Modern streetcars could one day run through the Alexandria campus of NOVA. Artwork by Dan Gorosito

Northern Virginia residents and business leaders are invited to a discussion on the D.C. Streetcar system and its effect on the Northern Virginia region, including the Alexandria campus of Northern Virginia Community College.

The District of Columbia will soon unveil the D.C. Streetcar system starter lines on H Street Northwest and in Anacostia. The lines will grow to a 22-mile system in the District of Columbia. In Northern Virginia, the Columbia Pike and Crystal City lines are in the planning stages with studies exploring additional routes.

The Columbia Pike line will initially take passengers from Pentagon City to the edge of the NOVA-Alexandria Campus. The Crystal City line will run to the Alexandria city limits and possibly to a planned Metro stop in Potomac Yard.

The Northern Virginia Streetcar Coalition, the Del Ray Business Association and the NOVA Institute for Public Service are hosting the meeting to highlight the role modern streetcars can play in Northern Virginia’s transportation options.

Speakers include:

• Thomas Perry, DC Streetcar program manager

• Lee Perna, Del Ray neighborhood historian

• Timothy Lovain, Alexandria City Council member and founder of the Northern Virginia Streetcar Coalition

• The Honorable J. Walter Tejada, Arlington County Board chairman

Dr. Jimmie McClellan, liberal arts division dean at NOVA-Alexandria and president of the Northern Virginia Streetcar Coalition, will serve as moderator.

Dr. Jimmie McClellan

“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.

The discussion will take place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., on Thursday, Oct. 24 at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center, located at 1701 Commonwealth Avenue in Alexandria.

The meeting is free and open to the public.

For more information about the event, contact Linda Rodriguez, NOVA Institute for Public Service coordinator, at 703-933-8099 or lirodriguez@nvcc.edu.

By: Contributing Author

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