I live in the District of Columbia, known locally as “DC”, and worldwide as the location of Washington, the capital of the United States. Outside DC, people tend to use the terms interchangeably, but here, we like to make a distinction: “DC” or “the District” is a city where people live, work, play, and generally go about their business just like any other large city in the United States or the world.

My first experience with Metro was in the late 70s, when my grandparents lived in Arlington, VA. The first ride I remember was getting on the Blue line at Rosslyn and riding over to Smithsonian to go to my favorite museum, Air and Space. Several years later, I remember parking at East Falls Church, which wasn’t open for train service yet, and getting on at Ballston to do more or less the same trip.

The DC Streetcar project has been an ongoing boondoggle for a long time, but it may finally be coming to something close to an end. The system will open for business on February 27, or at least something close to “for business.” In what appears to be a rush to get the streetcar running before some arbitrary date, a few unfortunate choices have been made. The car barn at Spingarn High School isn’t ready.