Death of the Streetcar

Bad news being reported at Greater Greater Washington: All funding for the streetcar program has been cut.  Guess that means H Street real estate just got more affordable.

The culprit?  Mayoral candidate and fence-bylaw-flouter Vincent Gray and his Deputy Director for Capital Projects, Sarah Campbell.  GGW notes that Campbell is friends with the anti-overhead-wire lobby, which, in turn, is no good friend of the streetcar project. According to GGW, "There's no way to know for sure how much of her opposition came from professional opinions or personal loyalties."  But more than anything, I think Gray wanted to make a splash in his campaign for mayor and prove that he can make "tough" budget decisions.

I know he made a splash with ctrl+alt+dc.  It's looking like some FENTY 2010 banners may be popping up around these parts.  The primaries will be held September 14, 2010.

Update: Officially dead.

Update 2: Signs of life?

Councilmember Tommy Wells has responded to my email of support as follows:

I’m arguing against these cuts to the streetcar system and just voted against the budget because of it. There is a final vote later this afternoon and I have an amendment ready to introduce to restore some of the funds.

Please keep calls and emails to my colleagues coming.

Tommy

Update 3: Success!

The funding has been restored.  

From Nikita Stewart at the Washington Post's Breaking News Blog:

“The decision to restore funding came just hours after the council said they would pull money from the streetcars to fund other services. But within moments of the decision, the council was inundated with calls.”

Nice work everybody!

Washington Post Review

Here's a summary of what caught my eye in this morning's Washington Post.

Democratic leaders in Congress scuttled the bill that would have given DC a vote in the House. In the end, the cost—DC's gun control laws—was jut too great. I'm inclined to agree. DC residents seemed too quick to trade in some of the District's hard-won home-rule powers for what, really, isn't an enormous amount of say in national matters. One congressman seems unlikely to shake things up as much as, say, one senator might. But it'll be a cold (maybe unconstitutional?) day in hell when the Senate gives DC a spot at the table. Until that cold day we'll have to resign ourselves to just thinking nationally and voting locally.

And speaking of home rule, DC is one step closer to legalizing medical marijuana. First gay marriage, and now this? DC is definitely leading the way to a brighter, more progressive future. Well, if not "leading" then at least getting on the bandwagon relatively early.

Finally, the Post reports that DC is seeking federal funds for its H Street streetcar project. Hopefully everything falls into place and we can start getting some hot new public transit action on our way to Granville Moore's by the end of 2012. The Chinatown-to-H-Street shuttle service, while much appreciated, leaves much to be desired.