Evening star., 1934-04-26
STREET CAR ROUTE
CHANGES LOOMING
ON BROAD SCALE
Several Major Lines May Be
Affected by Action of
Utilities Body.
CONSTITUTION AVENUE
TRACK REMOVAL SEEN
Creates Problem of Handling
Ninth Street Cars-Studies
of Others Under Way.

The abandonment of trackage in
the southwest section, to be considered
at a public hearing by the Public
Utilities Commission tomorrow, is but
the first of a series of far-reaching
changes to be undertaken by the
Capital Transit Co. in the future
Some of them are quite certain tc
occur, the studies behind them hav.
ing been completed. Others are Still
undergoing study by experts for the
commission and for the company
The changes under discussion to-
morrow involve the removal of tracks
on Constitution avenue between
Seventh and Ninth streets, and or
-Four -and-a-half street southwest
Canal street southwest and the l
street southwest connection with
Water street. These tracks form ir
part the route of the line of the
former Washington Railway g. Elec-
trio Co. line from Ninth street tc
Anacostia and Congress Heights.
Other Connections Slated.
1t is expected to bring the Ana
costa cars in either by a connection
to the existing terminal of another
line at First and E streets southeast
around by way of Union Station and
downtown F street, or possibly by a
connection with the tracks on Penn
sylvania avenue southeast.
Removal of the tracks on Constitu-
ton avenue. required by the Fed
eral Government because of the mon-
umental character of the develop
ment of that thoroughfare, has left
unsolved the problem of what to do
with the Ninth street cars when they
reach Pennsylvania avenue in the
morning rush hours and wish to turn
back. The company has submitted
several schemes to the Federal au-
thorities, but so far none of them
has been approved.
Looking ahead toward other
changes that may be expected in the
not so distant future, however, one
of them may be the abandonment of
the LeDroit Park line and the sub
stitution of a bus line which would
continue south to Pennsylvania ave-
nue., then south by way of Four and
a-hah street to P street or to the
wharves.
Express Service Possible.
1t is planned to have the Eleventh
and Monroe street line terminate in
a downtown loop, possibly around E
Ninth and G streets. Another plan
under study is to connect up the
northern terminus of the Eleventh
street line to the present Georgia
avenue line by way of New Hampshire
avenue. Then some of the patrons re-
siding in the Takoma Park section
VINO now 60 downtown by way OF
Georgia avenue would travel by way
of Eleventh street instead, and per-
hapS some sort of an express service
will be worked out on Eleventh street
south of Monroe street.
Another plan affecting these pat
rons is to eliminate the z turn now
made by the Georgia avenue line by
way of Florida avenue in order to get
into Ninth street. 1t is proposed to
have the Georgia avenue cars proceed
straight south. entering Seventh street
near Griffith Stadium.
With these two latter changes in
effect, some of the Georgia avenue
cars would branch into New Hamp-
shirt avenue and come straight into
the downtown district by way of
Eleventh street, and some would come
straight down by way of Seventh
street There is yet, however, no plan
for scrapping the Ninth street line
because of the width and commercial
Importance of that thoroughfare.
Looking to a different section OF
the city, the cars which now come in
by way of Wisconsin avenue, street
Dupont Circle and lower Connecticut
avenue would, under plan now being
studied be brought in from Wisconsin
avenue and M street along M street
and thence along the same route as
now followed by cars coming to town
from Rosslyn. This would allow the
company to abolish the tracks on P
street and permit the relief of some
OF the street car congestion at Dupont
Circle, which is now acute.
Chevy Chase Cars.
There is also a plan to take some
of the cars coming in from Chevy
Chase and turn them into Columbia
road at Eighteenth street, permitting
them to get to town from that point
by the same route as that now fol-
lowed by the Mount Pleasant line
Still another tentative plan fol-
these cars Is to bring them straight
down Connecticut avenue over the
Taft Bridge, instead of by the some
what circuitous route over the Calvert
Street Bridge and then east to Four
teenth or Seventh street, now fol-
lowed.
There are also some changes in
prospect for the navy yard section
although these are as yet in the more
or less speculative stage. 1t may be
that the AnacoStia cars will be hooked
into the present navy yard loop.
These changes, however, will come
one at a time, and tn, effects of each
on the system as whole will be very
carefully studied before any is put
in operation. The company, for in
stance, has been ready for some time
to make the change which would
bring the Wisconsin avenue cars into
M street and to town by way OF
Pennsylvania avenue, but this, as il
now stands, would put an undue
strain on the tracks on Fifteenth
street between Pennsylvania and New
York avenues, which are now carry
ing close to their capacity of cars in
rush hours. Studies of the company
show, by the way. that the heaviest
burden in the city, during rush hours,
is on the tracks of Fourteenth street
between F and G streets. In the
rush hours there is a maximum load
of 43 cars each Is minutes, or some
thing like car every 20 seconds.
Doubling Back Opposed.
Good railroading, the company be-
lieves, requires that the Fourteenth
street line should not double back to
Fifteenth street by way of the Treas
ury Building, and that there should