As many of you may have read or heard by now, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a major policy change that will generally make it easier for rail transit projects to qualify for funding under the New Starts Program. The policy change rescinds a Bush Administration policy that restricted New Starts funding to projects that received a cost-effectiveness rating of “Medium” or higher. (The cost-effectiveness rating measures project cost per number of hours saved by riders each day.) Under the new policy, projects receiving an overall rating of “Medium” or higher will be eligible for New Starts funding.

Many congressional leaders and transit advocates hailed the change, saying it will loosen the noose that has choked off federal funding from countless rail transit projects and bring project evaluation in line with statutory framework outlined by Congress. Perhaps no one expressed the joy and relief of transit advocates more succinctly than The Overhead Wire, which featured the great headline “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.” (The Overhead Wire often features fun headlines, including this favorite.)

As an advocate of rail transit and of cities, I share that joy. Though touted by the previous Administration as a way of directing scarce funding to the most worthy projects, the general result, and probably intention, of the policy was to bias the New Starts Program towards less expensive Bus Rapid Transit and commuter rail projects that focused on moving suburban commuters to central cities as opposed to light rail and streetcar projects that improved intra-city mobility. The policy also elevated one evaluation criteria over all other evaluation criteria.

Thus, under the Bush policy a project that scored poorly on cost-effectiveness was dropped, no matter how strong its potential to reduce congestion, cut air pollution or promote economic development. In addition, the Bush policy often forced ill-advised changes to rail transit lines as project backers removed rider amenities or even whole stations to bring down costs or reduce travel times in an effort to garner the all-important “Medium” cost-effectiveness score. As outlined by Yonah Freemark on The Transport Politic, this scenario most commonly played out in medium-density cities, where planners were forced to choose routes less useful to central city neighborhoods in order to speed travel times for suburban commuters. Quoting Freemark:

“The cost-benefit analysis is heavily biased towards the number of annual hours commuters will save by using the new transit system. This means that people who already have longer commutes are seen as more valuable for the FTA than those who choose to live in in-town locations with shorter distances between their residences and workplaces. As a result, transit networks are encouraged to extend out into the suburbs, rather than be densified and reinforced downtown. “

So, sounds like good news for DC Streetcars, right? Though Local coverage of the decision, such as the story in the Washington Post focused on what the policy change will mean for the Purple Line in Maryland and the K Street Busway, concluding that the change is good news for those projects, the short answer is yes. However, the more nuanced answer, as both The Overhead Wire and Freemark outline, is not entirely. Though the policy change removes a major obstacle to receiving federal funding for rail transit project, a bigger obstacle remains in place: money. SAFETEA-LU, the previous surface transportation bill, provided approximately $8 billion for New Starts over five years. However, a study released by Reconnecting America estimates national demand for new rail transit projects at $250 billion. According to that report, even if SAFETEA-LU’s successor doubled New Start funding, that would be just enough money to meet the demand for new rail transit in Maryland, with perhaps a few dollars left over for another state.

Transit advocates and their allies on Capitol Hill are working hard to increase the New Starts pie in the next federal surface transportation bill and this policy change makes DC Streetcars more competitive for federal funding. But given how competitive New Starts remains it is little wonder that many cities are choosing to go it alone.

On a brighter note: unlike other cities, the District of Columbia does not have to grapple with a state DOT: the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is a state DOT, with the power to flex federal highway money to transit. So, keep the pressure on DC elected leaders and officials to make investments in transit improvements that increase mobility and opportunity for District residents.

The District Department of Transportation announced on the agency’s Facebook page yesterday that D.C.’s three streetcars arrived at the Port of Baltimore yesterday.  The’ve posted photos and video of the streetcars being loaded onto trucks for the final journey to Metro’s Greenbelt yard for storage and maintenance until until they can be put to use on D.C.’s streets.

DDOT announced on its Facebook page on Tuesday that the three streetcars owned by the District of Columbia are now en route from the Czech Republic to D.C.  DDOT posted several photos of the streetcars being loaded onto trucks in Ostrava, Czech Republic on November 13th and then being tranferred from the trucks to cargo skids in the Port of Hamburg, Germany, on November 17th for their trans-Atlantic voyage by ship.  According to a source at DDOT, the streetcars are scheduled to arrive at the Port of Baltimore on December 10.  Sometime thereafter they are expected to be on display a location in D.C., perhaps at Union Station.

D.C. streetcar being loaded on truck in Ostrava, Czech Republic, where D.C.’s streetcars were manufactured and stored by Inekon.

D.C. streetcar being loaded on cargo skid at Port of Hamburg, Germany.

Photo credit: Press-Office, City of Munster, Germany, 2001

The City of Munster, Germany started a Bicycle Friendly campaign and created a poster to promote riding bikes and transit instead of cars to reduce congestion, pollution, and generally improve the quality of life in Munster. This image is based on the poster they created.

Please note that this image is primarily to show how much space cars take up compared to other modes, although not pictured here streetcars (or trams as they’re usually called in European cities) are quieter and cleaner than buses.

Think about it… do people need to carry around cars with them just to get around their city?

And what about all the usable land needed to move and park cars? Dr. Donald Shoup of UCLA in his book “The High Cost of Free Parking” points out that most cars are parked at home, work, school, etc. about 85-90% of the day. So planners have to allocate valuable land not only once, but some multiple so people can park their cars in various places around the city as they carry an 8×10 foot box around with them.

About 85% of most U.S. cities is impervious surface (pavement, concrete, etc.), this contributes to stormwater runoff, and non-point pollution of surface waters. How much urban space would be available for parks or buildings if we didn’t need that space for cars?

In a recent meeting with several Sierra Club transit activists, Gabe Klein, new Director of the District Department of Transportation, said that he wants to bring the three streetcars owned by the District government to Washington to show them off even before the streetcar tracks are in place.  He suggested they might put them on display at Union Station where they could be visible to the public as a way to get D.C. residents excited about streetcars before they actually go into service.  D.C.’s streetcars have remained in Ostrava, Czech Republic, were they were manufactured by Inekon Trams Company.

In another development, a Sierra Club volunteer recently found on the Internet and obtained permission for us to post photos of D.C.’s streetcars in the Czech Republic.

Photo of D.C. streetcar in Ostrava, Czech Republic (taken by Michal Rusek, a Czech transit enthusiast, and available on his website).

Photo of D.C. streetcar on a test track in Ostrava, Czech Republic (taken by Michal Rusek and available on his website).

Up until these photos surfaced recently, the only known photo of a D.C. streetcar appeared on DDOT’s website.

DDOT promotional photo of a D.C. streetcar in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

In the process of searching further, the following photo of what appears to be one of D.C.’s streetcars during manufacturing appears on Inekon’s website (although the photo file name indicates this is a Seattle streetcar, the tell-tale D.C. paint scheme seems to indicate otherwise).