Yesterday the Mayor announced that the long awaited DC Streetcar would begin operation next Saturday, February 27. After years of delays, millions in cost overruns, four mayoral administrations, and loss of much public goodwill, the 2-mile long section of track will finally open for passenger service in Northeast DC.
That's all well and good and you can skip to the end of this post for some details of the operation and whatnot. However, I'd be remiss if I didn't address how the Mayor announced the news.
The flyer created to advertise the opening was simple enough. OK, it did feature a mishmash of font styles, font sizes, and incongruent graphical elements. But, the point was made. Be at 13th St and H NE next Saturday morning.
It also made a discombobulated attempt at a clever hashtag, "#Choo/Choo!7" #Choo/Choo!7 is everything. Mostly due to the fact that it can't technically function as a hashtag, I didn't realize it was a play on words until hours after the announcement. Choo Choo = 22 and that shape next to the streetcar is, in fact, the number seven. Choo choo seven. Two two seven. 2/27. February 27. Opening day. OK, finally, it makes sense.
But, 227 also has another meaning for DC. It was the title of one of the great American sitcoms in the 1980s. 227 was a television adaptation of a 1970s play set in Chicago. But the TV version was set at "227 Lexington Place," in Washington DC. The show centered on the everyday life stories of residents in the 227 building, but mostly Marla Gibb's character, Mary Jenkins. You'd probably also recognize Jackée Harry's character Sandra, and Helen Martin as Pearl.
I got nostalgic and started watching 227 episodes last night. An episode from season 3 is apropos to DC's sometimes cruel real estate landscape. "There Goes the Building" (embedded below) touches on the very timely conflicts around tenant-landlord relations, homelessness, rising rents, and displacement of the poor. 227 was a sitcom, but like a lot of the good ones from the 1970s and 80s, it managed to directly confront real life inner city issues in a competent, adult manner. Enjoy.
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As for the streetcar, the initial rides will be free! For how long...? Unknown. I'm guessing for the first year or so. The hours of operation will be 6:00 AM - 12:00 AM on Mon-Thu, 6:00 AM - 2:00 AM on Fridays, 8:00 AM - 2:00 AM on Saturdays and 8:00 AM - 10:00 PM on holidays. Shockingly, there will be no Sunday service at the outset. That's a decision I don't understand at all. Just... why.
The trains will run along H Street NE and Benning Rd NE from Union Station to Oklahoma Ave. It's quite a short route at 8 stops, it runs in mixed traffic, and the route is redundant with the X series buses. All that being said, I'll see you on the 27th! For all the cynicism and nay-saying, I'll be excited to ride and, I don't know, I feel like I'll be riding it more than I anticipated in the past. Of course I'll give a full report and photos from day one.
I'm seriously wondering if the DC Streetcar system will ever open for revenue service. Putting it mildly, the system --and its administering agency, District Department of Transportation-- have been embattled. And despite years, then months, then weeks, then days, of broken deadlines, the streetcar system has no current target opening date and continues to be evaluated and tested. Recently, the agency head left open the slim possibility that streetcars may never run revenue service. This despite the facts that the city has purchased enough cars, trained enough drivers, hired enough support personnel, and laid enough track to operate the first segment.
It's super frustrating -- not just that it hasn't opened, but to me, the whole project seems more and more ill-conceived and managed as each day goes by. Why H Street NE first? Why does the streetcar run in mixed traffic, on this segment specifically? Why the crippling and constant delays? Who actually has the last call regarding safety certification? How did we get this far still feeling like we are at constant peril of landing back square one? These are all questions that a lot of of have had or still have.
All this after such a promising and exciting debut of the idea. The original vision was a citywide network eventually consisting of 37 miles of streetcar tracks touching all eight political wards. The system would have connected Takoma DC to Downtown, Anacostia to Southwest + Northeast, Georgetown to Union Station, and more. Unfortunately, the only built section runs only about 2 miles miles, from a station on H Street NE north of Union Station, to Oklahoma Ave NE. When it does open, it'll serve who exactly? If you're in the city already, the route is more easily traversed by taking the X2 bus -- it covers a lot more ground. And if you're coming in via Metro, the awkard connection at Union Station makes for somewhat of a useful trip extender, but the work it takes to transfer to the streetcar is nearly equivalent to transferring to the X2 bus.
The streetcars themselves were really exciting, too. They're narrower than a Metrobus, a Circulator bus, or a Metrorail car, but have a higher passenger capacity than each. Despite being built by two different manufacturers, the existing trains are all similar as far as how many passengers can ride and will be outfitted with the same interior decor and fare payments systems, etc.
Ultimately DDOT, its agency leader Leif Dormsjo and Mayor Muriel Bowser will make the final call of when (if) the first leg ever opens. I want to see it open, and not just the H Street line. I'd like to see the Anacostia MLK line and extension lines built, and then the K Street east-west line, eventually hooking up with the existing H Street line. Then let's look at best options for north-south lines, more mid-town and uptown lines, and lastly, connections to future MD And VA projects.
This happened last month, but I wanted to make sure I posted it here at some point. This is a very short video of the DC Streetcar being tested on the rails of H Street NE. The District has one of three cars it will use for the inaugural H Street route so far. You can follow the progress of the second car as it makes its way across the country to DC via Twitter hashtag #trackthetrek. The first route will connect Union Station to the corner of Oklahoma Ave and Benning Rd NE. That's only 2.4 miles, but the first wave plan is for a system of 31 miles of track all over the District. We're just getting started! Anyway, here you go. Get excited!
The District's Department of Transportation has submitted a plan to City Council outlining the roll out of the long planned and overdue streetcar system. The all important ETA: spring of 2012. At the outset there will be sections of two separate lines, the H Street NE line and the Anacostia line.
The H Street line will run form a planned maintenance facility at 1st and H, NE to Oklahoma Ave and Benning Rd NE; almost exactly two miles. These cars will serve the H St corridor-Atlas District and Union Station, but will not cross the Anacostia River or connect with the Anacostia streetcar. Both are just portions of what the $200 million will attempt to accomplish; two fully functioning lines linking Union Station and Benning Road Metro station as well as 11th Street Bridge to the Naval Annex on South Capitol Street SE.
The Anacostia line will initially be very short; less than a mile long. It will run from the Anacostia Metro station down Firth Sterling then turn south along South Capitol Street. The southern terminus will be the 2750 South Capitol Street SE.
These two segments will be powered by electrified overhead wires, but additions to the system will be powered by another source; likely to be in-car batteries or an electrically powered underground wire system.
The hours of operation of the streetcars will be 6:00AM-12:00AM on Monday through Thursday, 6:00AM-2:00AM Friday, 8:00AM-2:00AM Saturday and Sunday 8:00AM-10:00PM. The fare has been set at $1.00, identical to Circulator! Free transfers with a SmarTrip card. Pretty amazing.
This is for real! These first two "mini-segments" are all but assured to be completed. Council has set aside the $34 million to kick off construction and was awaiting this report (full PDF) before disbursing the funds to DDOT. As for the rest of the system, including another 40 miles or so of track, touching all wards; there is a plan to assemble the money. The city will re-purpose some existing revenue streams, apply for federal grants and collect revenue from passenger fares.
Wow. This was a shocker. The DC City Council voted yesterday to strip the nearly $50 million slated to fund the first phase build-out and operation of the DC streetcar lines.
Almost immediately after the decision hit the airwaves and websites, a reversal. The funding was restored by 3:00pm after calls to members' offices, a mini-revolt on the web and even intervention of a member of Congress (surprise).
This is the same project that was highly touted this monthas the future of DC transportation. The city trotted out its experts, other DDOT employees, an actual street car, a few Circulator buses, Smartbikes and heaps of pamphlets and display boards. All in an effort to educate residents about the extensive and exciting transit changes just around the corner. Except it was (almost) all a sham.
The initial vote yesterday was odd for several reasons. First, the city had, for years, planned a citywide network of streetcars, running east-west, north-north, touching every ward. Tracks have been laid and cars purchased and delivered. We are 80% there. So much time and money have invested in start up and the future looks bright.
Second, so many businesses have been affected by the streetcar saga, especially along H Street NE, where track-laying has disrupted vehicular and pedestrian traffic on the street for months on end. And the potential payoff of customers delivered by streetcar is a key reason they would have looked forward to completion.
Third, the streetcars were part of the plan to help alleviate crowding on Metro bus and rail. The Circulaotor was partly a success because it wasn't a Metro bus or train. The routes were unconventional, the city didn't have to consider the needs of VA or MD, and changes could be made to meet customer demand (adding a stop, rerouting, etc) quickly. Streetcars were a significant piece to the puzzle of solving Metro overcrowding. Not the only piece, but a significant piece. The only way we'll get around the Metrorail "full-capacity" issue is to add more transit options, i.e. streetcars.
Legislating is a tricky thing. You have to please multiple constituencies and at the same time make financially responsible decisions for the District. Not an easy task. But to temporarily kill a project that was so far along and with so much infrastructure and moving parts already in place was, well, ill advised. I'm personally happy that the funding was restored. And the Council seems to think that they've found the funds to cover the other essentials that apparently took precedent the day before. Here's to riding the rails.
Here's a short CNN piece on the DC streetcar fight. It is brief, but Council member Tommy Wells and others try to explain both the importance of getting streetcars up and running in the District as well as the mostly lame argument of preserving vistas and whatnot. I'm dismayed that we may have to wait additional months to implement the streetcar program because overhead wires aren't aesthetically pleasing enough. I do not buy the theory that they will obstruct views of monuments and memorials. When it comes to getting DC residents around DC, DC should decide.
DDOT is giving us a chance to see the Districts new streetcars up close this week. They've set up shop in the 10th and H parking lot (the future City Center DC) and are showing off the new public transit vehicle as well other successes like Circulator and SmartBike. The mini showcase is happening every day and ends Saturday. 11am-7pm today and Friday and until 5pm on Saturday.
You can board the streetcar and get more information about routes, time lines and infrastructure issues in a tented information room across the lot. Nice work by the city here keeping us informed and laying the groundwork for the needed support in the fight to install some sort of power infrastructure, most likely through overhead wires. Personally, I can't wait! So cool.
