Earlier this month, DDOT’s director suggested that the streetcar might have too many problems to ever start revenue service. But even after months of delays and several missed opening dates, the public still doesn’t know what the actual problems are. We deserve to know.

Photo by DearEdward on Flickr.

At a DC Council hearing on March 7th, DDOT director Leif Dormsjo, who started in January, said he’s waiting on an external review to decide “whether there’s a pathway to passenger service” for the streetcar. That’s as far as he went, declining to share specifics about what, exactly, might be so catastrophic as to warrant canceling the H Street line altogether.

The biggest problem with the streetcar is how little we know about it

We do know that there are some unresolved Federal Transit Administration safety recommendations, but they all appear to be easy fixes. We also know that DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (DC FEMS), which is the state safety oversight agency in charge of approving the streetcar’s safety program, has concerns, as they still have not approved passenger service. But nobody at DC FEMS has shared their concerns with the public, either.

The issues could be easy to fix, like a need to add more signs or pavement markings. Or they could be more serious. The public has no way of knowing, and nobody at DDOT or DC FEMS is talking. That’s unacceptable.

After so many broken promises from Mayor Gray, it makes sense that Dormsjo has resolved not to make rosy promises or predict opening dates. In that vein, taking a couple of months to figure out what’s wrong is reasonable. But canceling a massive program for seemingly no reason, and amidst such deafening silence, is an entirely different matter, and one that would not be justifiable.

Other major projects in the region set a precedent for transparency

When the Silver Line was delayed, we knew why. There was a well-circulated list of 33 unfinished items, regular conference calls between WMATA and journalists, and several public hearings on the matter. Similarly, the public knows what the problems are with the long-delayed Silver Spring Transit Center.

Why is the Bowser administration refusing to talk about what’s causing the streetcar’s delay?

If DDOT continues to keep the public out of the loop and the streetcar does open, how can we have any confidence that never-named problems got the attention they deserved? And if DDOT stays quiet and the line doesn’t open, how can we trust this administration to competently follow through on any of its other promises?

Muriel Bowser ran on a campaign of community engagement and support for the H Street line. She pledged to “push for the most open and transparent administration possible.” It’s time for Bowser and her administration to turn that promise into a reality.