In February 2017, the Southern California Association of Governments awarded to the City of Glendale $200,000 from the Sustainability Planning Grants Program for the Glendale-Burbank Regional Streetcar Feasibility Study. In the interest of a more robust study, the City Council allocated additional funds to the project in the Community Development Department 2017-18 budget.

Re-establishing streetcar service between Glendale and Burbank can provide residents and visitors with an attractive and high-quality alternative to driving alone to shopping, dining, entertainment, employment, regional transportation, and housing. The proposed streetcar would serve residential and commercial neighborhoods between the Larry Zarian Transportation Center, Downtown Glendale, and possibly Downtown Burbank and Hollywood Burbank Airport. One potential alignment that may be included in the study was presented to the Glendale City Council on July 26, 2016 [PDF, see slide 22].

A completed feasibility study will enable Glendale to pursue Measure M and other state and federal funds for implementation, as envisioned in the Greater Downtown Strategic Plan (1996), the Downtown Mobility Study (2007), and the draft South Glendale Community Plan (2017).

On July 25, 2017, the Glendale City Council directed staff to advertise a Request for Proposals for the feasibility study. The study will include analyses of potential alignments, technologies, ridership and cost estimates, engineering challenges, funding opportunities, and traffic and parking impacts; the study will also include an implementation and public outreach plan. Once completed, the study will provide the City Council with the information it needs to make informed decisions about the future of the project. The study may take 12-18 months, following selection and hiring of a project team.