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Part of the Anacostia segment. Click for the full map (pdf).
Thanks to Greater Greater Washington, we know that no decision to build or pull the Anacostia streetcar was made at yesterday’s public hearing, and that unless somebody introduces an actual piece of legislation the plan to construct the Anacostia line is still in place. We further know that the route settled upon for the Anacostia line is less than ideal, but that it’s easy to build and ready to go right now. If built, the Anacostia line would be essentially a commuter shuttle to Bolling Air Force Base, and not very useful otherwise, at least until more of a system can be built around it.
A lot of transit advocates are asking why the District is building an imperfect segment first. They ask why not build H Street, or Georgia Avenue first, visible locations where high ridership is guaranteed.
BeyondDC doesn’t think that’s the right question. Not right now, anyway. The planning for the Anacostia line is complete, something that cannot be said for any of the other segments. It may be a shame that two years ago officials decided to plan Anacostia first, but shikata ga nai, it’s done. With that planning having been completed and construction in Anacostia ready to begin, the real pertinent question instead becomes do we want this line at all? If we don’t care whether the Anacostia segment is ever completed, then fine, let’s drop it now and never look back. If, on the other hand, we intend the Anacostia segment to be part of the final city-wide system that we hope to build and operate decades from now, then the time to build the Anacostia line is now, since any delay will only increase the cost.
If we choose the “wait and get something perfect” option, then in 10 or 15 years when it finally becomes time to build the Anacostia segment, we will do so, it will cost more, and we will end up with the same system but at greater expense.
That’s silly.
Assuming we want the Anacostia segment as part of our final system, then there is no good reason to delay. Build the thing now, and move on to H Street ASAP.
In the mean time, count on Arlington to get the Columbia Pike streetcar up and running quickly so we have a more successful demonstration project. We need that NVTA money, Richmond.
Metrorail recorded its highest ever ridership day on Friday, July 11, when 854,638 people rode. 20 of Metro’s 25 highest ever ridership days have occurred in the last four months.
But energy and transportation are essentially the same issue. Our heating and gas bills have a direct impact on our freedom to move around. The governor and legislators, looking at the state’s 2009 elections, will be hunting for nice, cheap, easy ways to show that they are green and caring people. But resolutions supporting recycling and incentives to build more energy-efficient buildings are mere niceties. By the time we’re shelling out $6 for gas, the public’s eagerness to see real movement toward energy independence and real alternatives to getting in the car will be far more powerful than it is today.
The rest of the column, in which Fisher attacks Virginia Republicans for blocking a transportation deal, is an entertaining read.
Also…
1) The first draft of the National Capital Framework Plan, which seeks to reshape the Federal areas around the National Mall, is available for review and public comment. We’ll post our thoughts in a day or two.
2) Jim Graham’s streetcar oversight meeting was today. BeyondDC couldn’t attend because we’ve got a day job, but we’ll weigh in as soon as we know what happened.
3) The “photostream” pictures at the bottom of the right-side column are random pictures from BeyondDC photo sets. We’ll be fiddling with the photostream, and possibly with the home page layout itself, in coming weeks.
At last night’s meeting of the Action Committee For Transit WMATA’s Senior Planning Manager Jim Hamre presented the Bus Priority Corridor Plan. The plan is WMATA’s strategy to expand the BRT-like MetroExtra service to additional corridors. MetroExtra is intended to mimic Metro Rapid, which has been very successful for Los Angeles MTA, America’s second largest bus agency (yes that’s right, successful transit in LA).
The plan identifies 24 corridors that are suited for expanded service. Collectively these corridors already carry about half the ridership in the Metrobus system, so many of them are prime candidates for full BRT or streetcars later on. Including the 30s line, which was recently overhauled, the first six corridors are already implemented, with 18 more to go at the pace of three or four per year through 2013.
What sort of expanded service are we talking about? Fewer stops, at the very least. Long distance bus routes are slow if the bus stops every block, so placing stops every third of a mile will increase speed drastically and simulate rail service. Another big problem is that buses, unlike trains, have to stop in traffic, both for congestion and red lights. As part of this program WMATA will be spending $67 million on signal prioritization technology that will hold a green light a few seconds longer if a bus is approaching, and though dedicated bus lanes aren’t part of the MetroExtra package, DDOT is looking at installing more of them around town. Additionally, WMATA is hoping to roll out NextBus in another year or so, which will make the process of catching a bus a lot easier. Then of course there’s the special MetroExtra branding, but that will have to wait until WMATA purchases new buses.
While not as substantial as new rail service, these improvements are prime examples of how to do buses right, and are exactly the sort of things we should be doing to make our bus system more efficient. The plan is fantastic. BeyondDC can’t wait for it to become reality.
Think there’s no such thing as too much parking? Take a look at Tysons Corner, where there’s more parking than jobs, more parking than office space, more parking than in downtown Washington.
Using Google Maps BeyondDC plotted out land used for parking (red) versus land used for everything else (not red) in what is commonly considered the most central part of Tysons Corner.
Is it any wonder Tysons is choked in traffic? How could a place laid out like that possibly be any other way? It is no way to build a city. The Silver Line, and redevelopment associated with it, cannot happen fast enough.
Why now is the question we’d like to ask DC Councilman Jim Graham, who is stalling construction of the Anacostia streetcar because he wants to know “where it’s located and what it’s going to achieve”, “how much it’s going to cost”, “what other routes were considered” and “why were they rejected.” To answer those questions Graham has scheduled a public hearing for July 14.
What’s got us confused is that that information has all been available for years. Why is Graham asking those questions now, two-and-a-half months after DDOT solicited construction bids for the project, rather than say in 2005 when DDOT was going through its corridor selection process?
It’s hard to tell whether Graham is stalling because he doesn’t understand the benefits of streetcars in general or only has questions about the Anacostia line specifically. It’s possible he has no objections and just wants to look democratic by holding a public meeting. We don’t know, but in any event, getting streetcars up and running is the single most important issue in District transportation planning, so we’re taking Ryan Avent’s suggestion and writing to the Councilman for answers.
Update: (July 8) Mr. Graham’s response to our email: I may have been misconstrued. I am not against the project. I wanted an oversight hearing on this, some $60 million expense…something that has not occurred.
The Post’s recent editorial pitting urban pedestrians versus suburban drivers has already gotten lots of coverage in the urblogosphere. BeyondDC will just chime in to note that the Post’s attached online poll of suburbanites is as of this writing running 53%-41% in favor of the District’s pedestrian-friendly policies. The separate poll for DC residents is even more lopsided in favor of pedestrians.
DDOT has suspended its plan to force intercity buses to abandon Chinatown and load at L’Enfant.
That’s suspended, not eliminated, just to be clear.
DDOT says they are taking a step back from a final decision in order to look at other options and give the public a chance to weigh in, but that the possibility of moving intercity buses to a single terminal somewhere is still on the table.
That works for us. BeyondDC has said all along that a dedicated terminal is a fine idea, it’s just that L’Enfant is the wrong place for it.
