| | | H Street trolley power still under debate | | June 22, 2009 |  | | | Voice Correspondent | | Installation of the tracks for the H Street Trolley project began recently, but the city is still unsure of how the streetcars will be powered.
The tracks, which are slated to run from the intersection of Oklahoma Avenue and Benning Road along H Street to Union Station, are part of roadway improvements that have recently shut down parts of the H Street corridor.
“There are still a lot of issues that need to be worked out,” said John Lisle, spokesperson for the D.C. Department of Transportation. Lisle said the agency also has not yet determined where the trolley will turn around and how it will connect with the maintenance facility slated to be across the river in Anacostia.
According to Transportation Department director of communications Karyn LeBlanc, the agency is still working with project engineers to determine how to power the trolley, though she said she is “fairly certain” the tracks will accommodate any kind of power source, including underground conduits.
The department also has not ruled out its original first choice: overhead wires, which were used for the demonstration streetcar in Anacostia. But federal law prohibits such wires on H Street.
In response to the Anacostia streetcar plan, the National Capital Planning Commission noted in an April 2009 report that overhead wires are illegal in L’Enfant City, an area that includes the H Street corridor and is bordered by Rock Creek park to the west, Florida Avenue to the north, and the Anacostia River to the southeast.
“We are relatively pleased with the work so far,” said Julie Koster, the commission’s director of planning, research and policy, “and we’re focused on having good discussions with [the Transportation Department].”
Koster said one of the most viable options for power mirrors the trolley system in Bordeaux, France, in which an electrified ground line powers up as the streetcar passes over it. The technology is a newer version of the type used for the original trolleys in D.C. around the turn of the 20th century, said the commission’s community planner, Lucy Kempf.
There is currently no timeline for determining the power source, according to Koster. She said finding the best possible solution is the top priority. The roadwork on Benning Road is expected to be finished by the end of 2009. The H Street segment, including laying the tracks, is slated for completion in July 2011.
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