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Location: Standing outside of heaven, wating for God to come and get me.
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Streetcars are really pointless in my opinion. I hated the trolleys in New Orleans. They are slow, they are limited where they go, and maintenance is not cheap.
Eh, it's basically either that or BRT. Both are cheaper than digging up the earth and putting tracks underground, both are faster than normal buses and in the case of street cars can carry more than buses.
What I'm a big supporter of is light rail for the purple line. I mean yeah it'd be great to have a 'medium rail' (AKA what the current Metro is) but it'd be a lot cheaper and easier to just use light rail and have it run on streets or medians.
Also I think they'll be less like the street cars in New Orleans and more like the Muni Rail in San Francisco, which is pretty great IMO.
New Orleans streetcars are only slow due to the number of stops. We need an express line down here (if you go out onto St. Charles Ave at night you can see the streetcar flying down the street)
I still say a monorail is a better choice for the proposed Georgia Ave line ands it more appealing, its already gonna take 10-12 years to build it maybe even more if all the project delays. If your going to take a 5th of a century to build something make sure its in demand for the future. D.C.'s population is steadily rising and traffic is getting worse. People in this area already can't drive as it is I can't wait to see how many accidents occur with the H street/Benning Road line. Who knows maybe people will realize that a streetcar will destroy their car and use better judgement.
Here's a basic (very basic) list of reasons why: BeyondDC
#5 is most important, and in fact the only reason that matters. DDOT has floated the idea of having local property owners pay much of the cost: Commercial property owners may be asked to pay for part of streetcar costs
(In addition to the NY Ave Red Line station, this approach is also being used to pay for the Silver Line.)
The NOLA lines are slow mostly because they're old equipment that's prone to breakdowns. You can't deny, though, that they're rather popular and have helped to direct new development.
Streetcars will close the gaps between the Metro and hopefully take some pressure off. But that doesn't mean you won't build more lines , the DC Metro needs 2 New lines , otherwise the system will be worse then it is now. A separate Blue line is a start , and a new pink line to NOVA. Also a Ring Light Rail line around DC , basically an extension of the proposed purple line. Streetcars are a start just the beginning. In 20-30 years you'll have a Urban / Regional Rail system = to your NYC Cousin. With the proposed / planned System expansions for MARC and VRE it will be easier to get into NOVA / DC. As for monorails there only built for Airport connections , BWI station should get one connecting it to the Terminal sometime in the Future. In 20 years , True HSR will connect DC - Philly - NYC - CT - Boston with speeds up to 230mph.
Please share the MARC and VRE extensions, hopefully Annapolis gets a line.
VRE and Amtrak extensions for Virgina
Extension of the Fredricksburg line to Richmond , along with Electrification , Grade separation and higher speeds. Electrification would extend the NEC to Richmond or Norfolk.
Extension of the Manassas line to Culpepper & a Branch to Haymarket
Streetcars in NOVA are planned , but the funding has become an issue.....
MARC extensions & Amtrak Proposed Corridors
DC - Annapolis Rail or BRT line
Baltimore - Annapolis Rail or BRT line
Baltimore - Fredrick line
A New Baltimore Bypass line would bring the Camden line to East Baltimore
A Proposed Amtrak line between Baltimore - Harrisburg aka the I-83 Rail corridor its in the Northeast 2030 restoration / upgrade Rail plan
Planned Amtrak Wilmington - Dover - Ocean City line aka the Downstate line in the 2030 plan.
Also possible EMU's for the Penn line and extension to Newark,DE
Service on both networks by the end of the decade should be every 30-45 mins and run between 5am-12am like the Philly to Boston systems. Also bi-directional service. A VRE Engineer told me that. Virgina's plan is more solid then Maryland's , and Delaware's plan with the downstate rail seems to be gaining steam.
Oh and what about the Washington-Baltimore maglev project?
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As for monorails there only built for Airport connections , BWI station should get one connecting it to the Terminal sometime in the Future. In 20 years , True HSR will connect DC - Philly - NYC - CT - Boston with speeds up to 230mph.
