Results tagged “streetcars”

It's been a while since we've posted such a sweet piece of transit porn; so, streetcar advocates, feel free to keep drooling as you read the rest of this text. To the right (and in more detail here), you'll find DDOT's comprehensive idea for an expanded streetcar network, based on the existing plans for H Street NE and Anacostia.

The District Department of Transportation is bringing its show on the road in the coming month in an effort to do public outreach in all eight wards on the biggest projects in its pipeline, including those streetcars you've been hearing so much about. You may have seen different versions of this list of upcoming public meetings, but below is the revised, and most up-to-date, calendar now available.

Transit nerds rejoice! The District's long-long-long-awaited return to streetcars -- the vehicles for which have lied in a state of chrysalis in the Czech Republic for several years -- has begun to take form, as tracks are beginning to be laid in Southeast D.C. Although the streetcar plans have been kicked around in some shape or form for quite some time, the visible laying of tracks, beams, and the such is certainly the project's most exciting development, as the Post notes. Neighborhood blog Barry Farm (Re)Mixed brings us the visual evidence that, yes, we're well on our way to combining the least annoying parts about Metrorail, taking the bus and walking into one easy to use moving solution.

The District Department of Transportation is moving ahead with the installation of streetcar slabs and tracks along H Street NE, despite the fact that the streetcars themselves still have several planning hurdles to overcome before they'll be cleared to start running. But the laying of tracks will cause two intersections on H Street to be temporarily closed this week.

District Department of Transportation director Gabe Klein is set to meet with the public tonight to provide an update on the epically delayed plans for a streetcar line along H Street NE. The project is the second of two stalled streetcar plans, the other along South Capitol Street in Anacostia. In advance of tonight's big meeting, which is being co-hosted by Advisory Neighborhood Commissions 5B, 6A and 6C, the Washington Business Journal's Jonathon O'Connell provides a preview.

Written by former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent

WTOP's Adam Tuss had two nice little news nuggets today on forward-looking developments in local transportation. The first is that new DDOT chief Gabe Klein confirmed that the Anacostia streetcar line is still a go, and that we should expect "an announcement in the next few weeks" on its progress. That's good news, considering the District bought three streetcars for the project almost four years ago, but have been forced to stash them in the Czech Republic while we waited for tracks to be installed for them here. Eventually, more streetcar lines would be installed across the new 11th Street bridges and along H Street NE.

Washington's lack of a versatile streetcar system has been a long-standing complaint of most D.C. transit-types; DCist itself has been no stranger to vouch in their favor. The reasoning behind the absence of trams has been huffed and puffed in so many different forums, but here's the brass tacks: streetcars normally run on overhead wires, most of D.C. doesn't allow for them, and lifting that ban would require the approval of Congress, which is just not going to happen anytime soon.

Last week, the Washington Business Journal ran a Q & A with Metro Chairman Chris Zimmerman, and while the majority of the interview was "Metro needs more funding" ad infinitum (not that we can argue), this one bit did catch our eye:

Jim Graham's hearing on the Anacostia streetcar project has come and gone - the results? Everything's pretty much the way it was before. Barring any last minute legislative derailments, the Anacostia line should go on as planned. There is, however, a small new can of worms opening. The debate centers around whether or not the line will actually achieve anything other than pushing forward streetcar development to other parts of the city. Some transit types claim that without the Anacostia line, you'll never see a streetcar on H Street NE - without a doubt the place to put a line in the city - and that if this is the cost to get a line there, then so be it. Others say that it's foolish to force a line in Anacostia, when Columbia Pike's streetcar could be just as, if not more successful. Others are simply stuck in between, keeping the faith that either way will lead to more options.

The Examiner yesterday brought us the unfortunate news that Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham is putting a temporary kibosh on the long-planned first phase of DDOT's streetcar plans. The first stage of the plan - noted as "Anacostia Phase 1" on the map to your right - would link Bolling Air Force Base to Anacostia Metro station. The line's a vital part of the District's long-term plans to connect the majority of Southeast to the rest of the city.

We all know the effect that levels of federal funding have on transit around here (and, obviously, around the country). One only has to look to the way that the Federal Transit Administration has handled the development of the proposed Purple and Silver Lines to see it - public services toyed with by the fickle madam that is federal appropriations. Without the cash from the Feds (however small that apportionment may be), not much seems to get done in the world of mass transit - it's sad, but true.

There tends to be a lot of attention given to the state of bicycling to maneuver this city's streets, and rightfully so. But what about those of us who don't have the benefit of a manpowered two-wheeler to ride to work? After all, recent statistics show that 11.8 percent of D.C. walks to work, compared to the 2 percent who pedal.

It might have made us say, "huh?", but Metro produced quite a hubbub with its recent presentation on future solutions to the system's capacity needs - turns out, the transit agency has some pretty major upgrades in mind. David Alpert, curator of the local development blog Greater Greater Washington and a former Google Product Manager, produced a map to display all the changes that WMATA wants to make. We took the chance to grill David on these changes and see what he thinks about the ideas the agency is floating around for the next 20 years.

There have been a lot of interesting, local ideas about the future of public transportation in the D.C. metro area floating around the internet this week, so Transit on Thursday has gathered them all up for your perusal.