Washington DC: Rail transit

[bobdreamz]

I'm amazed at how much Federal funding for rail projects the DC area gets.

[202_Cyclist]

bobdreamz:

I'm amazed at how much Federal funding for rail projects the DC area gets.

The metro extension to Dulles got some funding from the Federal Transit Administration and WMATA gets some funding from Congress but three of the other big rail projects in our region (Purple Line, DC streetcars, and the Columbia Pike streetcars) have only received little, if any, federal funding so far.

I think it was the Government Accountability Office that had a map a few years ago in one of their reports and New York and LA have received the overwhelming amount of New Starts transit funding. If you think Florida's cities have missed out, I'd welcome your advocacy for raising the federal gas tax or provide new sources of transportation financing, which is desperately needed.

[bobdreamz]

I have no problem with raising the gas taxes. My gripe is with FTA and how they have denied Miami twice for a 9.5 mile Metrorail extension where the ROW has been secured & environmental impact studies were completed years ago. We have a sales tax also in place since 2002 to pay solely for transit yet they denied it saying it was "low density" even this was the first extension planned since the late 80s. We are just building the Metrorail Airport extension to the new intermodal center with our own money & and some state help. It just seems DC gets a lot of funding since it's the Capital.

[202_Cyclist]

DDOT hosted a meeting last night at the Atlas Theater on H Street, NE about the H Street - Benning Road streetcar plans. Mayor Vince Gray and DDOT Director Terry Bellamy attended. I wasn't actually able to attend because I arrived a few minutes late and there were already three hundred people attending and the venue was at capacity (There will be another meeting on December 20 at 6 PM).

The Washington City Paper has a recap of last night's meeting, where the Vince Gray and DDOT selected the route to Union Station.

Streetcar Going Up the H Street Bridge After All
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/b...dge-after-all/

Here is the DDOT presentation from last night.
http://www.dcstreetcar.com/uploads/6...6-11-final.pdf

Here's a pdf showing the western terminus at Union Station.
http://www.dcstreetcar.com/uploads/6...estination.pdf

[202_Cyclist]

Fairfax County approves Dulles rail agreement

By Fredrick Kunkle
December 6, 2011
Washington Post

"The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a revised funding agreement for the second phase of Metrorail’s extension to Dulles International Airport despite some members’ misgivings that the project’s total costs are still uncertain and likely to rise.

The board’s vote amounted to final approval for a deal brokered this year by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a bid to shave costs from Metro’s Silver Line from Wiehle Avenue in Reston to Route 772 in Loudoun County.

County officials said the new agreement should reduce the total estimated cost of the second phase by about one-quarter, from $3.8 billion to $2.8 billion, and trims as much as $757 million from the burden on drivers who use the Dulles Toll Road. The biggest savings came after the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which is managing the entire $6 billion project, reversed its decision to put the Dulles Airport station underground..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...SaO_story.html

[ardecila]

The airport station may not be underground, but if it is above-ground, then it should be fully-enclosed with platform doors. The metro station will be a key point for visitors to the city, so why make them wait in the cold?

I'm mixed about the streetcar decision - it prevents DDOT from having to build a track loop that won't be used in the final Georgetown-Benning line, but that loop could prove valuable in the future. Plus, having a terminus closer to the front of the station means passengers coming from MARC/VRE/Amtrak have a much shorter walk from train-to-streetcar.

[202_Cyclist]

D.C. awards $8.7M deal for two streetcars

Washington Business Journal
By Michael Neibauer
Wednesday, December 14, 2011

"The District has struck an $8.7 million deal with a Portland, Ore., firm to supply two 144-passenger streetcars for D.C.'s 2.2-mile H Street/Benning Road NE line.

United Streetcar LLC, a subsidiary of Oregon Iron Works Inc., won the deal to design, test, manufacture and deliver two streetcar vehicles plus parts. The contract is now before the D.C. Council and will be deemed approved Dec. 18, unless a member of the council moves to disapprove it.

The winning bid was selected over one from Inekon, the manufacturer of D.C.'s first three streetcars. Inekon, of the Czech Republic, offered to build the two new cars for $9.5 million. Its first two cars ran $10 million for three..."

http://www.bizjournals.com/washingto...l-for-two.html

[202_Cyclist]

Montgomery County seeks to add Capital Bikeshare stations


By Mark Berman
Washington Post
12/23/2011

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation is trying to bring Capital Bikeshare to the part of the county that borders Washington.

Montgomery officials announced this week that they have applied for a $1 million dollar grant from the Maryland Department of Transportation to fund a bike-sharing system in the southern part of the county.

The grant would pay for 29 stations with 204 bikes situated between the Beltway and the Maryland-D.C. border. Stations would be located in Bethesda, Silver Spring, the Medical Center area, Friendship Heights/Chevy Chase and Takoma Park..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...zyDP_blog.html

[202_Cyclist]

O'Malley announces $69 million in Purple Line spending

By: Ben Giles and Rachel Baye
12/29/11
Washington Examiner

Maryland has budgeted nearly $69 million in state transportation funds to cover engineering costs for the Purple Line from Bethesda to New Carrollton over the next two years, Gov. Martin O'Malley said Thursday.

The announcement marks the state's first commitment in budget dollars to completing the Purple Line, a proposed 16-mile light-rail line connecting Montgomery and Prince George's counties, which officials now estimate will cost $1.925 billion. It is scheduled to open in 2020.

Construction won't begin until 2015, but the Federal Transit Administration recently gave approval for officials to begin the engineering phase of the Purple Line in October..."

http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/...ending/2045676

[202_Cyclist]

Building Purple Line would affect more than 340 properties, state says

By Katherine Shaver
January 11, 2012
Washington Post

"Building a 16-mile Purple Line through Montgomery and Prince George’s counties would require condemning 31 homes, 43 businesses, and parts of hundreds of yards and other parcels of land, said a new state report that includes vastly higher community impacts than previously made public.

In total, building a light-rail line, Metro stations and two train storage and maintenance facilities would require the state to buy and condemn all or part of 342 properties along the east-west route between New Carrollton and Bethesda, the Maryland Transit Administration said.

In an analysis released in 2008, state officials estimated that the line would require condemning a dozen houses and apartment buildings and 16 to 19 businesses. Although that analysis noted the need for “strip acquisition” of other adjacent parcels, it did not give a total number of properties affected..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...y.html?hpid=z3

[202_Cyclist]

D.C. cancels proposed streetcar deal

By Michael Neibauer
January 11, 2012
Washington Business Journal

"The District has canceled a proposed $8.7 million deal for two new streetcars after a competing bidder protested the decision, and a formal review found its complaints to be on point.

The D.C. Department of Transportation's award to Portland, Ore.-based United Streetcar LLC, a subsidiary of Oregon Iron Works, was rescinded days ago under what DDOT is calling a "corrective action." The cancellation comes on the heels of the Czech Republic-based Inekon Group's Dec. 21 protest of the award.

"As a result of Inekon's assertions," DDOT has agreed to cancel the proposed contract award to United Streetcar, rescind the cost/price trade-off analysis it used to justify the deal and will "determine whether to proceed with or cancel" the request for proposals, according to the D.C. Office of the Attorney General..."

http://www.bizjournals.com/washingto...-contract.html

[Busy Bee]

Edit.......

[kevike]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

D.C. cancels proposed streetcar deal

By Michael Neibauer
January 11, 2012
Washington Business Journal

"The District has canceled a proposed $8.7 million deal for two new streetcars after a competing bidder protested the decision, and a formal review found its complaints to be on point.

The D.C. Department of Transportation's award to Portland, Ore.-based United Streetcar LLC, a subsidiary of Oregon Iron Works, was rescinded days ago under what DDOT is calling a "corrective action." The cancellation comes on the heels of the Czech Republic-based Inekon Group's Dec. 21 protest of the award.

"As a result of Inekon's assertions," DDOT has agreed to cancel the proposed contract award to United Streetcar, rescind the cost/price trade-off analysis it used to justify the deal and will "determine whether to proceed with or cancel" the request for proposals, according to the D.C. Office of the Attorney General..."

http://www.bizjournals.com/washingto...-contract.html

Thank God! Hopefully we can get these things built overseas, even if it cost's more.

[202_Cyclist]

Montgomery defers money for second Bethesda Metro entrance to next capital spending plan

By Katherine Shaver
Washington Post
January 17, 2012

"Montgomery County has deferred $43.6 million previously allocated in the county’s six-year spending plan to build a second entrance to the Bethesda Metrorail station. Officials say the money isn’t needed until funding for a Purple Line’s construction is secured.

The move drew immediate criticism from local transit activists. The Action Committee for Transit said the second entrance is necessary before a Purple Line’s construction “to give Bethesda commuters a badly needed alternative” to the station’s “increasingly unreliable escalators” scheduled for replacement in two years.

County officials have said the new high-speed elevators are primarily intended to connect the underground Metrorail station with a street-level Purple Line system. However, state transit officials are still seeking highly competitive federal funding to help cover half of a Purple Line’s estimated $1.93 billion in construction costs. The 16-mile light rail line would connect Bethesda with New Carrollton, via Silver Spring and College Park..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...oJ6P_blog.html

[202_Cyclist]

Pretty interesting post. Three thoughts come to mind:

1) This seems a bit like "Ready, Fire, Aim" planning. Hopefully, WMATA and MWAA did alternatives analysis when they applied for federal funding.
2) If I was MWAA Czar for a day, I would terminate the station at Dulles instead of having the 2-3 stations in Loudoun. Of course, this would jeopardize the funding commitment from Loudoun Co, so it isn't going to happen but unless a local govt plans on hundreds of millions (or billions) of dollars of investment around the stations, no metro extension for them.
3) If MWAA is considering a people-connector instead of metro-rail to the terminal, why not think broader and study light rail for Rt 28? It could connect to the airport, the Air & Space museum, and the many offices and hotels along the Rt 28 corridor, as well as provide an incentive for infill development along this corridor. It could also connect to I-66.


Does an Airport Line Have to Reach the Airport?
For Washington Dulles Airport, raising the unthinkable on a new rail link.

By Yonah Freemark
January 19, 2012

"Yesterday, Robert Brown, a member of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), suggested rethinking his agency’s planned Metro rail extension out to Dulles Airport, the Washington region’s prime international gateway. Instead of the bringing this $2.8 billion rail link — frequently referred to as the Silver Line — directly to the airport, Brown noted that replacing the final 1.5-mile connection with a people mover would save $70 million thanks to a more limited right-of-way and the construction of one less Metro station.

The Silver Line is an extension of the Washington Metro’s Orange Line and will eventually reach Loudoun County. The first segment of the project, to Tyson’s Corner and Wiehle Avenue, is planned to open for service next year.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the idea was perceived as heresy, both by local commenters and board members. Mame Reiley, one board member, said “I just don’t think that’s what we labored for… it is not rail to Dulles.” Concerns were raised that the federal government might delay the program because the board was “starting over.” And indeed the proposal appears to have been dismissed by the authority board as unacceptable..."

http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2...port/#comments

[202_Cyclist]

Speaking of Metro, there are signs in the Dupont station that work will begin to replace two of the escalators for the south entrance on CT Ave in February. WMATA expects this will take 8 1/2 months.

This seems like an absurd amount of time to replace two escalators. During WWII (admittedly this was a higher priority) we built hundreds of battleships in 8 1/2 months. The Chinese just built a skyscraper in a couple of weeks (admittedly it is an open question whether you'd be safe in the building). It seems like most developed countries could replace two escalators in maybe a month.

8 1/2 months is just the estimate from WMATA, as well. It is more likely to take a year and eight months.

[OhioGuy]

I think it's 3 escalators they're replacing, not 2 at Dupont South. There are three escalators there and I doubt they're going to shut down the entire entrance for such a lengthy period of time only to replace 2 of the 3.

And while they shut down Dupont South, it appears one of the Dupont North escalators between the outbound platform and mezzanine will also be closed, leaving the large number of people using Dupont to be forced into single file usage of the one remaining platform/mezzanine escalator. That's going to lead to backups, particularly during the afternoon rush. Not particularly wise timing to be closing that escalator at the north side when the entire south entrance/exit is going to be closed. Hopefully they'll get it reopened quickly.

[202_Cyclist]

Today, the DC Office of Planning published its "Streetcar Land Use Study," looking at the land-use opportunities and impacts of the proposed 37-mile network of streetcars throughout the District (except there is no streetcar proposed for the dense Wisconsin Avenue corridor). It's a very interesting and detailed study, with several maps and graphics. Among other interesting findings are:

* Currently 22,000 DC households are within 1/4 mile of a metro station. The completed streetcar network will increase this to 95,000 households that live within 1/4 mile of a streetcar or metro-rail station.
*"The increases in real estate values and development that the streetcar could spur over a ten-year period-- looking only at land within a quarter mile of new routes-- would exceed the projected cost of creating the system by 600% to 1,000%."
*"Strengthens real estate values by adding $5 billion to $7 billion to the value of existing property and sparking an additional $5 to $8 billion in new development in the ten years after completion—in the corridors alone. These benefits extend across housing, commercial, and retail markets and apply in varying degrees to every streetcar corridor."
*Increases revenue to the District by strengthening the real estate market, adding new residents, and producing greater sales-tax receipts. Together, these sources would likely generate between $238 million and $29ı million in annual new revenue within ten years of completion of the system.

Here is the link for the study:
http://planning.dc.gov/DC/Planning/P...een%20View.pdf

[ardecila]

Only 22000? That's an amazingly low number.

Average weekday boardings hover around 750000, or roughly 375000 users. That means, even assuming that everyone living near a metro station uses the train to get to work, that only 6% of Metro ridership derives from Washingtonians who walk to a station.

In reality the number is probably quite a bit lower because the people who live near Metro stations don't all use the system.

For all the vaunted TOD that's occurred in the District, it's still a drop in the bucket of Metro ridership, which is a drop in the bucket of the DC area's population.

[Nouvellecosse]

But don't forget that the number of households doesn't directly translate into the number of potential users. A single household can be home to multiple riders.