Washington D.C., 10 Square Miles Almost Completely Surrounded By Reality
If this is not the height of government stupidity, I fear what that might look like. The city of Washington D.C. (which, you’ll recall, is federal property overseen by the United States Congress) bought 3 electric streetcars three years ago for a total price of $10,000,000. Why? No one really knows, as the city does not have the overhead power lines needed to run the cars, nor does it have a plan to build them. So the streetcars remain in a factory in the Czech Republic, presumably where the person who bribed the incompetent idiot in D.C. works.
Your tax dollars at work.
DC was originally 10 miles square, not 10 square miles. 10 miles square is 100 square miles. But today, it is closer to 61 square miles.
While due to federal mandate, the Old City (the part of the city which falls under the original L’Enfant plan) prohibits overhead wiring, the majority of what is currently Washington, DC is not impacted by this rule. The ordered cars are slated for the Anacostia line which doesn’t fall under Old City ban. For those streetcar lines planned for w/in the original Old City borders, the city is exploring an underground system similar to was used when streetcars previously ran in these areas. Similar but updated technology is currently utilized in France. Of course, a simpler action would be to have the Federal government allow the DC government to make its own decisions on whether overhead wiring in the form of streetcar wires should be permitted, since the local citizenry supports improvements and extension of the local public transportation network.