Poly-centricity: How Streetcars Will Change Urban Mobility in DC
Reported by Justin
If there is one major difference between the DC Metro and the great urban subway systems in cities like NYC, Tokyo, Paris, London, etc., it would be the focus of the system. In these cities, the subway is designed to move people within the city. Metro is designed primarily to get suburban commuters into downtown. It is mono-centric. What this means for city dwellers is that while it’s pretty easy to get from Columbia Heights to downtown, it’s much more difficult to get from Columbia Heights to Adams Morgan.
This made sense at the time. While older cities built subway systems to manage urban growth, Metro was built at a time when DC was in a decline. Population was rapidly decreasing and residents were moving to the suburbs. Metro was designed to minimize auto traffic into the city.
Now that DC is seeing a renaissance, we are looking for new solutions to handle urban growth and mobility. One of those solutions is the new modern streetcar system, which has been mentioned here before. One thing I noticed while looking at the proposed system map is that the streetcar system coupled with Metro will create a poly-centric rapid transit system for DC. It will be easier to get to and from where you live, work and play.
Going far beyond Metro Center, Chinatown and L’Enfant Plaza, new transit hubs located throughout the city will have noticeable effects on the development directly near the stations.
Something to note is that four of the eight planned lines do no even enter downtown.
Primary Streetcar Hubs (Where 2 or more lines meet a metro station, circled in red):
- McPherson Square
- Farragut North/Farragut West
- U Street
- Anacostia
- Eastern Market
Secondary Streetcar Hubs (2 or more lines intersect, circled in black):
- H & 8th Streets NE
- 18th & Columbia Rd NW
- 7th & Florida Ave NW
- Florida Ave & Rhode Island Ave NW
- Columbia Rd/Irving St & Georgia Ave NW
- M & 8th Streets SE
- M & 1st Streets SW
- MLK Jr Ave & Good Hope Rd SE
- Minnesota Ave & Benning Rd NE
Photo: Streetcars4DC
Comments & Trackbacks
I haven’t been this excited about public transportation in a long time!
Paul said at 12:30 PM on November 4th, 2009
How are these going to be any different from a bus? Will they not stop at every street corner? If that’s the case I’m excited.
jonfreeze said at 12:49 PM on November 4th, 2009
Bringin back the street car. woot woot!!
Al said at 1:57 PM on November 4th, 2009
jonfreeze:
The stops would be about 4-5 blocks apart. Also, some corridors would be separated from traffic.
Justin said at 1:59 PM on November 4th, 2009
jonfreeze:
In addition to stopping farther apart, the big difference between the proposed system and buses is the potential for economic development. For reasons that are still not 100% understood, streetcars and metro lines attract billions in new real estate development while bus lines simply don’t. Most likely this has to do with potential investors viewing streetcar tracks and metro tunnels as a permanent investment, while bus lines are viewed as more temporary.
If you want to see this in effect, just visit the Pearl District in Portland, OR. By building a streetcar loop between a run down industrial district and a nicer part of town near the university, Portland was able to attract $3.5 billion in new development. Its seriously one of the nicest neighborhoods I’ve walked through in the US, and 10 years ago it was a bunch of warehouses.
Chris said at 3:25 PM on November 4th, 2009
does anyone know the timeframe for development? specifically, when do they plan to have the georgia ave streetcar up and running? i apologize if this is somewhere online – i’m not familiar with the project.
laura said at 4:34 PM on November 4th, 2009
laura:
While there is not a specific timeline for the Georgia Ave line, DDOT is hoping the entire system can be complete within 7-10 years. The Anacostia starter line and H Street/Benning Rd lines are planned to be completed by 2011, 2012 at the latest.
The Georgia Ave segment from Florida Ave to the Petworth Metro is in the Phase One plan, and all the way up to the Takoma Metro is in Phase Two.
Like I said, there is no absolute timeline for all of this, but DDOT said the goal is to have the entire system finished within 7-10 years.
More info at ddot.dc.gov
Justin said at 4:46 PM on November 4th, 2009
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Tweets that mention Poly-centricity: How Streetcars Will Change Urban Mobility in DC at ReadysetDC [beta] — Topsy.com said at 5:21 PM on November 4th, 2009
This is my transportation DREAM for DC.
Justin Schuck said at 11:41 AM on November 5th, 2009