Discussion Set for Update on District's Streetcars

The Northern Virginia Streetcar Coalition and the Del Ray Business Association are hosting a meeting to discuss the role of modern streetcars in the region.

The meeting, to be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 24 at Mount Vernon Recreation Center, 2701 Commonwealth Ave. in Alexandria, will include remarks from Thomas Perry, the program manager of DC Streetcar; Lee Perna, a historian of the Del Ray neighborhood; Tim Lovain, Alexandria city councilman and a founder of the NVSC; and Walter Tejada, chairman of the Arlington County Board.

Jimmie McClellan, president of NVSC and dean of liberal arts at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria campus, will serve as moderator.

The panel will discuss multiple streetcar projects in the metropolitan region, including the District’s H Street line, which is set to debut by the end of 2013. DC officials have planned a 22-mile system within the city.

Streetcar lines are also planned for Columba Pike and Crystal City in Arlington.

In 2012, Arlington and Alexandria reached an agreement to bring streetcars to the Crystal City-Potomac Yard Transitway sometime in the future.

Alexandria will start running buses on its portion of the transitway next year.

“The streetcar is the proven technology of our grandparents and the best hope for our grandchildren to have clean, efficient, and safe urban transportation,” McClellan said in a statement.

The meeting is free and open to the public.