The Waltham Tourism Council and several city hotels have offered to donate $5,000 to help get the city's trolley up and running to promote historical tourism.
The offer came in a June 4 letter to the mayor from John Peacock, director of the Tourism Council and executive director of the Waltham West Suburban Chamber of Commerce, and Bob Clement, president of the Park Lodge Hotel Group.
"The Tourism Council realizes the benefit of transporting the hundreds of out-of-town visitors to the Main Street/Moody Street area," the letter said. The city purchased the trolley several years ago at the request of Mayor Jeannette McCarthy.
Up until this point, the vehicle has been used mainly for parades and other special events, but McCarthy has sought to use the trolley to shuttle people from the city's burgeoning hotel district to downtown.
In their letter to the mayor, Peacock and Clement support that idea.
The intended route would allow passengers to visit the Waltham Museum, the Charles River Museum of Industry, and three historic mansions while also affording them the many opportunities for dining along Main and Moody streets.
McCarthy asked the City Council to accept the donation and said in a letter to councilors that, along with the check, she would submit a plan on how the trolley would be used.
The request is on the City Council's docket tonight.
City Councilor at large Sarafina "Sally" Collura, a proponent of using the trolley to boost tourism and economic development, said Friday she wanted to see the trolley rolling as soon as possible.
"I really want to see it on the road no later than July 1," Collura said.
Richard Conn can be reached at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.
