The Seattle Streetcar Thread

[pwright1]

I rode it today. All 1.3 miles of it. It doesn't sound like much but
believe me I think this is the start of something big.
The area between the retail district and south Lake Union
will become one huge urban oasis imo.
image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


KOMO 4 News on the scene
image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr

[CityView Jim]

I'm just wondering if they need to set up a first aid station for all the stupid bicyclists who choose to ride down Westlake weeving in and out of the rail grooves. There is a nice bike lane over on 7th and on to Dexter that runs the full length from downtown to Fremont.

I drove by Denny Park around 5pm and saw that the cyclist (20-40 or so) appeared to be organizing a protest.

Give me a break!!!

[taiwanesedrummer36]

I say: learn how to ride a bike!

[JiminyCricket]

nice, seems like a lot of riders.

[Seattlelife]

Originally Posted by CityView Jim

I drove by Denny Park around 5pm and saw that the cyclist (20-40 or so) appeared to be organizing a protest.

Give me a break!!!

Give me a freaking break. Are you serious??? Good God that's ridiculous

[SteveM]

Originally Posted by Seattle Husky

Give me a freaking break. Are you serious??? Good God that's ridiculous

Cut them some slack -- it's easy to convince bicyclists to ride in protest, since riding in protest is very similar to just plain riding, which is what hard-core bicyclists like to do. It's like video game fans saying "I'm going to organize a protest of the Iraq war where my friends and I will play Halo 3 all night!"

If you read the bike lobby's statements, all they're actually suggesting is that if we build more streetcars, we should build them in center lanes. This is probably better for the streetcars, too (fewer cars turning right in front of them), though it is slightly more expensive (need to build a platform instead of re-using sidewalks.

[CityView Jim]

If we build the streetcars down the middle of the roads, we will then be concerned with pedestrian safety over bicyclists. I'll defend the little old lady crossing the street before the rebel cyclists. Sorry!

No really, there are just too many alternatives for the saavy bike riders. To be honest, I don't ever see cyclists on Westlake. Again, Dexter is a heavily travelled bike route. USE IT!!!

[jessejb]

Look how many people are riding today! This is Seattle?!?! I love it!

[SteveM]

Originally Posted by CityView Jim

If we build the streetcars down the middle of the roads, we will then be concerned with pedestrian safety over bicyclists. I'll defend the little old lady crossing the street before the rebel cyclists. Sorry!

Yeah, that's a good point -- since you'll need to cross the street to get to the center platform, it's tougher for the actual people who would be using the trolley.

And yeah, Westlake is not and never has been the bike corridor. Dexter, Eastlake and even Fairview have always been better N-S routes through that area.

[Seattle FTW]

Originally Posted by jessejb

Look how many people are riding today! This is Seattle?!?! I love it!

I'm sure that has nothing to do with the fact that it is free to ride this month.

[captredbeard]

Streetcars are built in the center of the road in many places, it makes great sense. In Portland I heard the first lines were on the right, and all recent and future ones will be in the middle. Also the bikers would like an alternative with a bike lane, which the city nicely says will be done in 2009.

The fact that is is full because it's free is a just another indication that to get people on transit, it needs to be either quite cheap or free. The waterfront trolley was a big hit mostly because it was FREE. Metro only recovers 63 million a year from people paying, thats chump change around here. The main complaint of those that don't want free transit is that it will attract bums, but right now that's a big problem already. I have seen plenty of people just waltz on the bus and not pay....

[seapug]

i would be all for getting rid of the ride free area. so many bums getting on already crowded buses to travel like 2 blocks making it nearly impossible for people who are actually trying to go somewhere to find a seat. i just don't let em sit by me, because i think getting on to go 1 or 2 stops like they do is retarded and they smell bad.

[mhays]

Bikes can go anywhere they want.

But I do think they should just live with streetcars.

[Tcmetro]

Why don't they scrap the free ride zone and have two or three free circulators that run every 5-10 minutes go around downtown? Also turnstyles should be added to the bus tunnel.

[Seattle FTW]

is there anyone else that could really care less about the street car?

you can walk anywhere the streetcar goes in 20-30 minutes.

[BoulderGrad]

Yes, and the streetcar can get you there in 12 minutes... How bout that...

[jessejb]

Its just a start.

I mean, I never used to want to go to Whole Foods if it was raining because I cant carry many bags and an umbrella at the same time, but now I can go whenever!

[CityView Jim]

Agreed. Just like light rail, this is a start. If it extends from Fred Hutch to the UW, that would be a major boon. Head north from Lake Union Park through Fremont to the zoo, another home run. Connect First Hill, Capitol Hill to Westlake Center, three major hits!!

[taiwanesedrummer36]

Something like this?



Just a little something I came up with

(Red = existing lines, Blue = proposed lines)

[citruspastels]

you know td, as my current travel patterns stand i would use that map more than the light rail.