The empty H Street streetcar will be making more trips up and down H Street NE starting tomorrow as the beleaguered tram gets ready for safety certification to carry passengers.
The District Department of Transportation announced today that the streetcar will begin “Pre-Revenue Operations” tomorrow, meaning that the system will simulate normal service for at least three weeks without passengers.
The tests are the final round of dry-runs before the streetcar can be approved to carry passengers. However, this is the second time the streetcar has entered the PRO phase. The last time was in September 2014, when the streetcar failed to pass the final round of test runs.
The announcement today comes four days after the Washington Post editorial board wondered whether it might be wiser to pull the plug on the streetcar altogether.
For at least the next three weeks, empty streetcars will run about every 15 minutes during its planned hours of operation, which are:
- Monday-Thursday: 6 a.m.-midnight
- Friday: 6 a.m.-2 a.m.
- Saturday: 8 a.m.-2 a.m.
- Holidays: 8 a.m.-10 p.m.
DDOT is warning pedestrians, drivers and cyclists in the H Street area to watch for the streetcars and use caution traveling through the H Street corridor.
Suspect in Hill East Sexual Assault Was Charged With Felony, Released Two Weeks Before Crime — The 21-year-old suspected of sexually assaulting a woman in her home in Hill East was on supervised release after an arrest for felony drug possession at the time of the assault. [NBC Washington]
DDOT Releases Proposed Routes for NoMa Circulator — The District Department of Transportation released five potential routes for a Circulator bus in NoMa. DDOT is seeking feedback on the proposals online and at community events. [Washington City Paper]
Developer Considers Pulling Out of Major NoMa Project — First Potomac Realty Trust is considering backing out of its planned Storey Park development at 1005 First St. NE in NoMa. [Washington Business Journal]
Top District Transportation Official Cautious About Streetcar Predictions — District Department of Transportation Director Leif Dormsjo said in an interview with WAMU that he can’t guarantee that the streetcar will carry passengers by the end of the year. [WAMU]
Councilman Allen, Business Leaders Meet Again to Discuss Safety Problems Near Eastern Market Metro — Representatives from local businesses, ANC6B and the Metropolitan Police Department met with Ward 6 Councilman Charles Allen on Monday for a second meeting to address crime and safety concerns near the Eastern Market Metro Station. [Capitol Hill Corner]
Pepco Seeks to Rename Street on Buzzard Point ‘Pepco Place’ — The District government and Pepco agreec to a sponsorship arrangement in which Pepco will pay $25 million in exchange for renaming Half Street SW between Potomac Avenue and V Street “Pepco Place.” Much of the money will be used to cover the city’s expected eminent domain payment for the last remaining land on the future D.C. United stadium plot. [Washington Business Journal]
Friends of Rosedale Library to Hold ‘Reverse Book Sale’ Book Drive — Friends of the Rosedale Library will celebrate their third birthday on Saturday with a book and donation drive to benefit the library at 1701 Gales St. NE. [Frozen Tropics]
Ginkgo trees in the Capitol Hill area are receiving a special treatment this week to put locals’ noses at ease.
The District Department of Transportation last night started its annual D.C.-wide spraying of the trees to stop them from forming fruit that smells and can litter streets and sidewalks, according to the agency. DDOT is focusing on Wards 1, 2 and 6 before it turns its attention to other parts of the District.
All of the treatments will happen at night, and locals don’t need to move their cars to accommodate the spraying.
DDOT will use Shield-3EC 24(C) to treat the trees, as it has done the past 20 years.
Photo via Flickr/Ginkgo CZ
The District Department of Transportation is planning to start extending a bike lane in Northeast before winter hits, and two other upgrades are in the works.
A two-way protected bike lane will be installed on 1st Street NE between G Street NE and Massachusetts Avenue NE starting in late November, DDOT bicycle program specialist Mike Goodno said.
The new section just west of Union Station is expected to take six months to complete and will extend the 1st Street NE lane installed in May.
“It will be one long network,” Goodno said.
A protected bike lane extension on M Street NE from 1st Street NE to the Metropolitan Branch Trail near Delaware Avenue NE is pending approval, the DDOT rep said.
A lane extension crossing the National Mall is also pending approval. That project would create a lane on 4th Street SW between School Street SW (near the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station) and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
