By GARRET JAROS / Lincoln Chronicle
YACHATS – A new tourist-style trolley rolled into town this week after transiting the highways and byways from its custom build site in Wisconsin to its new home on the central Oregon coast.
The eye-catching green-and-white 14-seat hybrid was delivered to Yachats officials under a mantle of gray sky that reflected off its large-paned windows which somehow managed the journey without a single chip from a flying rock.
First out to inspect the trolley, which will remain parked at city hall until an official ribbon-cutting next week, was city manager Bobbi Price who praised its varnished wood-trimmed interior, green-cushioned bench seats and etched clerestory roof reminiscent of streetcars from a bygone era.
Price beamed like a proud parent while showing it off, saying it felt “G-o-o-d” to finally see all the efforts come to fruition.
It was Price, who more than three years ago while working as the Yachats Chamber of Commerce director, developed the idea for the trolley.
“It’s kind of surreal,” Price said. “I’m like wow, it actually happened, from the ups and downs and transitions, the half funding to the surprising full funding, to actually executing – it’s been a wild ride.”
The idea to bring a trolley to town to attract tourists while also meeting a city goal to ease parking and traffic congestion in an environmentally-friendly way was proposed in August 2023 after Price saw a similar trolley in Pacific City.
“I feel optimistic that a trolley would be well received and utilized by both visitors and locals,” Price said at the time. “And I believe destination management is just as important as destination promotion alone.”
The city sent out surveys to locals and visitors to gauge interest. While there were and continue to be detractors who view the trolley as a misuse of funds that will not ease traffic or parking and eventually end up in storage, the majority of feedback was encouraging and supportive.
The trolley was made possible through a patchwork of grants, donations and a commitment by the city council last November to cover what is now an estimated $45,000 in annual operating costs for storage, maintenance, insurance and driver-associated expenses. That’s half of the initial $90,000 estimate the council was given.
First Student bus company will supply the drivers, maintenance and storage.
Funding to purchase the $236,000 trolley, replete with wheelchair hoist and bike rack, came from $100,000 grants from both Travel Oregon and the Oregon Coast Visitors Association, $29,000 from the Yachats Area Chamber of Commerce and $7,000 from the city’s transient lodging taxes.
The trolley is free to riders and will operate seasonally Thursday through Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and for special events. The route will run from Beachside State Park to Cape Perpetua with stops along the way at hotels and in town “safely off U.S. Highway 101,” according to city officials.
Price reiterated the trolley is a key part of the city’s destination management strategy, which along with easing parking and congestion in town, is an attempt to reduce the overall carbon footprint incurred during the peak tourist season. It also aligns with surveys by the Oregon Coast Visitors Association that showed a need for “micro transportation” in tourist-destination coastal communities.
Yachats relies heavily on tourism to provide infrastructure funding via a lodging tax on hotels and vacation rentals as well as a tax on prepared foods and beverages.
The public is invited to climb aboard the trolley for a short ride during a ribbon-cutting ceremony from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20 at Ona Restaurant & Lounge. It will also be open for viewing only from 1-3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21 at Yachats city hall.
“We are thrilled to have this unique public transportation option available for locals and visitors alike,’ Price said. “I personally look forward to riding it down to Cape Perpetua and walking the 804 Trail back.”
- Garret Jaros covers the communities of Yachats, Waldport, south Lincoln County and natural resources issues and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com
This ugly eyesore is Yachats answer to congestion and traffic? Data suggests that 1.8 million vehicles enter the city center (the 25 MPH zone) every year. How many motorists do you think will stop to ride on the trolley?
And where are the seatbelts? If this thing rolls at highway speeds with passengers and no seatbelts, well, the city and its taxpayers will be on the hook for a lot of money. Enjoy!
I’m with Don…
…and that $$$ could have gone toward creating a parking lot to ease the parking issue, especially at the post office. Trolley will have an ongoing expense, while a parking lot would need less maintenance and fewer risks, as you point out, Don.
The plus side, on those certain days…locals can use the trolley their taxes are paying for to get around town, instead of searching for parking spaces to do their errands. Could ease some of that stress.
Another example of reverse psychology~ tell them no, it’s a stupid idea and they’ll be hell-bound to do it anyway. I think it will quietly be sold at a loss when the storage, maintenance, parking and traffic disruptions, and insurance costs far outweigh any supposed increase in tourist dollars. It will be known as [insert irresponsible person(s) name here]’s folly.
Storage! Good point. Where and at what cost. The environment in Yachats will not be kind to this trolley so do hope it was constructed with this in mind. Elsewhys some early maintenance costs. Oh, will this cause traffic backup behind it with the narrow streets in Yachats?
Regarding the comments above, what a bunch of sourpusses! Give the thing a chance.
Thank you, that’s what I thought when reading the spirited comments above. Geresh people lighten up a bit, it’s a tourist bus. And personally now that Rogue brewery abruptly closed, seems like another option for tourist is wise. I’ll take this, try to be positive.
Any one with any common sense can see a rip off, someone is going to make a bunch of $ and it’s not going to be Yachats.
It’s got a nice look to it, especially the interior. Riding on the trolley in and around Yachats will be a treat for visitors and locals who wish to explore our sensory-rich region, especially Cape Perpetua, while leaving the driving to someone else. Maybe let the kids who participate in YYFAP think of a lovable name for it?
Don’t listen to the haters. Trolley is the wave of the future. Green Machine will be the star of the ‘gram.
After reading the comments of those in favour, I suppose there will be a Friends of the Frog organization comprised of business owners and local residents who will step up with their own dollars to support the storage, maintenance, and insurance. At least the businesses who provide the storage, maintenance, and insurance will be happy. Oh, by the way, First Student Bus Company, who will supply the drivers, maintenance and storage (apparently with no contract bid process that I’m aware of) is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio..
First Student may be headquartered elsewhere but it is the dominant transporter of kids in Lincoln County. In 2019 it signed a 10-year contract with the Lincoln County School District. So they’re not some minor player. They serve hundreds of locations throughout the United States. Their parent company, First Group, is headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland.
We stay in the Yachats area two or three times each year and are looking forward to riding it. However, usually we are only there once between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The trolley on tracks in Astoria is always fun, so we expect that this trolley will be popular.
When we drive over to our hotel in Yachats from Eugene, we will be happy to leave our car there and take the trolley to downtown for shopping and dinner.
Cool.
Just what Yachats needs. More tourists to pad the local businesses pockets while the locals pay the freight. It just tells you who is really running this city.
Wake up taxpayers. There are a few business owners pulling the strings on all this. More money is their motto
It should work, in Laguna Beach a busy tourist town, they have used them successfully. Newport should have done this years ago instead of spending $ 600,000 for meters and reducing business income.
How about taking care of the streets and neighborhoods where the sewer and pavement have been “overlooked” for years, first? Ridiculous.
Sounds great but while we go to coast about 6 times a year, we avoid going between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
I love Yachats, visit several times yearly and will ride the trolley. I love the idea and hope it will be a success. My grandfather helped build the Little Log Church and I’m looking forward to seeing the work completed. Seaside has a wonderful trolley and it is well used by visitors and locals.