DC Streetcars by Victoria Pickering licensed under Creative Commons.

Earlier this month, ANC 7E passed a resolution of support for the full streetcar extension to the Benning Road Metro, and requested that the Mayor and DC Council ensure that the extension receives full funding in the 2022 budget. The resolution argues that the extension is a transit-equity issue, stating that “public transportation is a shared public benefit but can only function as such when it’s shared with all neighborhoods.”

The resolution comes at the heels of an open letter that some Ward 7 leaders circulated (including one of this article’s authors) in honor of transportation equity day and in honor of Rosa Parks’ birthday on February 4 which also called for funding the streetcar to Benning Road Metro.

The letter was signed by nearly 100 Ward 7 residents, including six ANC commissioners and several Civic Association officials, and states in part: “while the legally sanctioned racial discrimination in access to public transit that the [Montgomery Alabama] bus boycott campaign targeted has ended, barriers to adequate public transit access remain, making it harder for people – particularly people of color and poor people – to get to jobs, school, and amenities in our city.”

While ANC 7E’s resolution has no formal authority over the District’s budget or how it’s used, the Mayor, executive agencies, and the Council are required to give great weight to ANC’s and their resolutions when deliberating decisions.

As support from some local leaders and residents grows, the question becomes – what will it take to make the streetcar extension happen?

The study area for the Benning Road DC Street could go, from DDOT's Final Environmental Assessment

The streetcar extension plan has a long and beleaguered history

The streetcar extension is part of what was originally a 37-mile plan proposed by former Mayor Anthony Williams and former Mayor Adrian Fenty nearly 20 years ago. That plan has ultimately only resulted in one segment – The H Street / Benning Road segment – that currently runs from Union Station to the current terminus at Oklahoma and Benning where it abuts, but doesn’t cross, the Anacostia River. GGWash has written about the streetcar’s history and challenges on many occasions.

Eventually, this streetcar line is supposed to stretch all the way from Georgetown to Benning Road Metro, which is located east of the Anacostia River; however, the westward extension to Georgetown has faced some engineering and budgetary barriers that make it less likely than the eastward extension to Benning Road Metro.

Although the westward Georgetown extension isn’t totally defunct, recent comments from the Mayor indicate the western terminus of the streetcar is most likely going to be moved to somewhere near K Street Northwest where it will meet the future K-street transitway. The eastward extension to Benning Road Metro continues to receive funding in the District’s capital budget, despite repeated attempts by some councilmembers to shift funds away from the project.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has been planning and preparing for an eastward streetcar extension for nearly a decade, and is closing in on having final designs completed. This past November DDOT published its Final Environmental Assessment along with a Finding of No Significant Impact document, both of which are major milestones and hurdles to clear in transit planning.

DDOT determined that the only feasible route for the eastward extension was the route alternative going to the Benning Road Metro Station near the intersection of Benning and East Capitol. DDOT ruled out alternatives involving the Minnesota Avenue Metro due to engineering impossibilities, leaving Benning Road Metro as the only opportunity for a terminus with a multi-modal metro connection.

Once completed and operational, DDOT estimates show that a westward rush-hour trip from the Benning Road Metro terminus to H Street would take only about 20 minutes – a significant improvement over current transit options available to residents near the proposed terminus who currently have no transfer-free ride to H street or Union Station. Currently, the only transfer-free Ward 7 options to H street are the X2 and the X9, neither of which are directly accessible to the tens-of-thousands of residents near the planned streetcar terminus.

In addition to the open letter and ANC resolution, an informal neighborhood group named the Ward 7 Friends of the DC Streetcar (of which we are both members) has been circulating a petition to fund the streetcar extension, that now has over 500 unique Ward 7 residents signed on.

Members of the group see the streetcar extension as inherently an equity issue. Greyson Mann, a member of the group and a 4th generation Ward 7 resident, stated “the streetcar currently stops at the city’s redline of segregation, the Anacostia River. The city will not be equitable or be able to begin to move beyond its racism until residents East of the River get equitable access to resources. Including, but not limited to the streetcar.”

Ward 7 Friends of the DC Streetcar has been gathering signatures via canvassing, social media, and text-banking. Kristi Scott, a member of the group and resident of ANC 7F, stated “while canvassing to gauge levels of support for the DC streetcar extension, it was quite reassuring to see so many Ward 7 residents vocalize their support for the extension.”

I (Michael Havlin) also conducted a random sample survey of Ward 7 voters regarding the streetcar extension and found that approximately 62% of Ward 7 voters either strongly or somewhat support the extension, while 28% percent oppose the extension. About 10% were unsure. The survey had a sample size of 427 and a margin of error of 5.5 percentage points.

And local groups are not the only ones in support of the Streetcar extension. During a recent virtual town hall discussing the District’s budget, Mayor Muriel Bowser said this about the streetcar extension plans: “Not only is it currently in the budget, it’s going to be in the budget to complete the terminus on the Ward 7 side over to where it starts on H Street.”

While the plan has support, there are others who have different thoughts on the streetcar.

Challenges to the streetcar extension plan

From the beginning, the project was not going to be easy. And while there is support from many residents in Ward 7 for the project, other residents have been skeptical, and voiced concerns about added congestion to the area and the effects of the project on local businesses.

The cost of the project is also sparking a lot debate. According to the FAQ section of the Benning Road Project website, the estimated all-in costs for roadway, bridge, and streetcar capital costs is about $175 million.

Some DC councilmembers like Robert White (At-large) have said that funds from the extension could be shifted to other priorities such as repairing housing in the DC Housing Authorities portfolio. In July 2020 White made a motion to move $35 million earmarked for the expansion to fund the maintenance and repair of public housing. The measure was barely defeated.

Doug McEachern, a Ward 7 resident, and member of the Ward 7 Friends of the DC Streetcar asked “when is the last time that a neighborhood in upper northwest had to choose between basic necessities like transportation versus housing? It’s unfair to pit investment projects in Ward 7 against each other.”

Other councilmembers have admitted to benefiting from the streetcar, but also opposed its extension into Ward 7.

In that same hearing in July 2020, Councilmember Elissa Silverman (At-large) stated “I’m the biggest beneficiary of the streetcar…I actually bought my house [at 4th and G] because of the streetcar and it’s certainly brought an economic benefit – but it simply doesn’t make sense anymore.”

Councilmember Vincent Gray (Ward 7), who has been a supporter of the Streetcar both as mayor and as a councilmember, said in that July 2020 hearing that a lot of work was being done to bolster economic development in the area where the street is expected to travel. Gray added that “the failure to work on this is not fair to the people who live in Ward 7, and it’s not fair to the outcomes that we had envisioned.”

Are there other options?

ANC 7F is also considering a resolution of support for a partial streetcar extension east of the Anacostia River but has not voted on the matter yet. The resolution was scheduled for a vote in the January 7F meeting, but the commission tabled the vote for another date.

What’s next?

Mayor Bowser indicated funding for the extension would be her in 2022 proposed budget and financial plan; however, given the language of many councilmembers during the attempt to shift funding away from the project last year, it’s entirely likely that the Council will attempt to cut the streetcar extension’s funding again when they vote to approve, reject, or amend the Mayor’s budget proposal this Spring. A consistent pattern over the last several budget cycles is that Mayor Bowser includes funding for the extension in her proposed budget, and then some councilmembers attempts to defund it – so far these efforts have largely been unsuccessful.

The streetcar might have a tougher fight through the council this time around, though. This past election season the streetcar lost two of its supporters – Councilmember Grosso and Councilmember Todd – both of whom were replaced by councilmembers whose public position on the streetcar is unclear. During her campaign one of the new Councilmembers, Christina Henderson, indicated the streetcar and DDOT were the top places to cut in the budget – but has since softened her stance on the issue at some public meetings. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George doesn’t appear to have a public position on the issue, and is generally supportive of programs and expenditures aimed at reducing racial, economic and other disparities.

A vote on the plans could happen sometime in late spring or mid-summer. Though it may be a battle to keep the streetcar extension plans alive, transit that better connects all its residents to the District is a win for everyone.

Michael Havlin is a Ward 7 resident and a member of the Ward 7 Friends of the DC Streetcar. In his free time Michael likes to work with data of all kinds (big and small) to help inform public policy and discourse.

Dr. Delia Houseal is public health professional and ANC Commissioner for 7E06. She lives in Marshall Heights with her husband, three children, and chihuahua. Delia enjoys hiking, bird watching, and studying herbal medicine.