Fenton’s Popular Trolley Won’t Be Running This Summer And People Definitely Noticed

If you’ve spent any time in downtown Fenton during the summer over the last few years, chances are you’ve seen the trolley rolling through town packed with people heading to restaurants, bars, parks, and events. Well, this summer, it’s not happening.

Why The Fenton Trolley Is Paused This Summer

WJRT reports that the City of Fenton confirmed the Fenton Trolley system will not operate this season after the city missed a deadline tied to the program’s reactivation. And from the sounds of it, this wasn’t because city leaders suddenly decided they didn’t want the trolley anymore. It appears to have been more of a timing and budgeting problem that snowballed.

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According to Assistant City Manager Michael Ahart, the city starts its budgeting process pretty early each year. The problem was that decisions involving the trolley’s costs and routes were still unresolved while the budget was already moving through approval. So by the time everything should have been finalized, the city had already locked in its budget plans.

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Ahart also explained there were still unanswered questions involving route planning and operating costs, which made things even more complicated during the approval process.

The Trolley Became A Big Part Of Downtown Fenton

The trolley originally launched about four years ago thanks to federal funding as a pilot transportation program. Since then, it’s become a pretty recognizable part of Fenton during the warmer months, especially with the city continuing to expand routes and add additional trolleys over time.

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And honestly, for a lot of people, it became more than just transportation. It turned into one of those small-town features that gave downtown Fenton a unique summer atmosphere.

Will The Fenton Trolley Return In The Future?

The good news is the city says this is considered a pause, not the end of the program entirely. Officials say they are already working on bringing the trolley system back in the future.

Still, if you were hoping to hop on the trolley this summer for a night downtown, you’ll have to make other plans for now.