Here’s are some photos from the DC Streetcar Open House held last month at the site of the former Convention Center.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=181478 (photos courtesy of Beyond DC)

The streetcars offer lower (i.e. easier) boarding and spacious aisles, more like riding metro rail than riding a bus.

At least 30-40% of streetcar riders will be people who otherwise would have driven to Georgetown. That data is consistent in other cities with streetcars, and there is absolutely no reason to think streetcars in Georgetown will be different. If anything, it will be higher because 13 blocks of the route into Georgetown (9th to 22th streets) will be dedicated streetcar lanes.

Georgetowners are beginning to understand this, and I look forward to the day when the ANC and CAG make Georgetown streetcars a central part of their agendas for Georgetown.

First DC’s streetcars can hold up to 143 passengers. Each city block has space to accommodate approximately twelve cars. If you figure 1.2 passengers per vehicle this is 15 passengers per block of curbside parking. I would gladly trade a streetcar for this possible loss of parking, especially when you consider many passengers will ride a streetcar who wouldn’t ride a bus, enhancing mobility. Additionally, I think it is unlikely that it is Georgetown/Burleith residents that currently use most of the curbside parking. The commercial strip of Wisconsin Avenue and K Street are both a short walk for Georgetown residents. Instead, I would expect that it is mostly MD/VA residents who drive to Georgetown and cruise for curbside parking.

As for the overhead wires, where is the concern that overhead traffic signals (which are much bigger than the wires) threaten views in Georgetown? As Scott Kubly from DDOT showed people last night, the cables DDOT intends to use are about the diameter of a pen. Certainly, the will not ruin any views. Any obstruction from these wires needs to be weighed against the reduction in auto use that streetcars will bring, improving air quality in Georgetown and the broader DC region as the amount of emissions and particulate matter is reduced.

Chairman Lewis explained that no proposal had been made by Eastbanc, and that the ANC cannot take action on projects based on what might be in them and must wait for a proposal.

This seemed to frustrate some residents who showed up wanting to convince Eastbanc to not complete their purchase because of community opposition to developing on the parking lot and playground.