Black Wednesday

This morning, the DC Council voted to strip $49 million from the Streetcar program. This budget change was made by the Chariman, Vincent Gray, at 2:00 am the morning of the vote. There was no time for public or council discourse on the issue.

Despite the fact that streetcar rails have already been laid between Oklahoma Avenue and downtown, the DC Council has decided that H Street, devastated in the 1968 riots, does not deserve a second chance at life.

This move jeopardizes the H Street Streetcar and the rest of the streetcar program. The line on H Street was supposed to open in 2012 as a part of a 37-mile District-wide system. The Anacostia Line demonstration project, which was supposed to open in 2006, remains under construction.

Update:
The Council has restored funding to the H Street Streetcar. They were inundated with calls and emails.