Wires galore power San Francisco’s streetcars—the overhead lines currently aren’t allowed in D.C.

A few tracks have already been laid down on H Street. And Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells says the first streetcar installed in the District will run there rather than in Anacostia, as previously thought.

Still: don’t plan on hopping on a streetcar to the Rock and Roll Hotel or Granville Moore’s anytime soon. There are a couple more major hurdles to get through, according to the Washington Business Journal.

First the District Department of Transportation will be hosting community meetings on the streetcar plan in  all eight wards. As the WBJ reported: “DDOT will vet plans for not only the H Street and Anacostia lines but for future lines along corridors such as K Street and Georgia Avenue NW and 8th and M streets SE. ‘We are now working to make it operational as soon as is practically possible,’ he added.

Second, officials still haven’t figured out how they’re going to be powering the streetcars or where they will be stored and maintained. Apparently, overhead wires aren’t allowed in certain areas of the city (as dictated by the L’Enfant plan), but Wells is planning to draft a bill overriding the current policy.

Image by David Paul Ohmer, Flickr Creative Commons