D.C. Mum On Key Streetcar Questions As Safety Campaign Begins
Middle school students at Browne Education Campus in Northeast D.C. assembled inside a classroom for a short safety lesson. The District Department of Transportation was kicking off its "Look, Listen, Be Safe" campaign in advance of the expected opening this fall of the city’s first streetcar line since 1962, a 2.4-mile line on H Street and Benning Road.
The District’s streetcar program manager went down a long list: look both ways before crossing the street; listen for the streetcar’s distinctive hum; don’t try to grab onto the streetcar; don't ride your bike or skateboard across or along the tracks.
But when it came time for the students to ask questions, they were interested in other aspects of the program that to date DDOT has been unwilling or unable to share with the public.
How much will fares cost? How will passengers pay? When will it open?
DDOT director Matthew Brown fielded such questions from the kids, but may not have provided the answers they — and the rest of the public — wants.
“We are working through how you are going to pay for it, but right now, no,” said Brown in response to a question about the yet-to-be-revealed payment system. “We are going to make an announcement soon about how you will pay.”
As for when the streetcar will carry its first passengers, WAMU 88.5 learned in June that DDOT is targeting early November for the start of revenue service, barring any further delays. Officials have avoided making public estimates since getting repeatedly burned after some public figures, most notably Mayor Vincent Gray, wrongly predicted streetcar opening dates.
Moreover, DDOT’s top officials have been reluctant to release a project timetable to avoid putting pressure on the District’s safety certification team to meet a certain date. The safety certification process follows a somewhat uncertain timeline, because this is the first time DDOT is establishing the process with D.C.'s fire and EMS department, which will be the official emergency response team in the event of derailments and other incidents.
While the middle schoolers were being schooled on streetcar safety, the final phase of testing began along the busy H Street-Benning Road corridor. Simulated streetcar service resembles every aspect of passenger service with one exception: no passengers. The streetcars will move at their normal speeds in traffic, following established signals and special streetcar signals installed at three major intersections. The goal is to have the streetcars arriving at platforms every 10 minutes.