DDOT Submits Car Barn Design to Historic Preservation Review Board

This is a cross post from the Historic Washington yahoo listserv and Ward 5 Heartbeat for those interested in the Spingarn streetcar facility.

 

DDOT Submits Car Barn Design to HPRB

http://www.ward5heartbeat.org/news/ddot-submits-car-barn-design-to-hprb/

The District Department of Transportation submitted a conceptual design for the Car Barn Training Center to the Historic Preservation Review Board for review and comment. The Car Barn will be located on the grounds of Spingarn High School.

The HPRB will hold a public meeting to review the design on November 1st at 10am. A report on the design proposal by the Historic Preservation Office will be released on October 25. Those interested in testifying about the proposal should appear at least 15 minutes in advance of the November 1st meeting at 441 4th St NW, Room 220 South. Although Mayor Gray and DDOT promised Ward 5 residents that community amenities would be included in the proposal, no amenities appear in the design proposal.

See below for the conceptual design. Use controls at bottom of pane to zoom in or view the document fullscreen.

Posted by Mary Rowse

EMERGENCY COMMUNITY MEETING:PROPOSED CAR BARN LOCATION AT SPINGARN CAMPUS

WARD 5 EMERGENCY COMMUNITY MEETING

PROPOSED CAR BARN LOCATION AT SPINGARN CAMPUS

 MONDAY, JUNE 25, 2012

6:00 – 7:30 pm

PHELPS ACE HIGH SCHOOL (MEDIA LIBRARY)

704 26TH STREET NE

Statement on Proposed Car Barn at 26th and Benning Road (Spingarn Campus) Location

 Thank you for all of the calls and emails my office has been receiving regarding the future, proposed location of one of DC Streetcar’s car barn – Benning Road & 26th Street NE.  The proposed location, which is directly on Spingarn Senior High School’s campus, is a major concern of mine, and I welcome any additional feedback that you may have on this important matter.

 Although the decision to place the car barn on Spingarn’s campus predates the time of when I took office, I am nevertheless asking for explanations to the same questions you have posed.   I have already contacted representatives from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), the Mayor’s Office, as well as the other major stakeholders, in order to better understand why the city decided to incorporate the car barn’s proposed location in the plan.

 In the meantime, I invite you to join me for an EMERGENCY MEETING on Monday, June 25, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at Phelps ACE High School.  A representative from DDOT has been invited to discuss the plan in greater detail and answer any questions that you may have regarding the proposed location for the car barn.

 Rest assured, I am working diligently to ascertain more information regarding this matter and will follow up with residents to determine the next course of action.  If you have any additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact my office.  Thank you.

 Kenyan R. McDuffie

Councilmember, Ward 5

The John A. Wilson Building

1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Suite 410

Washington, DC 20004

DC Streetcar Meeting: Thurs. Apr. 12, 2012@6:30pm

Where will the money come from to operate the Streetcars?

Will the communities around the Streetcar- H Street/Benning Road pay the price? Read the article below and tell me what you think?? Leave a comment.

 Lisa White, ANC Commissioner SMD 7D01 Kingman Park

D.C.: Need to find ways to pay for 42% of streetcar costs

The first two lines of the D.C. streetcar system will cost an estimated $64.5 million to operate in the first five years, beyond the cost to build the lines, according to city officials.

But the city now says it only has 58 percent of the costs covered among fares, federal grants and local funds.

City transportation officials laid out several options this week to fill the 42 percent gap: adding special tax districts along the streetcar corridors, raising property assessments to reflect increased value of the property nearby, tapping into performance parking revenues or increasing sales taxes citywide.

Options to cover streetcar operating costs

The city’s proposed options would bring in varying amounts to fund the trolleys in the first year:

• Increasing property assessments along 600 feet on each side of the One City Line: $1.5 million in new property taxes

• Tapping performance parking fees: $2.5 million

• Adding a quarter of 1 cent to retail sales taxes: $16 million

• Adding a special assessment of 10 cents per $100 assessed value for any property within 600 feet of the One City Line: $17 million

Source: District Department of Transportation

Fares alone won’t pay the way, a common issue for nearly all transportation systems. The District Department of Transportation estimates that fares would cover 19 percent of the costs to run the first two lines over five years. By comparison, Metro fares cover 82 percent of the costs for Metrorail and 27 percent of Metrobus expenses.

Currently, Mayor Vincent Gray has allocated enough money in his budget proposal to pay for the first three months of the H Street/Benning Road line when it is slated to start running in July 2013, said DDOT spokesman John Lisle.

But beyond that is not clear. That’s about $27 million to cover over five years, a question the D.C. Council likely will have to resolve soon.

The city dreams of building a 37-mile streetcar network of eight lines. Initially, it would start with the H Street/Benning Road Line, later extending it to run seven miles to Georgetown as the newly dubbed One City Line. A 1.1-mile stretch would run in Anacostia.

Earlier this year, a D.C. report said the full streetcar network would push up property values by 5 percent to 12 percent, adding an estimated $5 billion to $7 billion to existing property values. Separately, it would spur new development over 10 years by as much as $8 billion.

Tax revenue spun off that growth would bring in money eventually. But the streetcars are needed first to build that growth, and money is needed to run the streetcars.

kweir@washingtonexaminer.com

Development Around Streetcar Lines: Focus on Benning Road

D.C. Council pushing development around streetcar lines

Article reposted from the Washington Examiner

In a morning breakfast meeting Wednesday, D..C. Council members told the mayor and the Department of Transportation that they wanted development around the city’s upcoming streetcar lines to get going sooner rather than later.

Members particularly focused on Benning Road, home to a Metro station and the future home of a streetcar line toward H Street Northeast. Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells said he wanted to bring developers into the process now so the city could ensure that affordable housing would be planned near the lines. Ward 7 Councilwoman Yvette Alexander asked whether the city was considering tax incentives for businesses.

So far, the simple answer to those questions is “not yet,” although the city’s Deputy Mayor of Economic Development was at the meeting. Mayor Vincent Gray also noted that H Street has undergone a huge transformation over the past decade just on the promise of a streetcar line there.

The city’s first lines are still slated to open sometime next year.

Speaking of the Streetcars: Please attend this upcoming meeting:

Thursday, April 12, 2012 6:30 pm – 8 pm H Street/Benning Road Streetcar Line

Quarterly Meeting

  Spingarn High School—Cafeteria: 2500 Benning Road, NE  

                                 Ward 5, 6 and 7 residents, as well as other interested stakeholders, are encouraged to attend this meeting to hear about the latest updates on the H Street/Benning Rd streetcar line, provide input and ask questions.