Saturday, December 14, 2013

Streetcar Pics

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Reader pic of the streetcar moving onto the tracks on the Hopscotch Bridge 

Did you visit the streetcar last night? Maybe you even watched workers load it onto the tracks? I visited, but (like many) watched the rest of the night unfold from the warmth of my home. Check out some pics of the streetcar last night (& one this morning).
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Reader pic of the truck that carried the streetcar DSC_0604
The streetcar waiting at 8th & H DSC_0606 DSC_0609 DSC_0611 DSC_0613 DSC_0616
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Photo by Stephen Niman of the streetcar this morning

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Last night was lots of fun. It was great to see so many neighbors out there with their kids, cameras and dogs for a cold street party.

Anonymous said...

It's going to be really interesting to see how well DDOT handles the double-parking situation. They are going to need to be hyper-vigilant, something that is not really their forté.

Anonymous said...

I biked down H Street this morning on my way to work and noticed two buses that didn't pull over enough to let the trolley pass while they picked up customers (in both cases the back corner of the buses was sticking out over the track).

Anonymous said...

I've noticed the same thing about the buses and suspect its the same all over the city. Is it laziness or lack of skill by the driver? It will be interesting to see whether this and other factors come together to allow the streetcar to get down the street.

Anonymous said...

It is passive- aggressive behavior. The WMATA drivers are seeing the writing on the wall. Hopefully the city will not be pressured into having WMATA run the streetcars. If the bus drivers continue their behavior, the city should just replace the X2 with a Circulator bus.

Matt Ashburn said...

> Is it laziness or lack of skill by the driver?

Both- lack of skill caused by laziness. One of my jobs getting through school was a transit bus driver. While pulling completely into most stops does require the drive to pay attention and drive skillfully, it's by no means out of reach for the average driver.

My guess is they simply don't care and don't take pride in their quality of driving, and most certainly aren't rated on it.

Anonymous said...

It also may be a speed issue (though the X2 buses aren't known for speed or efficiency). It's quicker to do a half-assed parking job while picking up passengers, as compared to parking correctly.