked to any resident that has ridden it. I think it's a mostly touristy thing right now not because it's a bad concept, but simply because it doesn't really go a whole lot of places that residents find useful. There are currently talks about expanding the trolley routes to include more residential and commercial areas of Little Rock and North Little Rock to make it more useful to daily commuters, but I don't know the timeline on any plans to make it more practical for daily use.

[kdb05f]

Originally Posted by thewizard16

I think the trolley is pretty cool and I enjoy watching it move around downtown, but I have yet to ride it or have talked to any resident that has ridden it. I think it's a mostly touristy thing right now not because it's a bad concept, but simply because it doesn't really go a whole lot of places that residents find useful. There are currently talks about expanding the trolley routes to include more residential and commercial areas of Little Rock and North Little Rock to make it more useful to daily commuters, but I don't know the timeline on any plans to make it more practical for daily use.

On nights that there is an event at Verizon arena or the baseball park it gets very busy shuttling people from back and forth across the river. First time I rode it was for a Razorback game and the trollies were packed. It gets ridership during Riverfest too.

[annie_himself]

I didn't know it went across the river. I was really shocked that Little Rock even had a streetcar, we're trying to get a lightrail/streetcar in Baton Rouge. How long has it been in service? Were the tracks already laid from a previous line? Little Rock doesn't have much tourism I know so why doesn't the line serve residential neighborhoods better?

[thewizard16]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

I didn't know it went across the river. I was really shocked that Little Rock even had a streetcar, we're trying to get a lightrail/streetcar in Baton Rouge. How long has it been in service? Were the tracks already laid from a previous line? Little Rock doesn't have much tourism I know so why doesn't the line serve residential neighborhoods better?

The electric streetcar system originally dated back to 1891 in Little Rock and used to be a lot more expansive than it is now, it even went out to the Hillcrest area. They shut it down in the late 1940s and it was resurrected after the initial development of the River Market District in 2004. The tracks are new, the ones from the 40s were removed/covered up/etc. long ago. It serves the Argenta District in North Little Rock and the River Market District in downtown Little Rock pretty well, as well as several of the attractions downtown, but it doesn't hit enough residential or commercial districts yet to be considered a viable mass transit type system by any means, so it's not really comparable to light rail in my mind. For one thing it's too slow and too limited in range to be compared to any sort of light rail, but it also just doesn't go to any employment anchors which really limits how useful it is even to the people living in either of those districts. It could be more useful for daytime uses in the future, but now it's mostly a novelty and is used by visitors, people going between Argenta and River Market in the evenings, and as was previously mentioned, during large events.

Little Rock does more tourism than people realize partially due to it's location and proximity to a lot of outdoor attractions, as well as the number of large concerts and events held in the area. People also come to see things like the Clinton library and the museums/zoo/etc. in Little Rock (I know of groups that visit it for the Military museum alone and then do other things while in town) for purely touristy reasons. It's a pretty cheap destination for most people and it's an easy weekend vacation for people in several states or "nearby" metro areas. I imagine most of the downtown hotels see business travelers more than tourists and I doubt they spend as much time wandering around town or using the trolleys, but I have heard some of them compliment how nice and urban they made the district feel. I guess that's worth something too .