A look at what's going on in Trinidad, on H Street, and in the larger area north of Capitol Hill.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Street Cars
Every so often people ask about the street cars and what they will look like. Here is an (not too high res) image.
12 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I see the article mentions that the city council is going to vote in October on approval of the streetcars in DC. Is there any organized effort to show public support for these streetcars to the council prior to the vote? (I think these arguments offered by some that they are a bad idea because they take up space on the streets defies reason - would that not also apply to buses?)
I'm not sure what funding is going to be voted on in October--perhaps expansion of the streetcar system beyond H Street.
The funding is already allocated for installation of the tracks and the first 2-4 cars, which have already been ordered (they take 2-3 years to build).
The tracks will be laid as part of the Streetscape project that will completely re-do H Street (delayed again, now slated to start in September or October.
The best quote from the NBC story, said by D.C. Department of Transportation Director Emeka Moneme:
"We only have specific right of way. We’re not going to find more right of way. We’re not going to be able to go and get more of it," said Moneme. "So, our concept is we’re trying to increase the throughput of people through our corridors--not vehicles, but people. There’s a big difference."
Looking to the future, apparently the H Street NE streetcar eventually would travel via K Street to Georgetown, according to the District of Columbia Office of Planning. (Note also a north/south line on 8th St NE toward Eastern Market.) See the map here.
The map was extracted from this PowerPoint on the D.C. website (unsure of the date).
I would love to see (streetcars or no) pedestrian integration between the hopscotch bridge and the buildings planned for over the train tracks.
Wouldn't it be great if the shopping area of Union Station continued in an indoor or outdoor commercial corridor through the new building and then exited right onto the hopscotch bridge? Pedestrians could walk (with shopping opportunities) between H and the Metro without too much effort, and it would connect fairly seamlessly with the trolly line at the base of the bridge.
As it is, the bridge is a pedestrian disaster zone and cuts H st NE from the Mass Ave corridor and NW for all but vehicle traffic.
Anyone have thoughts or know about planned changes to the bridge as part of the streetcar/Great Streets initiative? Mr. Kimber?
Wow. Didn't know they were panning on running it down 8th to SE (eventually). That'd be GREAT to be able to go to Eastern Market etc. without a LONG walk or endless metro connections.
It is planned that there will be a heavy pedestrian connection to the air rights project over the tracks.
I uploaded a couple of screenshots from OP presentations that show this.
View of pedestrian area at apex of H Street bridge: http://www.flickr.com/photos/akimber96/1151499453/
View of pedestrian mall in air rights development: http://www.flickr.com/photos/akimber96/1152344872/
In the second picture, if you look closely on the left hand side, you will see a large green space, which I think is then shown in the rendering on the lower right.
The Metropolitan Branch Trail will also run along the Western side of the air rights development.
Thanks for posting the renderings, Alan. I seem to recall that this project (called Burnham Place) is scheduled to be completed in 5-10 years time and that building the platform over the tracks alone will take several years.
I'm not a huge fan of the streetcar design their using, but I'm certainly happy it's finally gaining a little momentum.
I was under the impression that they're still strying to work out whether the H St. line would be integrated into the Metro station (to allow easy transfer) or whether it would remain on H St. (to allow it to continue westward). I think it would be great to integrate it more with the Metro stop, but all in all I think it's better to keep in on the surface and to better enable more westward expansion.
I hope that Burham place doesn't have a facade like in that second picture. All these sleek office buildings are terrible at creating welcoming street-level retail entrances.
This streetcar plan only makes sense if it is connected to Union Station, Gallery Place, or the New York Avenue metro. Anything else is a complete waste of money. Does anyone know if there is plan to have the street car connected to a metro line? I would even settle for 7th and Massachusetts.
An express bus that runs between Hechinger Mall and Gallery Place would fill a major transporation gap and attract more visitors to our corridor. The express bus would make a start at Gallery Place, then the Post office on North Capital, 3rd and H, 8th and H, 13th and H, and finally Hechinger Mall. The fare for the express bus should be reduced during off-peak hours and weekend.
12 comments:
I see the article mentions that the city council is going to vote in October on approval of the streetcars in DC. Is there any organized effort to show public support for these streetcars to the council prior to the vote? (I think these arguments offered by some that they are a bad idea because they take up space on the streets defies reason - would that not also apply to buses?)
I'm not sure what funding is going to be voted on in October--perhaps expansion of the streetcar system beyond H Street.
The funding is already allocated for installation of the tracks and the first 2-4 cars, which have already been ordered (they take 2-3 years to build).
The tracks will be laid as part of the Streetscape project that will completely re-do H Street (delayed again, now slated to start in September or October.
Best,
Alan Kimber
ANC Commissioner, 6C05
The best quote from the NBC story, said by D.C. Department of Transportation Director Emeka Moneme:
"We only have specific right of way. We’re not going to find more right of way. We’re not going to be able to go and get more of it," said Moneme. "So, our concept is we’re trying to increase the throughput of people through our corridors--not vehicles, but people. There’s a big difference."
Looking to the future, apparently the H Street NE streetcar eventually would travel via K Street to Georgetown, according to the District of Columbia Office of Planning. (Note also a north/south line on 8th St NE toward Eastern Market.) See the map here.
The map was extracted from this PowerPoint on the D.C. website (unsure of the date).
I would love to see (streetcars or no) pedestrian integration between the hopscotch bridge and the buildings planned for over the train tracks.
Wouldn't it be great if the shopping area of Union Station continued in an indoor or outdoor commercial corridor through the new building and then exited right onto the hopscotch bridge? Pedestrians could walk (with shopping opportunities) between H and the Metro without too much effort, and it would connect fairly seamlessly with the trolly line at the base of the bridge.
As it is, the bridge is a pedestrian disaster zone and cuts H st NE from the Mass Ave corridor and NW for all but vehicle traffic.
Anyone have thoughts or know about planned changes to the bridge as part of the streetcar/Great Streets initiative? Mr. Kimber?
Wow. Didn't know they were panning on running it down 8th to SE (eventually). That'd be GREAT to be able to go to Eastern Market etc. without a LONG walk or endless metro connections.
3:44 anon:
You can get to Eastern Market from NE via the 90 or 92.
yl,
It is planned that there will be a heavy pedestrian connection to the air rights project over the tracks.
I uploaded a couple of screenshots from OP presentations that show this.
View of pedestrian area at apex of H Street bridge:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/akimber96/1151499453/
View of pedestrian mall in air rights development:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/akimber96/1152344872/
In the second picture, if you look closely on the left hand side, you will see a large green space, which I think is then shown in the rendering on the lower right.
The Metropolitan Branch Trail will also run along the Western side of the air rights development.
Best,
Alan Kimber
ANC Commissioner, 6C05
Thanks for posting the renderings, Alan. I seem to recall that this project (called Burnham Place) is scheduled to be completed in 5-10 years time and that building the platform over the tracks alone will take several years.
Any word on a proposed groundbreaking date?
I'm not a huge fan of the streetcar design their using, but I'm certainly happy it's finally gaining a little momentum.
I was under the impression that they're still strying to work out whether the H St. line would be integrated into the Metro station (to allow easy transfer) or whether it would remain on H St. (to allow it to continue westward). I think it would be great to integrate it more with the Metro stop, but all in all I think it's better to keep in on the surface and to better enable more westward expansion.
I hope that Burham place doesn't have a facade like in that second picture. All these sleek office buildings are terrible at creating welcoming street-level retail entrances.
shucks! i was going to post, but i have to run to the bathroom.
This streetcar plan only makes sense if it is connected to Union Station, Gallery Place, or the New York Avenue metro. Anything else is a complete waste of money. Does anyone know if there is plan to have the street car connected to a metro line? I would even settle for 7th and Massachusetts.
An express bus that runs between Hechinger Mall and Gallery Place would fill a major transporation gap and attract more visitors to our corridor. The express bus would make a start at Gallery Place, then the Post office on North Capital, 3rd and H, 8th and H, 13th and H, and finally Hechinger Mall. The fare for the express bus should be reduced during off-peak hours and weekend.
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