At a community meeting on Tuesday, April 20 at 6:30 pm, District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Gabe Klein and Streetcar Project Manager Scott Kubly will update D.C. residents on DDOT’s progress toward bringing streetcars to the District. The meeting will be at Wheatley Elementary School, which is located at 1299 Neal Street NE, a short walk north of the H Street-Benning Road streetcar line currently under construction (contrary to the appearance on the Google map, the school is actually located closer to the intersection of Neal Street and Montello Avenue NE rather than Trinidad Avenue). The meeting location is accessible using several Metro bus lines, including the D3/D4, the D8, the X2, the 90/92/93 routes.

Councilmembers Harry Thomas, Jr. and Tommy Wells will make introductory remarks. The meeting will be hosted by Advisory Neighborhood Commissions 5B, 6A and 6C. It is a follow-up to a well-attended August 2009 meeting hosted by the three ANCs in Ward 6 at which DDOT committed to periodically update the community. It was proposed at time that the next meeting should be in Ward 5.

If you would like to help publicize the April 20 streetcar meeting, please print and post a flyer for the meeting at your apartment building, business or other public location.

Speaking before the H Street-Benning Road Streetcar Alliance on Monday night, Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), a leading advocate for the H Street streetcar line, updated members of the community on the streetcar project.  He began his remarks by telling the audience that streetcars are a “transformative investment” for communities and one that he believes will be important for the H Street corridor.  As part of the Great Streets Initiative streetscape project that is underway, the H Street-Benning Road corridor’s streetscape will be completely redesigned and rebuilt, incorporating streetcar tracks, over the next 2-3 years, but the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) must resolve a number of additional issues before the streetcar line can begin operating there.  One of the key issues that remains to be answered by the city is how the streetcars will be powered — by overhead wires, an underground power source or possibly batteries.

Councilmember Wells described his travels in Switzerland where he investigated their transit systems.  He highlighted Basel, Switzerland, an old city dating to Roman times – calling it one of the most beautiful cities he has ever seen — where the city has chosen streetcars (also called trams) over buses, and they power their streetcar network using overhead wires (as do the vast majority of cities with streetcars around the world).  Wells urged those who are skeptical about using overhead wires in D.C. to look at streetcar systems in other cities that use minimal overhead wires.  He allowed that the city government could put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking proposals to power D.C.’s future streetcars without using overhead wires to see what options may exist and how much more they would cost.  However regardless of which of these options is selected, Wells stated unequivocally “I support electrified mass transit” because it is better for the environment than buses and cars. 

The H Street-Benning Road Streetcar Alliance will hold its next meeting on Monday, March 2 at 7:00 pm at the Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H Street NE).

Our special guest will be Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells, a supporter of the H Street-Benning Road streetcar project. Please join us for a dialogue about the streetcar project and what we can do to help move it forward.

An  initial stakeholders meeting of the H Street – Benning Road Streetcar Alliance will be held Wednesday, October 22, at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street, NE, at 7:00 pm. This gathering will help lay the ground work for efforts in the months ahead to build broad support for the H Street streetcar line and ensure that it receives the attention it deserves.

Organizers of this event include ANC 6A, ANC 6C, the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Sierra Club, and the North Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association. This core group is reaching out to area businesses and community groups, encouraging them to attend the meeting on the 22nd and become a part of this effort, as well. Organizations can help in a number of ways including:

• lending their name as a supporter of the H Street-Benning Road N.E. streetcar line;
• working with like-minded organizations in the community;
• engaging your constituents, members or customers in support of this streetcar project;
• educating others in the community about the benefits of streetcars;
• signing on to letters to our elected representatives;
• meeting with D.C. officials; or
• providing a representative to attend periodic coordination meetings;

For more information, contact Jason Broehm at 202-210-9239 or jason_broehm@earthlink.net.

We hope to see you on the 22nd!