The federal government has given the District $750,000 in research money to explore the idea of reintroducing light rail transportation into the city. Proponents, who include Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), say that light rail would be an effective alternative to the city’s current bus and Metro systems. Not only would electric streetcars contribute to far less pollution than buses, they argue, they would also reach more places in the District than does the Metro.
More District residents should be able to get around using public transportation and, with light rail, this will happen. Streetcars would travel at faster speeds than buses. Furthermore, according to some transportation experts quoted in The Washington Post, residents who now don’t ride buses would instead ride streetcars.
Some argue that simply building another main Metro line across the District would solve the city’s current transportation problems. But building a new Metro line is anything but simple. The proposed 22-stop Blue Line that would service Georgetown, for instance, would cost $6.3 billion and would not be completed until at least 2020, possibly not until 2030.
Certainly Georgetown residents would benefit from having their own Metro stop. But they would more quickly benefit from light rail transportation. One of the proposed streetcar lines would run east-west directly along M Street, which would appeal to students and residents who want to get around the area but would rather not walk along the congested sidewalks or consistently sit through traffic jams. And because the introduction of streetcars would cut down on on-street parking and less automobile traffic, it could potentially led to less congestion in general.
When San Francisco introduced light rail services in 1995, the people responded with near-unanimous approval. More people started riding streetcars than had previously used buses. And, according to The Washington Post, some city residents, to show their appreciation, helped clean streetcars at the end of the day. Whether D.C. residents would be this enthusiastic remains to be seen. But at the very least, they should be enthusiastic about supporting further research into light rail services. They offer a quick and effective transportation solution?and, unlike Metro, a lighter one on our pocketbooks.
