The D.C. Council’s Committee on Public Works and Transportation held a hearing today on the recently introduced Transportation Infrastructure Amendment Act of 2010, which would authorize the use of overhead streetcar wires on the H Street-Benning Road streetcar line and establish a process by which the Mayor (through the District Department of Transportation) would create a city-wide plan for the use of overhead wires for other future streetcar lines across the city.

More than 20 public witness showed up to testify.  Witnesses from DC Surface Transit, ANCs 6A and 6C, H Street Main Street, residents and business owners from the H Street corridor, the Sierra Club, Greater Greater Washington.org and others testified in support of the bill, which is a key step in getting streetcars up and running on H Street and Benning Road by spring 2012, as planned.  It is also considered an important step in increasing the competitiveness of the city’s application for federal funding to extend the streetcar line across the Anacostia River to the Benning Road Metrorail station.

Three witnesses from the Committee of 100 on the Federal City and Capitol Hill Restoration Society testified against the legislation as drafted and called for it to be amended to focus narrowly on H Street and Benning Road.  Although they were few in number, Chairman Jim Graham gave them plenty of time to describe their views on overhead wires and their other concerns about streetcars.  George Clark, Chairman of the Committee of 100, strongly hinted that his organization will sue the District to challenge the overhead streetcar wire law if it becomes law.

District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Gabe Klein, who was accompanied by his streetcar point man Scott Kubly, testified after the public witnesses.  Klein testified that Mayor Fenty and DDOT support the bill (with a minor revision to clearly delineate the boundaries of the H Street-Benning Road streetcar line).  In his testimony, Klein described the state of streetcar power technology and how the agency came to the conclusion that a hybrid power system, using overhead wires as the primary power source and onboard batteries as a secondary power source, is the most feasible and cost effective option for D.C.  To emphasize that DDOT is going to great lengths to address critics’ concerns about the aesthetics of overhead wires, Klein held up two pieces of overhead wire: one is the size of the standard wire used by the Portland Streetcar (it appeared to have a diameter comparable to a nickle), and the second – which DDOT plans to use — was about a third of the size of the standard wire, roughly the diameter of a regular sized pen (see inset photo by Brad Green with the regular size wire on the left, the slimmer wire in the middle and a pen on the right for comparison.)

Councilmember Tommy Wells, who drafted the legislation, was an active questioner throughout the hearing and appeared eager to advance the legislation as soon as possible so that the H Street-Benning Road streetcar line, which would serve his Ward 6 (along with Wards 5 and 7), is not delayed further.  Councilmembers Muriel Bowser and Phil Mendelson also attended most of the hearing and directed a number of questions to the public witnesses and Klein.

A reporter from WJLA/News Channel 8 covered the hearing in a segment that aired tonight.

It’s hard not to notice the construction of the new streetcar line on H Street. I remember first seeing the construction signs last fall, and hearing rumors of streetcars. Soon, more and more of my fellow Gallaudet students started taking notice of the change on H Street. I have to admit the idea of streetcars in DC was unexpected and somewhat perplexing. So when I found out there was a community meeting about the streetcar at Wheatley Elementary School in April, I jumped at the chance to attend.

Several other Gallaudet students came with me to the meeting. We learned that there was much more to the streetcar project than we thought, but we also learned that the proposed streetcar system plan included a line on Florida Avenue. That fact alone stirred up our emotions. A public transportation line, and possibly a station, laid down right in Gallaudet University’s front yard? It’s a dream that seemed inconceivable.

Historically, the public transportation options for Gallaudet University have been limited. The nearest Metro stop– the New York Ave Station– is half a mile away, and only a recent addition. The University operates a shuttle bus to and from the Metro. However, this shuttle runs on a limited schedule, and does not give the Gallaudet community easy access to the public transportation system. A streetcar line on Florida Avenue would provide that access.

Gallaudet has been working for some time to reestablish its relationship with its neighbors and surrounding communities. We aim to tear down the fences around our campus, figuratively if not literally. These fences, and the limited transportation options, have kept the 1,500 or so Gallaudet students cooped up on campus away from greater interaction with the hearing community. Gallaudet boasts students from all over the United States, and all over the world. From American Sign Language (ASL) majors to aspiring businesspeople, We are eager to contribute to our surrounding communities. With better access to DC, internships and real-life work opportunities and business, cultural and academic collaborations, will suddenly become more feasible to Gallaudet students. The streetcar would be a huge boost in building a bridge between the Gallaudet University Campus and the rest of DC.

At the community meeting, we realized that there are some issues that have to be sorted out before the project can really take off– overhead wires, the design of stations, and traffic congestion to name a few. While we understand those issues, we are eager to help solve them, and speed up the process of connecting Gallaudet University with DC.

The Committee on Public Works and Transportation (Councilmember Jim Graham, Chairman) has announced that it will hold a hearing on Tuesday, June 22 at 2:00 p.m. on the recently introduced bill to permit overhead wires for streetcars on H Street and Benning Road — the Transportation Infrastructure Amendment Act of 2010. The hearing will be in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building, which is located at 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

According to the hearing announcement, members of the public are invited to testify or submit written comments, which will be made part of the official hearing record. Anyone who wishes to testify should contact Ms. April Hawkins-Mason by email or telephone at (202) 724-8195 and request to be added to the witness list. Individuals will be given three minutes to present oral testimony and should also bring 16 copies of their written testimony to the hearing.

Anyone who is unable to testify at the hearing is encouraged to send a written statement by email or U.S. Mail to Ms. Hawkins-Mason, Committee on Public Works and Transportation, Room 116, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20004, no later than Tuesday, June 22 at 5:00 pm.

It is very important that streetcar supporters sign up to testify at this hearing. You can bet that members of the Committee of 100 and Capitol Hill Restoration Society who oppose overhead streetcar wires will be there to testify against the legislation, and numbers count at a hearing like this.

Earlier today, Councilmember Tommy Wells and all but one of his fellow Council members introduced the Transportation Infrastructure Amendment Act of 2010, a bill that would authorize the use of overhead wires to power streetcars on the H Street-Benning Road streetcar line and establish a process through which the mayor — with Council approval — may allow the use of overhead wires for future streetcar lines. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Public Works and Transportation chaired by Councilmember Jim Graham. The lone holdout was Councilmember Phil Mendelson, who raised concerns about several issues related to streetcars during the Council’s recent consideration of the budget.

The bill would begin by repealing the 1888 and 1889 federal laws that prohibit overhead wires in much of the District of Columbia and re-establishing them as local laws pursuant to D.C.’s Home Rule authority. An article on Greater Greater Washington on Saturday described the legal basis for this action, citing legal memos by the the Office of D.C.’s Attorney General and historic preservation attorney Andrea Ferster for DC Surface Transit.

The bill would permit the use of overhead wires for the H Street-Benning Road streetcar line, which is under construction, but before the District Department of Transportation could use ovehead wires for future streetcar lines, the mayor would first need to submit to the Council a “city-wide plan” for the use of overhead wires “with special attention paid to the view corridors of the federal monumental core.” The Council would need to approve or disapprove the plan within 45 days of submission or the plan would be deemed approved.

The bill also requires the mayor to submit a report to the Council by January 1, 2014 “with public comment included, on the feasibility of converting to non-aerial power where aerial wiring has been installed.”

In a statement on his website, Councilmember Wells commented that “[t]his bill represents our next step in connecting neighborhoods with the next generation of public transportation[.]”