Yes, this is the real deal. After years of delay and planning and construction mishaps, the long-awaited $200 million, 2.2 mile line streetcar line down H Street began service Saturday. Not all media were kind to the streetcar, even on opening day.
Adam Tuss, transportation reporter for NBC Washington, reports from H Street on the opening ceremony of the long-awaited, $200 million streetcar line.
Mayor Muriel Bowser kicked things off at 10 a.m. with a ceremony at 13th and H streets NE. Regular service began after the speeches
Tuss took a test drive on Friday—but he warns riders to expect delays due to congestion and collisions by motor vehicles, even if not with the streetcar.
"Car crashes needed to be cleared from the path twice during a test ride News4's Adam Tuss took Friday," notes the NBC report.
Initially the streetcar service will be free, but don't expect to catch the streetcar on Sundays—no service, according to Washington Post's FAQ. Expect "average speeds (of) 10 to 15 mph, according to the streetcar’s operations manager," writes Dr. Gridlock. Information is also available on the DC Streetcar website.
The Economist didn't join in the celebratory mood. Their Gulliver Business travel blog piece describes the "catastrophic execution" of the streetcar project. No surprise considering the magazine's 2014 piece on the streetcar titled "Rolling Blunder." Planetizen also chronicled the troubled history of the project, but not today.
Free rides for the first six months. "DDOT will announce the permanent fare policy at the end of the free service period," notes their webpage.
FULL STORY: All Aboard! DC Streetcar Service Starts Saturday
A Sneak Peak at D.C.'s Streetcar Extension Plans
With the controversy about the value of its newly opened streetcar ongoing, Washington, D.C. has commenced with a planning process for extending the line to Georgetown.
Report: Construction, Management Problems Plague the D.C. Streetcar
The long-delayed D.C. Streetcar got some very bad news last week, when a panel of industry experts found evidence of construction mistakes that will severely impact the system's reliability.
D.C. Officials Dramatically Scale Back Streetcar System
In a recent move, officials from Mayor Vincent C. Gray's administration shortened DC's streetcar system to a much-shorter eight miles.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association