By Kirstin Downey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
By land and by sea, Alexandria is preparing for the launch of the National Harbor mega-hotel and convention complex in Prince George's County by introducing two ways to get tourists and Washington area residents to the city and across Old Town to Metro.
Alexandria inaugurated a free trolley service that, starting today, will run every 15 minutes, ferrying passengers from the King Street Metro station to the waterfront, where they will be able to hop aboard a water taxi and head across the Potomac River to Maryland.
The red-and-black trolleys, which feature old-fashioned wood-backed seats and large picture windows that let passengers look out over the Old Town historic district, are drawing praise from tourists and residents.
The trolleys began operating last week on a reduced schedule, and the full service will be inaugurated as the water taxis begin plying the route between the waterfront and National Harbor. The water taxis, which go into operation today, are operated by a private firm that hopes to disgorge 500 to 1,000 tourists in Alexandria daily. A round-trip adult fare is $14.
A steady stream of passengers boarded a trolley Friday morning as it made its way along the 19 stops that stretch out across Old Town. Tourists said the trolley, with its clanging brass bell, makes Old Town more attractive and accessible. Some residents said it made them more likely to ride rather than drive.
"It's so unique looking," said Gena Manalan, a tourist from Boston who climbed aboard at the King Street Metro station and rode to the Alexandria visitors center at 221 King St. "People gravitate to these instead of to a conventional conveyance."
"It's cute," said Alexandria resident Bibi Booth, who said she would urge her friends to use the trolley when visiting her instead of driving to Old Town. "It might help keep traffic down."
The trolley service is expected to cost up to $800,000 a year.
The city initiated the trolley service, which replaces a conventional bus service with a more limited schedule, to capitalize on the development of the National Harbor convention complex. The city has viewed economic development in Old Town as a key strategy for coping with declining revenue from property taxes as real estate values fall. City officials hope the trolley will bring more dollar-wielding customers to the city's restaurants, museums and stores.
The trolley is intended to link up with the water taxi, which will make the trip between the Alexandria City Marina and a pier at National Harbor, a $2 billion, 300-acre mixed-use development. The first convention at National Harbor started yesterday.
The water taxi service, operated by Potomac Riverboat Co., will initially offer departures once every hour, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with each one-way trip expected to take about 20 minutes. Alexandria officials hope the trolley will whisk tourists deeper into the city and discourage them from clogging the streets by driving.
In September, when the City Council approved the project, officials anticipated they would soon receive a transportation windfall because of the state transit-funding agreement approved last April. Alexandria officials thought they could use this money to pay for the service, so they ordered the four trolleys and contracted for the service to begin.
The state plan unraveled, however, as legislators wrangled over funding sources and then the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that parts of the plan were unconstitutional. At a meeting March 11, council members confronted a $21.5 million budget shortfall even as the trolleys were being readied to make their first appearance on the street. Alexandria decided to proceed with the trolley start-up regardless of the uncertainty, but officials will need to come up with some way to pay for the service.
Council members "got the rug yanked out from under them," said Mark Jinks, deputy city manager. He said the city might need to consider raising the meals tax slightly to pay for the service, or might need to "reprioritize" the budget in other ways.
"The recommendation of the city manager is that the trolley is a high priority, and the council seems to view it that way as well," Jinks said. "We need to make it easier for people to get from place to place."
Ronald F. Kirby, director of transportation planning for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, said Alexandria's trolley service is unusual because it is not limited to use during a special event or on holiday weekends, as other trolley services have tended to be. He said it would invite more people to travel the entire length of King Street instead of heading to a single destination, particularly because they can ride it free.
"It's a clever idea, actually," he said. "It enables you to put something out on the street at a relatively low cost. . . . It's something you can hop on or off without worrying about the fare or where it is going."
It is too early to say how many riders the trolleys will attract. They havebeen operating on a limited basis, running every half-hour from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Starting today, they will run every 15 minutes from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.
"We've gotten a very good reception," said Jim Maslanka, Alexandria's chief of transit services. "Everyone thinks it's a good amenity for the city, and ridership is higher than anybody expected. People just have a real feel-good feeling about it."
A mix of Alexandria residents and tourists intermingled in a trolley on Friday morning, surprised and pleased to find a jolly-looking vehicle waiting for them at the corner. Most passengers looked at the vehicle with curiosity and interest but boarded quizzically, asking how much it cost to ride.
"People ask, 'Is it free?,' or 'How much do I owe you?," said trolley driver James Smallwood of Waldorf, who assured them there is no cost. The passengers' faces lit up. They climbed up the stairs into the vehicle, most sitting together at the front, many smiling broadly as they looked out the windows.
"It's like a new toy," Smallwood said.
Ronnie and Joe Grassi, retirees from New Jersey staying at the Morrison House Hotel, said the trolley service made it easier for them to spend more time in Alexandria instead of the District. They are repeat visitors, and they said the long walk from the Morrison to Metro and the waterfront had discouraged them from wandering up and down King Street in the past. This time, however, Ronnie Grassi said, she has been able to leave her husband behind in their hotel room and step out to the trolley to do a little extra shopping she would not have done otherwise on her own.
"Now it's easy for me to run to all these shops," she said. "I feel safe."
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