I’m on the email list for Richard Conlin which provides updates on various council activities and in this month’s issue is interesting news about the possibility of an interconnected trolley line in the City of Seattle taking shape at City Council meetings. Apparently work is afoot to bring the various trolley lines at play in 3 areas of Seattle to a method of interconnecting – this would potentially connect South Lake Union (SLU) (although they prefer the name of Seattle Streetcar), Belltown, the Central District, and possibly more areas such as Ballard. It would be great if the goal can be accomplished. I’m curious if the 1st Avenue portion is the biggest factor since it will be impacted by what happens to the viaduct.
Having an extended trolley line would be great for all of those condominium dwellers in each of the areas marked for potential development because it would make it easier to live car free and could also be a boon for shopping and restaurants in each of the areas as people realize they can go from area to area without having to worry about finding parking or switching bus lines over and over.
For your reading pleasure and consideration is the article as it came to me from Richard Conlin’s e-newsletter:
STREETCAR NETWORK PLAN APPROVEDOn Monday, December 8, the City Council adopted legislation delineating a conceptual network for future streetcar development. The resolution endorsing the network plan was approved by a vote of 6 (Conlin, Drago, Licata, Clark, Burgess, Godden) to 3 (Rasmussen, McIver, Harrell).The resolution outlines the plan for possible future lines, and sets tentative priorities if funding becomes available. It does not commit the City to proceeding with developing the streetcar network. Rather, it includes a set of conditions for development of any particular line, including a complete funding plan and criteria for determining whether the proposal will be cost-effective and is efficiently coordinated with the Metro bus system.The resolution was prompted by the success of streetcars in other cities, and the situation that is developing in Seattle, which may lead to three disconnected streetcar lines, all of which are currently funded. The South Lake Union line, whose construction was funded 50% by businesses and 50% by grants, has been in operation for a year, and recently celebrated its 500,000th passenger, significantly more than initially projected. A streetcar connecting the Capitol Hill light rail station to Jackson Street is funded in Sound Transit’s Proposition 1, which received voter approval in November, and will go into construction with the light rail line. A replacement for the former waterfront streetcar, now in hiatus, is likely to be funded as part of the Alaskan Way Viaduct project; this line may run on First Avenue, where it would see higher ridership than on the waterfront. None of these lines will require major investments from City of Seattle funds.Having three separate streetcar lines that do not connect to each other seems inefficient, and would require duplicating maintenance bases. A modest investment would be required to ensure interconnection, and that is likely to be the first priority for any possible future funding. The network plan suggests that extending the South Lake Union streetcar to Fremont-Ballard and/or to the University District are the next possibilities, as well as extending a line out Jackson Street to 23rd Avenue and connecting east-west from Capitol Hill to the Seattle Center.The many cities that have built streetcar networks (including Portland) in recent decades have reported that ridership has been strong and that streetcars have proved to be cost effective. If funding can be found for linking and extending the Seattle lines, it is likely that they will prove to be a modest but useful part of our growing transit system.
