A rendering of the proposed car barn at Spingarn High School.

On the heels of a community meeting where a group of Ward 5 residents angrily protested a plan to put a streetcar maintenance and training facility on the grounds of Spingarn High School along Benning Road NE, Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) has asked Mayor Vince Gray to consider alternate sites for the facility.

“[R]esidents of Ward 5 expressed anger and frustration because they perceive that the decision to locate the car barn on the front yard of Spingarn High School was made without sufficient community input, wrote McDuffie. “They are dismayed that a major decision affecting the ward was made without the benefit a Councilmember at the table to represent the community’s interests,” he added, referring to the fact the discussions surrounding the location of the car barn—which will serve the H Street NE line—were made after former Ward 5 councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. had resigned from office.

D.C. officials looked at nine sites for the possible 15,000 square-foot car barn, and say that the location at Spingarn High School is the most cost-effective. Other sites are located too far away from Benning Road, where the streetcar will run, or are located on land not owned by the city. One site in an RFK parking lot would serve well for the car barn, said some Ward 5 resident, but city officials pointed out that it is owned by the federal government and zoned for recreation purposes. Changing that, they say, would add time and expenses to the streetcar project.

A $50 million design-and-build contract has already been given out for the car barn, which would have to be ready in time for a planned 2013 inaugural run of the H Street NE streetcar.

The full letter is below.

car barn