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Public Outcry Saves D.C. Streetcar Funding
Friday, May 28, 2010
Early Thursday morning, Vincent Gray, the chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia—the capital city’s elected legislative body—removed $47 million from the District’s fiscal 2011 budget that had been set aside for the completion of the city’s first streetcar line since trolley service ended in 1963, divvying up the money amongst other government programs. The Council voted mid-morning to adopt the change, but word got out quickly on the widely-read local blog DCist, as well as through Facebook and Twitter, and the local chapter of the Sierra Club and the advocacy group Streetcars for DC sent out action alerts. As a result, Council members’ offices were inundated with calls and emails from constituents in protest.
In the face of this public outcry in an election year, the Council quickly reversed course and reallocated the funds, taking $10 million from this year’s budget and placing $37 million from the 2011 budget in reserve, meaning further council action will be required before it can be spent.
Some of the credit for the public backing can be given to the administration of Mayor Adrian Fenty, whose intitative led to the laying of track for two streetcar lines and the purchase of several vehicles from the Czech Republic, one of which was put on public display earlier this month with great fanfare. The city has also generated well-received video conceptualizations of the future streetcars in operation.
But what’s really driving the push for streetcars is that Washingtonians—along with majorities of Americans elsewhere—understand the need for better transportation that is built around people, not cars. Cities that have built and extended rail transit systems—including Washington with the Metrorail—have seen development gravitate towards areas around train stations, making urban living more accessible and attractive, while curbing the environmental impact of population growth. As one Washington-area blogger explains, bus routes just don’t have the same impact on communities that streetcars do.
Yesterday’s developments in D.C. were a fine example of democracy in action, spurred by ordinary citizens and aided by the Internet. This type of success can easily be replicated if rail and transit advocates make the best use of the tools available.
—Malcolm Kenton
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: adrian fenty, blogs, budget, dc council, democracy, outcry, rail, social media, streetcar, transit, vincent gray, washington dc,©2010 National Association of Railroad Passengers | » NARP website
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