More on the Anacostia streetcar via Baltimore

A couple years ago, I trekked up to Baltimore to attend the "world premiere" of a video produced by the Baltimore Citizens Planning and Housing Association about the trips that Baltimoreans took to four U.S. cities, Portland, Denver, Boston and Los Angeles, to see best practice transit systems in operation. These trips were taken in relation to the planning for that city's new "red line," which now looks to being planned as a streetcar line. Somewhere I should have a copy of the video. In any case, check out the relevant webpage.

Baltimore's political officials and activists support the creation of this line, even though there is a great deal of disagreement amongst activists on how this line should be conceived of and built because Baltimore doesn't really have a system of rail-based transit.

Instead it has three different rail-based modes--subway, light rail and railroad--with few interconnections, and routes that are truncated, leaving many of the most in-demand destinations without rail-based transit connections. So key activists would like to see this line begin to knit the system together, to begin the creation of a rail-based transit _system_ rather than having all these dis-coordinated lines.

But, I think it's clear that everyone wants the transit system in Baltimore. See Draft Red Line Community Compact.

Whereas it's pretty clear that leading activists in Anacostia do not support bringing the streetcar line to their community in a way that "connects" the community comparable to how streetcar lines are being implemented in other cities.

Canal Streetcar Line, New Orleans (pre-Katrina). Flickr photo by Jon Simmons.

I don't see how Anacostia's community leaders and activists can believe that soccer is the key to their economic salvation rather than a far more reliable street-based fixed-rail transit network, but clearly McFarlane Partners has spent more time and money doing community organizing in Ward 8 than has DC's Department of Transportation.

I am behind in my reading of the Baltimore Sun, so I only read this article from a couple weeks ago, "Neighborhood sees $1.3 billion lifeline," subtitled "Transit link viewed as revival key in West Baltimore" tonight. It shows how Mayor Dixon and residents of the neighborhood are committed and supportive of bringing better transit to their community. Would that Anacostia be so united.

Mayor Sheila Dixon and community leaders take a tour along a stretch of Pulaski Street, near the proposed Red Line route in West Baltimore, to talk about the impact on the neighborhood. (Sun photo by Doug Kapustin / June 26, 2008)