The D.C. streetcar will not run in 2014, or under Mayor Vincent Gray’s watch, but the outgoing D.C. mayor said Wednesday the long delayed H Street/Benning Road line will carry passengers early in the new year.
Despite scrambling day-and-night to get the pre-launch work done, Gray issued a statement before dawn this New Year’s Eve finally acknowledging his administration will not see the streetcar through to completion, “but I can tell you that we are exceedingly close to carrying passengers on H Street and Benning Road.”
“We know that D.C. streetcar will be a welcomed economic engine that will result in new services and amenities for the community and I am confident the benefits of D.C. streetcars will be realized in the very near future,” Gray said.
There are a litany of hangups that have served to delay the streetcar’s launch, from getting the cars themselves to building the temporary car barn and testing the system. The system, Gray said, is in the “final stages of safety and security certification and will be open for passenger service early in the new year.”
Simulated service began on the 2.4-mile line in late September, and it quickly revealed a major challenge. As the H Street streetcar does not have a dedicated lane, the trolleys must share the road with vehicles and cyclists, and there is no ability to veer around poorly parked cars.
“Even though the cars are not yet rolling with passengers, I am proud that we’ve moved this important transit project forward after it stood still for years,” Gray said. “I am proud of the staff that continues to work tirelessly to open the system for the public to enjoy, and appreciate our partners who have joined us in this certification process.”
Once H Street is up and running, incoming Mayor Muriel Bowser will have to decide whether, and how, to proceed to the next stage of the streetcar’s expansion — a line from Union Station to Georgetown via K Street.
