Streetcars, light rail, and electric trolley buses were the preferred modes of transit cited by attendees of a June 29 open house designed to solicit public comment about alternative transportation possibilities for the downtown Spokane area.

The open house was the first of possibly three that a joint effort by the city of Spokane and the Spokane Transit Authority, called the Downtown Transit Alternatives Analysis project, plans to hold before coming up with a strategy for improving transit downtown, says STA spokeswoman Molly Meyers.

Public comment is needed to determine the most-desired routes and most-preferred mode of transit for a new service that will be designed to accommodate "casual, noncommute travel" around the downtown area, the project Web site says.

About 85 people attended the first open house. STA compiled their comments, preferences, and concerns into a report. Among the comments: the downtown core and the University District were seen as areas to which it's most important to connect, and streetcars, light rail transit, and electric trolley buses were the preferred modes of transit for the project.

Meyers says that after the open houses, along with "various formal and informal conversations," the city and the STA will create a formal proposal to submit to seek federal money to implement new service.

STA awarded the Spokane office of Denver-based CH2MHill Inc. a $367,500 contract in March to study downtown corridors for possible future investment in public transit. The study is funded by federal and state appropriations.

The project timeline calls for a final report by next January, and a final strategy for seeking funding options, a determination of environmental classification, and a strategy for implementation by March. Then, the city and STA will decide whether to move into the design phase of a downtown transit project, but Meyers says they have no money to do so as yet.

The next open house date hasn't been set, but likely will be this fall or winter.