For decades residents of the H st/Benning rd NE corridor have seen promises and plans of improvements to their transit connections as intended to improve service to dense communities served by overworked and overcrowded busses and not connected directly to the Metrorail system. The lack of fast, direct, east/west connections has been frequently noted as a particular problem for the city’s transportation system. Most recently WMATA promoted ‘cross-region’ bus priority between Roslyn and Stadium Armory as one of three pillars of it’s “World Class Transit” presentation to the WMATA Safety and Operations Committee.
The city has for two decades slowly backed away from almost every project to address the problem of poor connectivity in this corridor, leaving riders waiting unsheltered in the rain for overcrowded and slow busses. The 37 mile streetcar network became a 22 mile priority network, then a single mile starter line. The cancellation of the downtown transit-corridor, limiting the streetcar line to only its eastward half, and now nothing but promises of a next-generation streetcar apparently without serious thought to what that might be. Plans to add dedicated lanes for the existing busses on H street appear to have been put on ice.
This legacy of walk-backs and broken promises has understandably left many with emotional reactions to the recent announcement of the impending shutdown of the existing streetcar line, and distrustful of the spirit in which the promise of a next-generation streetcar was offered. The need however is straightforward and concrete. We must have fast, frequent, reliable, and dignified transit from east of the river to downtown through the H st and Benning rd corridor.
The existing busses and streetcar carry over 16,000 people on a typical weekday. The X2 is the third-busiest bus line in the WMATA system. On a typical mid-week rush hour the busses are absolutely crush-loaded, an uncomfortable and undignified trip. Often 10-15 people will wait at busy stations with shelter for only two or three, with most waiting in the hot sun or pouring rain. Strollers are awkwardly lifted over gutters and squeezed through narrow doors. Riders struggle past one another to board, extending the time for every stop. Traffic slows the busses further. Even where painted bus lanes have been installed, and despite the city’s enforcement efforts, at least one parked vehicle obstructs most blocks.
The existing streetcar does address some of these problems. The roomier vehicles can carry about 25% more people than even the articulated busses used on the X2 route. Even more importantly, they use multiple double doors and level-boarding platforms so that many engers can board quickly and riders with limited mobility can comfortably alight without the use of a slow and awkward assistance device. The biggest problem is that it does not connect to key destinations, failing 150 feet short of even reaching the crosswalk into the unceremonious rear entrance to union station and failing to reach communities east of the Anacostia. Additionally, the placement of the tracks along the frequently blocked right-hand lanes along H st rather than the center frequently slows them down. The stations unfortunately have perhaps even less protection from the elements than a standard bus shelter provides
The needs of the corridor are only growing with the potential redevelopment at RFK. A next-generation streetcar needs to take advantage of every tool to provide high quality service to the corridor. The current corridor is already at the limit of what standard bus service can provide and the use of electric power will not change that.
A next-generation streetcar needs to connect from across the Anacostia river to downtown, if not to Georgetown or Roslyn.
A next generation streetcar needs roughly double the capacity of the current corridor to downtown to provide an inviting transportation for all that want it and for additional demand from the RFK site. The X2 and X9 combined can and do carry about a thousand people an hour despite the poor quality of the service. The current streetcar if extended could carry another 750 or so. The need is a capacity for 2,000-3,000 an hour which is a streetcar every 3 -5 minutes or a regular 40-foot bus every 1.5-2.5 minutes.
A next generation streetcar needs level boarding platforms and vehicles with multiple wide doors so that strollers, grocery carts, wheelchairs, canes, bikes and small children can all easily and quickly board.
A next-generation streetcar needs to run in center and/or dedicated transit lanes to speed trips and allow fewer vehicles to provide the same frequency of service.
