Washington, DC — Mayor Forms Task Force

October 2012

Mayor Vincent Gray announced the creation of a task force to evaluatie the future of the planned 37-mile streetcar system, the dcist.com site reported. The group will consider funding for the system, construction scheduling, and possible creation of an independent agency to manage the lines.

City Administrator Allen Lew will chair the panel. Other members will be the developers Jair Lynch and Matthew Klein, District Department of Transportation Director Terry Bellamy, D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi and Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Victor Hoskins. A total of 14 people will be on the task force, including six public members with expertise in transportation systems design or engineering, public-private development partnerships, project financing and/or economic development, according to a press release from Gray's office.

The task force will be expected to provide detailed annual cost estimates for the construction of each portion of the 22-mile priority segments of the planned 37-mile system and for the system's operation and maintenance; examine potential funding sources and financing options for the system's construction, operation and maintenance; propose construction timelines; examine potential forms of governance for construction and operation; and send written reports of its findings and recommendations to the mayor.

"The district has the most ambitious streetcar plan in the nation. We are the only city talking about putting down 37 miles of track," Gray said in a prepared statement. "I want to make sure we have the best minds working on the important issues of financing and government to ensure the system has a firm foundation."

The task force will sunset on Dec. 31, 2013.