Martin Austermuhle
One of D.C.’s three new streetcars being built in Oregon.
At some point next fall, you’ll see streetcars rolling up and down H Street NE. They’ll be empty, used for training and testing operators, but still—they’ll be here.
At a press briefing today, D.C. officials expressed confidence that they could meet deadlines to have the 2.2-mile streetcar segment rolling on schedule—late 2013—even if a newly granted historic designation for Spingarn High School does delay the design and construction of a planned streetcar maintenance and training facility on the school’s Benning Road NE campus. Some officials had expressed concern this fall that the car barn delay would push the streetcar into 2014.
According to a presentation by officials from the D.C. Department of Transportation, remaining construction on H Street and Benning Road could start within the next 60 days. Additionally, the three streetcars the city currently owns will be tested on a stretch of track in Anacostia, while three new cars from an Oregon-based streetcar company are expected between August and October 2013. (One is pictured above.) Once all the cars are in D.C., they will be tested along H Street before actually starting to ferry passengers up and down the commercial corridor.
The ambitious schedule is certainly full of moving parts, but the officials sounded confident that they could balance it all. Even if the Spingarn car barn was delayed—they say they are reworking the design to make it look more historic—the officials said that streetcars could run, provided an interim rail yard was found.
“Progress is definitely being made…we’re on target for delivery of the system. While there’s a whole bunch of moving parts that need to be orchestrated, at this time we’re keying in on moving those things forward,” said Nick Nicholson, DDOT’s chief engineer for the streetcars.
And even with the H Street line still in the works, the officials continue to think big, planning for a 22-mile network that could take riders from Anacostia to Takoma and Benning to Georgetown. The city received 20 responses—including from firms hailing from China, France and Australia—to a recent request for information on proposals for a public-private partnership to design, build, finance, and operate the full 22-mile network.
DDOT Director Terry Bellamy even said that high-level discussion have been started with Maryland officials about coordinating streetcar plans with surrounding jurisdictions.
“The District is no longer the District. All of our transportation projects from this point on are going to cross boundaries. We’re talking to Montgomery County, we met with Prince George’s County last week. All of us now realize that whatever we do in our particular communities may have an impact outside those communities. What we’re doing on our side and what they’re doing on their side have to match,” he said, raising the specter of a streetcar line extending into Silver Spring.
Coming back to H Street, though, DDOT officials said that they will also actively engage the public over the year to discuss everything from how cars can safely co-exist with the new streetcars to when beer trucks should make deliveries to bars on the strip so as to not block the streetcars. Bellamy hinted that the learning curve would likely be steep, and that the city would probably have to tow aggressively when cars park on the streetcar tracks. (See Cycletrack, L Street.)
A newly created task force will also start addressing operating hours, fares and payment mechanisms. Additionally, planning will continue on the next streetcar segment in Anacostia, which officials say could promote economic development and attract residents to the area.
Also read Greater Greater Washington’s report from the briefing.
