As many of you have not doubt already read and seen, DDOT has put one of the streetcars destined to serve our city on display in the parking lot at 9th & H Streets NW. I went by after work last night and, simply put, it is very cool! If you have not gone by, check it out. The streetcar is on display through Saturday:

Thursday, May 6, 11am – 7pm
Friday, May 7, 11am – 7pm
Saturday, May 8, 11am – 5pm

One good opportunity to see the streetcar will be tomorrow, when Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells hosts a special tour of the streetcar. The Council’s strongest streetcar supporter invites anyone interested to attend any portion of the event.

“Streetcars represent the next generation of public transportation,” stated Wells. “Our Metro system, as wonderful as it is, was designed to move people in and out of the city. Streetcars are about connecting neighborhoods. I’m excited to join neighbors and others to get on board the streetcar and get a feel for what soon will be riding the rails on H Street and Benning Road.”

Agenda:

4:00 pm – The Old Town Trolley will depart Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H Street, NE) for the site of the DDOT streetcar downtown display. The Trolley will make regular shuttle trips between the sites approximately every 30 minutes. The H Street Shuttle will complement the Trolley service when it begins its regular daily service at 5 pm.

5:00 pm – Last Trolley departure from the Atlas before streetcar tour begins.

5:30 pm – Councilmember Wells will lead neighbors and leaders on a special tour of the District’s streetcar on display downtown at City Center DC (Lot B, 9th & H Street, NW).

6:30 pm – Councilmember Wells and neighbors will board the last trolley departing downtown for the return trip to the Atlas and a happy hour celebration at SOVA Espresso & Wine (1359 H Street NE).

7:00 pm – Councilmember Tommy Wells and other invited Councilmembers will address streetcar supporters.

Other modes of transportation to the destinations:
The Downtown Streetcar Exhibit will be located on Lot B of Center City DC. The public entrance is located at 9th and H Street, NW. In addition to the Trolley and H Street Shuttle, the site is easily accessible from the Gallery Place Metro Station on the Green and Yellow lines.

The Atlas Performing Arts Center and SOVA Espresso & Wine are both located on the 1300 block of H Street, NE – 1333 and 1359 H Street NE respectively. Take the X2 east or west bound on H Street. Take the 90 or 92 north or south bound to 8th and H Street, NE – either walk 4 blocks east or transfer to the X2.

For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/cPxWO2

Streetcar supporters in D.C., we need your help now to ensure that the D.C. Council approves funding for streetcars so that the first streetcar line can begin operating by early 2012.

Just last week, the District Department of Transportation publicly unveiled its plan to finish the initial segment of the H Street-Benning Road streetcar line and start streetcar service there by spring 2012. This is excellent news, but it gets even better! Mayor Fenty’s budget includes $63 million for streetcars to make this plan a reality. These funds will pay to connect this streetcar line to the Union Station Metrorail station, install a turnaround at the east end of the line, build a storage and maintenance facility, and purchase six additional streetcar vehicles.

However, the D.C. Council still must approve these funds as part of the budget, and there are many competing demands for funding before the Council so we need your help now! Please contact your D.C. Council members and let them know that you want them to invest in D.C.’s transit future.

This investment in streetcars will provide D.C. residents with an efficient and environmentally friendly transit option that will connect D.C.’s neighborhoods, spur economic development, revitalize our communities, and reduce traffic congestion, noise pollution and air pollution.

Please act now – tell you D.C. Councilmembers that you support streetcars for D.C. and urge them to fully fund streetcars!

In a press release today, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced that the agency will host a DC Streetcar Showcase from Wednesday, May 5 through Saturday, May 8 in Lot B of City Center DC, the site of the old convention center. DDOT will put one of the District’s three streetcars on display on temporary tracks there, and the public will be welcome step aboard for a tour of the inside of the vehicle. The public may access the lot from the intersection of 9th and H Streets, NW, which is just north of the Gallery Place Metro station on the Green and Yellow lines. Admittance to the showcase is free.

In the press release, DDOT Director Gabe Klein is quoted as stating: “We are getting closer and closer to putting streetcars back on the streets of the District, and we know there are a lot of people who are just as excited about their return as we are . . . This will be a great opportunity for them to see a modern streetcar up close, inside and out, and to learn more about how they will operate in the District.”

The press release also states that “Mayor Fenty and city officials are expected to make some significant announcements about the program and other transit services in the District.”

According to the release, the showcase will be open during the following hours:

• Wednesday, May 5, 11am – 7pm
• Thursday, May 6, 11am – 7pm
• Friday, May 7, 11am – 7pm
• Saturday, May 8, 11am – 5pm

At Tuesday’s well-attended community meeting at Wheatley Elementary School, senior District Department of Transportation (DDOT) officials presented their plans for completing the H Street-Benning Road streetcar line and having it operational by spring 2012, which is sooner than projected even just a year to two ago. DDOT Director Gabe Klein opened the meeting by stating that at a similar community meeting in August 2009, DDOT had brought streetcars “out of the closet” and reinvigorated the initiative, and since then the agency has made tremendous progress. He challenged the argument that now is not a good time to invest in streetcars because of the recession and the District’s budget deficit, stating that “this is exactly the time to make this investment,” calling it a “generational investment.” He said that Metro is approaching maximum capacity, and streetcars can help provide additional capacity and connect neighborhoods that aren’t well served by existing Metrorail and Metrobus lines. He added that the Obama Administration strongly supports urban streetcar systems, and by investing now, D.C. will be in a better position to compete for federal funding for the remaining streetcar lines planned as part of the city’s 37-mile streetcar network.

DDOT Associate Director Scott Kubly and Project Manager Zahra Dorriz described plans to connect the streetcar line to Union Station by cutting an opening in the Hopscotch Bridge on H Street and running the streetcar on an existing but closed street under the Amtrak tracks. A 600-foot pedestrian tunnel would connect the streetcar terminus there to the Union Station Metrorail station (a nearly completed tunnel dating back to the 1970s already exists). The latest DDOT plan also calls for constructing an underground streetcar storage and maintenance facility there, which could hold up to nine streetcar vehicles (a total of six streetcar vehicles would be needed to operate the line). On the current eastern terminus of the line, DDOT would construct a temporary turnaround at Benning Road and Oklahoma Avenue NE where the tracks currently end. Kubly stated that DDOT has applied for federal transit funding through the Federal Transit Administration’s Urban Circulator grant program to extend the line to the Benning Road Metrorail station, and DDOT will begin an environmental assessment process for this segment soon.

Klein stated that Mayor Fenty’s budget submission to the D.C. Council proposes $63 million for completion of the streetcar line from the intersection of Benning Road and Oklahoma Avenue to Union Station, and he stated that DDOT will need this funding in order to complete the line by 2012, as planned. The D.C. Council still must approve this funding in the coming weeks.

Councilmember Tommy Wells made introductory remarks singing the praises of streetcar as the “next generation of transit” for D.C. and describing streetcars as a “transformative investment” that will connect our neighborhoods. He noted that although the District’s population has increased in recent years, car ownership in the city has actually declined, and he argued that D.C. needs to invest in transit options like streetcars to make it possible for more people to move into the city and make the lifestyle choice not to own a car.

Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr., in whose ward the meeting took place, remarked that with DDOT’s work on the H Street-Benning Road streetcar line, “we’re moving in a very positive direction.” Thomas also said he was very pleased by the turnout at the meeting. According to sign-in sheets, 139 people were present at the meeting, and one person in attendance counted about 180 people. After the presentations, Kubly fielded a range of questions from audience members for more than 30 minutes. Most people voiced support for streetcars, and only a few individuals raised concerns about using overhead wires to power streetcars.

Greater Greater Washington, The Hill Is Home, The Washington Post, and the Washington Business Journal also covered the meeting.

At its monthly meeting last night, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3C passed a resolution supporting the concept of the District Department of Transportation’s (DDOT) plan for a 37-mile streetcar network, which would connect neighborhoods and provide better transit service to underserved transit corridors. The resolution also called on DDOT to study the feasibility of an additional streetcar line in the Wisconsin Avenue corridor during its next planning phase, as has been advocated by the Wisconsin Avenue Streetcar Coalition. The commission’s vote was 7-0 with two commissioners abstaining.

Leading up to the meeting, ANC 3C also had a resolution on the agenda to oppose the use of overhead wires to power streetcars, but the resolution was pulled from the agenda before the meeting.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 20 at 6:30 pm, at a meeting hosted by Advisory Neighborhood Commissions 5B, 6A and 6C, District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Gabe Klein and Streetcar Project Manager Scott Kubly will appear at a community meeting to update D.C. residents on DDOT’s progress toward bringing streetcars to the District. Councilmembers Harry Thomas, Jr. and Tommy Wells will make introductory remarks. DDOT will provide American Sign Language interpreters.

The meeting will be at Wheatley Elementary School, which is located at 1299 Neal Street NE (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, and the 90/92/93 routes.

Come out and help us demonstrate strong public support for streetcars. To play off a phrase from the movie Field of Dreams, if you come they will build it.

Today’s Washington Post adds two new perspectives to the recently enlivened debate over streetcars and the use of overhead wires to power them in D.C. The first piece from the Arts & Style section is an article by Washington Post Staff Writer Philip Kennicott, which asks “Would streetcars in D.C. spoil the city’s vistas?” He summarizes the anti-overhead wires arguments as resting on “two essential assumptions: that the city is filled with streets that have historically significant and aesthetically impressive views; and that wires and poles would be ugly intrusions on these grand vistas.” He opines that: “The former is questionable, the latter a matter of opinion.”

Kennicott then argues:

“If you listen to preservationists, the most ardent of whom oppose any overhead wires in the city, you might think Washington was loaded with great vistas. And it is, but not the awe-inspiring views they’re thinking about, which turn out to be fairly few and often not that impressive. Even down our wide avenues, sightlines tend to terminate in small monuments that are best seen up close.

The great views down the streets of Washington are just coming into their full glory as the leaves of spring return. These aren’t wide-open vistas with monumental buildings in the far distance; they are tunnel-like views of shaded streets, overarched by majestic elms, oaks and maples. These shady tubes of green, which are rare in newer and suburban neighborhoods, are the truly distinctive beauty of Washington. The only reasonable concern about running overhead wires should be the protection of trees that create these glorious canopies.”

He calls the demands of the “ardent (shall we just say unreasonable?) anti-wire contingent” for streetcars that run completely on underground power “ridiculous” and “not just because it would limit the District’s options, force it to pay more and result in a system that might not function during weather such as we all remember from February. It is ridiculous because it assumes that wires are ugly.”

Kennicott’s argument builds to this powerful conclusion:

“Some wires are [ugly], and one is thankful for the many District neighborhoods where the majority of wires and cables are underground. But wires powering a modern and environmentally friendly streetcar are the opposite of ugly. They are a manifest advertisement to the world that the city is committed to public transportation, limiting its carbon footprint and improving quality of life. The flexibility of a hybrid system means that not only can the occasional monumental views of Washington be preserved wire-free, but that in certain areas the really distinctive views — the urban allees of overarching trees — might be kept wire-free, too. If DDOT is flexible on both counts, the addition of streetcars would be as beautiful as any view of a marble monolith anywhere in the District.”

The second piece — “Why D.C. streetcars are ‘preservationist’” which appears on the Post’s Local Opinions page, was written by Adam Irish, who is described as “a member of the D.C. Preservation League and a volunteer at the D.C. Historic Preservation Office.” He provides a different preservationist perspective from the anti-overhead wire perspective offered by other preservationists in a recent Post article. He writes: “as an active Washington preservationist, I am thrilled that streetcar service could soon be restored to D.C. neighborhoods, and I know many preservationists who share this view.”

Irish argues that streetcars are an important part of D.C.’s history and bringing them back to our streets could actually help promote historic preservation:

“As an important feature of urban life for nearly half of Washington’s history, streetcars shaped the city’s built environment perhaps more than any other technology. They were a transformative force, making once-remote areas such as Mount Pleasant into vibrant urban neighborhoods and shaping the streetscapes from which they have since retreated. New streetcars would not sully the city’s historic character but would affirm its history and aid in the preservation of its historic neighborhoods. By returning the infrastructure many neighborhoods were built to rely on, streetcars could spur revitalization and help neglected areas get back on track. Yes, all reasonable measures should be taken to protect significant views and honor the 1889 law, but streetcars should not be derailed because of a couple of wires.

This kerfuffle is about more than just ugly wires, however. It gets to the heart of an old and familiar conflict over how Washingtonians and Americans at large envision the city. In its coverage, The Post has referred to opponents of wires as “preservationists,” but I think “D.C. monumentalists” better describes their stance. For the monumentalist, Washington, D.C., the city comes second to Washington, D.C., the sanitized and photogenic capital.

The monumentalist vision of Washington has choked nearly all urban life from the Mall and its environs. It has fashioned large sections of our city into pleasing vistas for tourists but has given the rest of us lifeless wastelands (if you’ve ever stepped foot outside at L’Enfant Plaza, you know what I’m talking about).”

He concludes: “It’s high time we stopped sacrificing the vitality of our city for the sake of a grand and sterile capital. It’s a local tradition that has historically failed both our city and capital, and it’s one that I think isn’t worth preserving.”

Greater Greater Washington reported today that the “The H Street-Benning Road streetcar could become a reality as soon as the end of 2012, if the DC Council approves a capital budget reprogramming proposal to fund construction of the line.”

According to the post, the District has identified a total of “$63 million in unused capital funds” from various sources that can be used to fund the completion of the initial segment of the H Street-Benning Road streetcar line from H Street and 1st Street to Benning Road and Oklahoma Avenue (including turnarounds), construction of a maintenance facility and the purchase of six additional streetcars. Under the District Department of Transportation’s (DDOT) plan, the streetcar “line would go under the H Street ‘Hopscotch Bridge’ north of Union Station, where there is an old ground-level passageway” that would connect the streetcar line to the Union Station Metrorail station.

It reports that this reprogramming request was recently circulated to D.C. Council members. This is great news for streetcars, and hopefully the D.C. Council will take steps to swiftly approve the funding, which is necessary to complete most of this first streetcar line in D.C. DDOT also has applied for federal funding to extend the line from the intersection of Benning Road and Oklahoma Avenue to the Benning Road Metrorail station on the Blue Line, which would increase the streetcar line’s utility by linking it to a second Metrorail station.

The Washington Post published an editorial today calling on the D.C. government and opponents of overhead streetcar wires to reach a “reasonable compromise” so that streetcars can proceed. It goes on to state that: “A good place to start is with the reasonable suggestion by Gabe Klein, the city’s transportation chief, to use a hybrid system that allows overhead wires in some areas but still respects the city’s capital views.” Unfortunately, one of two groups opposing overhead streetcar wires — the Committee of 100 on the Federal City — has demonstrated that it is unwilling to compromise. It passed a resolution in late 2009 calling on the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to conduct multiple studies while indicating that the group will oppose overhead wires regardless of what those studies might find. The Capitol Hill Restoration Society, the other organization that has raised concerns about overhead streetcar wires, also passed a resolution around the same time calling on DDOT to study alternative power sources.

The D.C. Council will likely have to intervene in the months ahead to ensure that D.C. law supports the type of “reasonable compromise” DDOT is proposing — and the Washington Post now publicly supports — so that streetcars can proceed. The Post editorial supports Councilmember Tommy Wells’ contention that “the degradation to the environment is worse from cars on the road than from some unobtrusive overhead wires” and one can only hope that his colleagues on the Council will view the issue the same way and permit streetcars to move forward without further delay.

DC Surface Transit (DCST) announced yesterday that it will hold a seminar on streetcar propulsion technology on Thursday, May 6 from 5:00-7:00 pm at the Renaissance Hotel, 999 9th Street, NW. It will address the current legal and environmental framework for modern streetcar systems. The seminar is free and open to the public.

Rich Bradley, President of DCST and Executive Director of the Downtown Business Improvement District, will moderate a panel of transit and urban design experts. Martin Schroeder, Chief Engineer for the American Public Transit Association, will review existing and developing streetcar technologies. Greg Baldwin, a Principal with Zimmer Gunsel Frasca, will present strategies for integrating streetcar infrastructure into urban streetscapes. A question and answer period will follow.