Good solution, but it needs to be extended more, and sooner. This line is TINY. It should run up to Minnesota Ave Metro.

by SG on Nov 12, 2008 10:57 am • link • report

That's easy enough when you're spending other people's money. The taxpayers should not be forced to fund an entire route when we're not sure how it will operate. Build a small section and see the results. Then go from there.

That's good government. Start TINY, then build up.

by Tim on Nov 12, 2008 11:01 am • link • report

Can someone remind me what's happened to the plans for a streetcar line on H Street, NE? I thought that was moving forward, but I guess I've lost track of it.

by Drew on Nov 12, 2008 11:15 am • link • report

The streetscape redesign will include tracks, or places for tracks, so that they don't have to redo the streetscape again when they put in a line. But that's it, so far.

As commenters discussed earlier, an existing federal law prohibits overhead wires in the L'Enfant City, including H Street. There seem to be no other financially feasible options. Therefore, there are some political (or technical) hurdles to surmount before there can be an H Street streetcar.

by David Alpert on Nov 12, 2008 11:19 am • link • report

I've very happy about this change. As I've posted numerous times the proposed line to Bolling in the past was a poor idea and would have not been a successful showcase for streetcars. There was zero opportunity for economic development on S Capitol Street. The base would have only generated ridership M-F mostly during rush hours. I have heard that Bolling employees don't feel the shuttle bus runs frequently enough... too bad... run the shuttle more often then... building a streetcar is not the appropriate solution to that issue.

I know that BeyondDC and David didn't like Jim Graham's last minute objection to the streetcar route. They just wanted it built. They said "The perfect is the enemy of the good". Well, the Bolling line wasn't even close to being good.

by FourthandEye on Nov 12, 2008 11:20 am • link • report

Is the maintenance facility on the grounds of anacostia Metro station?

Would anyone else prefer them to build the system incrementally with a permanent engineering/construction team as part of the operating budget

Per earlier comments, the Bolling line was a preexisting unused rail siding which created a good opportunity to establish light rail service parallell to the Anacostia river over much of SE DC - it ran all the way down to the NRL & all the way up to Benning Road, already constructed but neglected; This was the synthesis of the alignment. The move onto SC St was a useless compromise between fiscally-concerned voices who had problems with CSX's flawed offer to sell it, political pressure which wanted a streetcar in Anacostia badly, and political pressure which wanted a streetcar anywhere to start the system. Running along a freeway 'made it a streetcar', whereas its mostly grade-separated orientation before did not... and we love streetcars.

I'm glad to see that this semantic leap of faith has been abolished and the streetcar advocates have gone after an actual functional alignment for a streetcar, but the CSX purchase should still go through for light rail - it could easily serve to connect the Blue and Green lines and provide fast grade-separated electric transit for the whole area.

by Squalish on Nov 12, 2008 11:21 am • link • report

This is great news. I cannot wait until the entire streetcar network is restored across the city. Being that this is the capital city of the US, our public transport system should be much more developed and extensive. We need to keep pushing local politicians as well as the newly elected, transit friendly administration to make DC's public transport system one of the best in the country. We are at a stage in this country's history where we need to think big and this includes expanding METRO and building the streetcar network. It will require cars to have to give up lanes and space on the streets, but who cares? The streets weren't built just for cars. They are for buses, streetcars, bikes, and pedestrians as well. The temporary decrease in gas prices should not ba an excuse for people to return to bad habits that are destructive to our city and our environment.

THINK BIG DDOT!! BE BOLD!! PLAN AND BUILD THE ENTIRE NETWORK IN 10 YEARS!! CITIZENS - PUSH FOR MAKING THIS A WORLD CLASS CITY!!

by AF on Nov 12, 2008 11:23 am • link • report

FourthAndEye: I didn't object to Graham's objection. I wanted the route changed to a better route. Once they changed the route, I said we should insist on DDOT answering questions but shouldn't stand in the way of construction.

by David Alpert on Nov 12, 2008 11:23 am • link • report

Squalish: The maintenance facility is not at the Anacostia Metro. It's over on South Capitol, between South Capitol and the 295 freeway and across the street from the naval station. It's the tent in the above map.

Right now, that area is a DPW trash truck storage facility. Here's a picture of the area.

by David Alpert on Nov 12, 2008 11:26 am • link • report

This is good news. It is small, but I think an extension up to Minnesota Ave. is feasible and would be effective so let's hope to see that announced soon after this line is built. And when is this thing going to be built? I'm tired of waiting.

by Vik on Nov 12, 2008 11:53 am • link • report

positive stuff.

by Cavan on Nov 12, 2008 12:06 pm • link • report

Wasn't it Tangerlini that first pushed for the Anacostia location when he was head of DDOT? It made sense because of the political benefit of doing it "east of the river" first, plus the convenience of using the existing CSX line.

Frankly though, as soon as they hit headwinds (i.e., CSX ownership issues, and community opposition to neighorhood line) I think they should've cut bait. We've wasted at least five years on this (remember the ceremonial ground breaking?). I agree these changes are good, and we ought to move forward, but we shouldn't be in the position in the first place. We should have focused on H St. and spent all that time and energy solving the overhead wire problem.

by Reid on Nov 12, 2008 1:06 pm • link • report

This is a good step, but stepwise planning is only good of you know where staircase is going. I hope they establish a master plan with a phased timeline soon. This way, architecture and technological issues can be resolved in time for each phase. That way, the design will look the same, development will happen in anticipation, and coherent and useful routes can open without retrofitting, like adding switches or second tracks.

by The King of Spain on Nov 12, 2008 1:59 pm • link • report

I still don't understand who this line is supposed to serve. It goes from the Anacostia Metro to...where? Is there some built in customer base that I'm not seeing here?

by monkeyrotica on Nov 12, 2008 2:01 pm • link • report

That segment over the bridge doesn't seem to provide any short term value to ridership. But I'm imagining since they will be working on the bridge anyway they mind as well integrate the streetcar at the same time.

by FourthandEye on Nov 12, 2008 2:16 pm • link • report

Yeah, I don't see that bridge segment happening until they (for better or for worse) redo the 11th St Bridges. When that happens, it would make sense to extend the line to either the Eastern Market Metro or Potomac Ave.

by Alex B. on Nov 12, 2008 2:19 pm • link • report

monkeyerotica,

the line with serve everyone coming in and out of historic Anacostia, going to and from the Metro. me included. there is a ton of commercial and residential development planned immediately along this segment .. hopefully would deliver around the same time.

by DG-rad on Nov 12, 2008 2:26 pm • link • report

dg-rad: the name is monkeyrotica...you have an extra 'e' in there.

politics and other flim-flam aside, the h street route makes the most sense for the city, and the fact that it isn't being done shows how short-sighted we're being planning-wise right now...

by IMGoph on Nov 12, 2008 4:38 pm • link • report

FourthAndEye, Alex B: Correct, they're going to include tracks in the 11th Street Bridge design. Of course, no service would run over those tracks until they also built some on the Capitol Hill side for the streetcars to travel on once they crossed the river.

by David Alpert on Nov 12, 2008 4:40 pm • link • report

My concern with the H Street line is that it would weaken the case for a separated blue line tunnel up H-Street (and thence up M St NW to Georgetown). That's drastically more expensive and harder to achieve but I think a metro line would do a lot more for the area, and the presence of a DC streetcar line over half of the prospective route might be enough to scuttle the project. (And with a transit-minded president just elected and a need for infrastructure spending,now might be the time to have your plans ready.)

by Steve on Nov 12, 2008 5:22 pm • link • report

Steve, in my opinion the argument for a separated Blue line begins and ends with the Rosslyn Tunnel. That tunnel simply cannot handle the increase of traffic that the Silver Line will necessitate. The Blue Line would not be built for the purposes of creating Georgetown or H St. stations; they are merely appealing byproducts of solving the Rosslyn Tunnel problem.

by Reid on Nov 12, 2008 5:56 pm • link • report

What population in Anacostia is expected to use this streetcar?

by carolyn on Nov 12, 2008 6:33 pm • link • report

@Steve: A separated blue line that goes down H Street NE would be great but don't expect to see that until after 2030. H Street shouldn't have to wait that long for a transit upgrade, especially considering bus line analysis Michael P did that shows the X2 is the best candidate for a streetcar.

Presently metro stations, just the station not the rail line, cost about 150 million. By the time the separated blue line gets discussed further that number will only be much higher. Having a light rail line on H Street NE will minimize the number of metro stations that would be needed on that corridor - so that is a positive.

by FourthandEye on Nov 12, 2008 7:43 pm • link • report

As much as I would LOVE an easy way to get from Historic Anacostia to the metro, I too would like some hard core data on the on who will benefit from the streetcars. What are the hours of operation and how this will generate more foot traffic from outsiders (lets be real- ppl with money). I know Anacostia is great but I cannot make a strong case to the outsiders because we have no major attractions (restaurants, retail tourism). I don't like this rush to force big development on our community without asking people what they really need (a health food store maybe) Anacosita will evolve and the services that we really need should be at the forefront. Let H street be the guinea pigs then export the idea to Anacostia.

by Anacostia Dweller on Nov 12, 2008 7:59 pm • link • report

I'm going to be in Seattle tomorrow and I have some dead time in the afternoon so I've decided to use it to check out the South Lake Streetcar.

http://www.seattlestreetcar.org/

Will take lots of pictures with special attention to the wires and infrastructure. If anyone has any suggestions for other things I should evaluate - let me know...

by FourthandEye on Nov 12, 2008 7:59 pm • link • report

It is really interesting to have been involved with an issue from the very beginning and see how badly things turn how and the kind of absolutely untrue things that get said. Reid is pretty close to the truth. Let's back up.

Blue Plains decided to change it's water treatment system after 9/11. "Over the eight weeks following 9/11, a three-year, $20 million plan was put into place to rid the plant of liquid chlorine and sulfur dioxide, obviating the need for tanker cars full of toxic chemicals in such close proximity to elected officials."

Without Blue Plains there were no longer any customers on the Shepherd Industrial Track and so CSX quit running trains.

This is when I got involved. "Wouldn't it make a great bike trail?" I asked. "Yes, but it will make a better light rail line. We'll put a trail next to it." All seemed good. The light rail made sense because the ROW was there and it would be the path of least resistance.

Here's where things get iffy. Depending on who you talk to either CSX wanted too much money or they didn't really own the land - only easements.

"The District had tentatively agreed to pay $16 million for the land, but when DDOT read the fine print, it rejected the deal. “Everything hadn’t been made clear to us,” says Tangherlini, adding that CSX had led the city to believe it owned the land the track sits on, when all it had were easements, which would have required the city to wage condemnation battles."

Before John Deitrick left he told me they were hiring lawyers to arrange a "forced abandonment" of the rail bed. But clearly that didn't work

Now instead of saying, "we can't get this great route for cheap, so let's start over" DDOT decided to move it to parallel streets. The ROW was a great opportunity, but what a coincidence that the best on-street route in the city was next to the only continuous piece of unused rail. Part of the problem was that DDOT had promised a light rail to Anacostia and it looked good that they would be first, not last as usual. But it was really a backward way to develop a transit system.

If David Catania had anything to do with the line going into Anacostia, this would be the first I've ever heard of it.

by Washcycle on Nov 12, 2008 8:40 pm • link • report

1. Reid is right about the infeasibility of building the Silver Line as is with the Rosslyn tunnel bottleneck. However, I won't hold my breath for the construction of a new Blue Line. I plan to blog about my unsurpassable light rail alternative plan. ;-)

2. Anacostia LRT is now a crock, as it is not part of a greater plan. See my blog at http://chuckdcoleman.blogspot.com/2008/11/anacostia-light-rail-solution-in-search.html for a fuller explanation. I give an explanation of the original intent of the Anacostia LRT.

3. DDOT is going to have the last of three public hearings about the 2010-15 Transportation Improvement Plan to solicit public comments and suggests on November 19. See http://newsroom.dc.gov/show.aspx/agency/ddot/section/20/release/15284/year/2008

by Chuck Coleman on Nov 12, 2008 9:10 pm • link • report

FourthandEye: Desired photos:

overhead wires

overhead wires at any sort of junction where the line splits or joins

how are the wires supported?

how are the wires powered?

railcar exterior, front

railcar exterior, doors

railcar interior

fare machines

waiting area

any sort of photos that show the relation of tracks to the sidewalk and on-street parking, if any

photos that show the relationship of the transit vehicle to the surrounding traffic

any photos that show transit-specific signaling or signage

station signage or maps

bicycle accomodations, on-vehicle bike racks, at-station bike racks

handicapped accomodations, ramps, elevated platforms, high curb boarding

curb extensions or bus nubs for ease of boarding?

Thanks a bunch!

by Michael P on Nov 12, 2008 9:21 pm • link • report

Why are they proposing a street car to run along the same route as a metro line? The green line already runs b/w south capitol street maintenance facility (i.e. Navy Yard) to Anacostia.

by anderlank on Nov 13, 2008 12:06 pm • link • report

Michael P,

You can also check out the photo archive at nycsubway.org. It's extensive.

http://world.nycsubway.org/

They don't have any Seattle images up yet for their new streetcar, but they do have ones of Portland's streetcar.

by Alex B. on Nov 13, 2008 12:25 pm • link • report

I didn't get to taking the Seattle streetcar or photographing it really (I got a couple not very good photos from a car). But the reality is that it's not any different from Portland, and the voluminous portfolio of photos from there are more than adequate... unless the SLUT has enhanced information systems for communicating arrival-wait times. That I should have checked out.

www.portlandground.com has great Portland photos, including the streetcar and other forms of transit there.

by Richard Layman on Nov 13, 2008 2:10 pm • link • report

anderlank: the proposed South Capitol St maintenance yard is not anywhere near the Navy Yard...it's across South Capitol from the Anacosta Navy annex (i.e. between South Capitol and I-295).

by Froggie on Nov 13, 2008 9:14 pm • link • report

There is plenty of development coming to Anacostia. Some of these projects are already in the works or in progress. The city is expanding eastward, because that's where the potential (housing/land) for development is.

by anacostiaque on Nov 14, 2008 3:16 pm • link • report

I'm back from Seattle. Here's my flickr set for the South Lake Union Streetcar

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29191607@N04/sets/72157609210787372/

I will be writing a guest post here on GGW later in the week recapping the experience from the neighborhood, route, stations and the streetcars.

by FourthandEye on Nov 17, 2008 5:53 pm • link • report

Very Small Challenge for Pres. Obama

Supporting and getting a bill through Congress to allow aesthetically suspended simple single overhead wire to power street railway systems within all of D.C.

One way to build support for an aesthetically suspended simple single overhead wire would be to use that type of overhead on the new Anacostia line. Use Canal Street in New Orleans as an example. However, the consultants will probably design the Anacostia line with massive I-Beams and overhead designed to exceed the standards for the Acela.

That being the case, the massive eyesore will destroy all public support for streetcar. These days, consultants rarely draw on history and are basically ignorant about hanging streetcar wire in an aesthetic and pleasing manner.

Obama may be able to resolve middle east disputes, but getting streetcar wire into D.C. will be more than a challenge ... probably impossible.

by George Barsky on Jan 21, 2009 3:40 pm • link • report

I'm new to this site, but highly interested in having light rail in DC. From the comments on the site, I gather the H St. project is dead. What about Anacostia? Is it happening or not? Thanks.

by aguy7 on Feb 5, 2009 4:05 pm • link • report

Hi aguy7,

I don't think the H Street streetcar is "dead", per se, but it is delayed for at least 4 years. The main issue is how to power the streetcars given the federal law restricting overhead wires in L'Enfant city. For this reason, the Anacostia rail line is still moving forward, but that too will take a few years to come to fruitition. They have basically agreed on the route, and have 3 streetcars already purchased and awaiting delivery in Czech Republic.

by SG on Feb 5, 2009 4:38 pm • link • report

And even if this alignment were perfect what does Ft. Myer Construction company know about building streetcar track and erecting the overhead wire properly and aesthetically. Streetcar construction is a very specialized field and DDOT should be obsessed with getting the construction done properly and not by a local contractor without the requisite experience. Paving streets and sidewalks is not a requisite to do good streetcar work. They ought to consider a certified European firm who have years of experience with the track installation. I doubt there is anyone at Ft. Myer Construction who knows what is meant by girder or grooved rail and whether they will use it and where to obtain it and how to install it along with necessary switches and crossings. Not only is the alignment a boondoggle but so is the choice of general contractor.

Before they turn a shovelful of earth I would like to see their plans in detail beforehand. Getting this wrong will mean curtains for any other streetcar program.

by George Barsky on Mar 4, 2009 8:19 pm • link • report

I haven't seen any construction progress postings for quite awhile on the DDOT Anacostia Streetcar Construction web page.
http://www.ddot.dc.gov/ddot/cwp/view,a,1250,q,646523,ddotNav_GID,1746,ddotNav,|34060|.asp
The last entry was on 3/13/09. Does this mean that Fort Myers Construction has stopped work? If so, when will construction resume? And how much work were they able to complete before construction was halted?

by Swedeman1956 on Jun 25, 2009 10:05 am • link • report