On Thursday, August 6, at 7:00 pm, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions 5B, 6A and 6C will co-host a public meeting to receive an update from District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Gabe Klein on progress on the planned H Street-Benning Road streetcar line.  The meeting will be held at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, which is located at 1333 H Street NE.  It is on the X2 bus route.  There is also a free H Street Shuttle that runs from the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metrorail station (Red Line) (it picks up in front of Zengo Restaurant, 781 7th Street NW on, 7th, just south of H Street NW).

Following the first meeting of the H Street-Benning Road Streetcar Alliance in October 2008, the three ANCs sent a letter to DDOT’s Mass Transit Administration director in November 2008 requesting that DDOT participate in a public meeting in the community to discuss the challenges facing the project and answer questions from community members.  The ANCs have been trying since then to schedule the meeting.

ANCs 5B, 6A and 6C and the Atlas Performing Arts Center are partner organizations in the H Street-Benning Road Streetcar Alliance.

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?

An important development for Streetcars in DC that shows the increasing connection between federal and local efforts occurred with the announcement of an “Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities” between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Housing on June 16.

The partnership sets forth 6 ‘livability principles’ to coordinate policy, which speak to the benefits of streetcars:

1. Provide more transportation choices.
Develop safe, reliable and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote public health.

2. Promote equitable, affordable housing.
Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.
 
3. Enhance economic competitiveness.
Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers as well as expanded business access to markets.
 
4. Support existing communities.
Target federal funding toward existing communities – through such strategies as transit-oriented, mixed-use development and land recycling – to increase community revitalization, improve the efficiency of public works investments, and safeguard rural landscapes.
 
5. Coordinate policies and leverage investment.
Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy.
 
6. Value communities and neighborhoods.
Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe and walkable neighborhoods – rural, urban or suburban.