Some streetcar opponents and some streetcar supporters are arguing against overhead wires, saying that they’re ugly or that they’re incompatible with lush tree canopies. Ralph Garboushian sent along some more pictures of overhead wires from around the world.

Left: A streetcar line on a historic street in San Francisco, near Fisherman’s Wharf. Photo by Michael Perkins. With the iron detailing of the poles, this easily looks like it could be a street in Washington, DC.

Right: Frankfurt’s Schweizerstrasse (top) and Brussels’ 39/44 streetcar lines (bottom). Photos by Ralph Garboushian.

H Street, K Street, U Street, 14th Street, and most of the other streets on DDOT’s streetcar plan have nowhere near this level of tree canopy. The only ones that do are 7th Street SW and 8th Street on Capitol Hill. If DC’s streetcar lines can look as green as these with wires, it would be a huge improvement for most of our streets.

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.