The Seattle Streetcar Thread

[Seattle FTW]

oh boy

[citruspastels]

Originally Posted by taiwanesedrummer36

Is the guy a homosexual?

common man. really?

[CityView Jim]

Originally Posted by citruspastels

common man. really?

Be nice. He's from Everett.

[mhays]

Pedestrians are always walking around. We need to get places.

[taiwanesedrummer36]

Hahahaha.....okay, sorry if I offended anyone (man, i'm just cruel)...

[Seasun]

Originally Posted by Seasun

I just rode a slut for the first time...I gave up and just walked in the rain. So I look forward to trying it again but I hope the drivers learn to keep their change overs more brief. For a free ride it was a good value. For $$ not so much.

follow-up for those that are interested:
I e-mailed the seattle.gov address at seattlestreetcar.org last night to convey my experience in some detail. This afternoon I got a response from an actual person (always amazes me that my e-mail gets through spam filters, is actually read by a City employee and that employee can respond the same day without filling out 8 forms!) The gist of the response is that another person had a problem with an operator and this operator has been removed from streetcar operations. Sounds like he still works for Metro but just not as a streetcar operator. Of the two operators I saw chatting away I couldn't tell which one of them was less customer service oriented and which one I'd remove from streetcar operations!

[teddybear]

How big the street car's network, are they planning to cover much of Seattle? With high oil prices and environment issues, this is great!

[BoulderGrad]

Originally Posted by teddybear

How big the street car's network, are they planning to cover much of Seattle? With high oil prices and environment issues, this is great!

Right now, our operating street car network is only 1.3 miles long (just the South Lake Union Line). The Waterfront Trolley has been around for years but is out of service for now until they build a new maintenance facility (in the planning stages), and then will probably go out of service again when they start tearing up the Alaskan Way Viaduct in 2010 (wouldnt be suprised if it just stays out of service for that whole time).

After that, there has only been talk of more extensions. A line from Pioneer Square to Capitol Hill was proposed in prop 1, but since prop 1 was defeated, that idea is on hold. Theres also the extension of the SLU line to the U-district, extension to the Seattle Center, etc. etc.

[Bond James Bond]

I rode the SLUT today!

[BoulderGrad]

I rode 'er last weekend. I can see what some people mean by saying it has a bit of a jerky ride. When she gets goin', she really kicks. But still, better to have quick accel in an urban area since you have a lot of stop and go.

[Seasun]

Rode it last night from the south end of the lake to Westlake Center. Pretty good experience this time. Comments:
1. The next departure displays at the platforms are really inaccurate. We'll see if they can fine-tune the technology used but for now the trolley showed up about 5 minutes later than it was supposedly there. So much for supposedly GPS based tracking system? I did try the real time tracking display at http://seattlestreetcar.org/arrivals.asp and it also seemed a little messed up compared to when I heard the steel wheels go by near my office.

2. After leaving the vehicle near Westlake Center I waited to see how long it took to get going back to SLU. We arrived at 7:35 (8 minute trip from SLU - not bad) and they didn't leave until 7:44. That just kinda sucks when there's a good size group of people boarding and ready to head north. So everyone finds their seat and is excited about the upcoming rail ride and they just sit there. I don't expect the operator to sprint down the length of the car to begin the return trip but I think the Monorail sets a decent example most of the time: I've seen the operators calmly take the key from one end of the monorail to the other and you're on your way in 3 or 4 minutes max?

If the streetcar is going to be used by more than a few people they should try to minmize the dwell time (especially at the Westlake end as far as I'm concerned).

[Brandon1978]

Originally Posted by teddybear

How big the street car's network, are they planning to cover much of Seattle? With high oil prices and environment issues, this is great!

It would roughly cover an area about as large as Vancouver's downtown peninsula and Fairview/South False Creek (all an area where I think that city should have trams). There'd be one linking Seattle Centre to South Lake Union, one all the way up and down the central waterfront (the Market, Belltown, Pioneer Square, Lower Queen Anne, Interbay waterfronts), one leading from the waterfront to Chinatown, Little Saigon, and I believe the Central District, an extension of the current one through the middle of Downtown and up east into First Hill, another extension of one going up into Eastlake and to the University District, and one along Broadway on Capitol Hill. I personally think there should be one on First Avenue, extending from about Safeco Field and going all the way up Queen Anne Avenue N. According to the map I saw, Belltown and Lower Queen Anne would be under-served, and Belltown is the most densely populated neighbourhood in the city. That would only be logical. Also, it would take people right by Pike Place Market and probably spur growth of more practical businesses along First Avenue in Belltown (other than bars, chic restaurants, and furniture shops).

[WaTransportation]

Seattle Transit Blog reports on the Seattle Streetcar network... Pretty interesting!

http://seatrans.blogspot.com/2008/01...r-network.html

[taiwanesedrummer36]

Originally Posted by WaTransportation

Seattle Transit Blog reports on the Seattle Streetcar network... Pretty interesting!

http://seatrans.blogspot.com/2008/01...r-network.html

What?! That map looks like the plan I made up:



Coincidence, or theft (jk)?
___________________________________________________________________

Here's a story from the Seattle Times; so the people who want to pay are punished?


New streetcar doesn't want your money?

By Mike Lindblom
Seattle Times transportation reporter

Payment on Seattle's new South Lake Union streetcar was supposed to be on the honor system, anyway.

But the honorable are having a tough time. The ticket machines often won't take the money.

Riders are to insert bills or coins into a machine in the center of the streetcar, then get a ticket to display in case a transit supervisor asks for proof of payment. The problem is, dollar bills are becoming stuck, preventing the next person from paying.

It happens "three or four times a day" per train, and operators haven't yet determined why, said Rochelle Ogershok, a spokeswoman for King County Metro Transit, which operates the $52 million, city-owned system.

At noon Wednesday, only one of five people who boarded the orange train at Westlake Avenue and Thomas Street could pay for the trip to Westlake Center. He used coins.

"By the time they [the machines] figure it out, I'm already here," said another rider, David Eim.

An hour later, the northbound red train's ticket machine was jammed, until a Metro supervisor unlocked it and extricated a wrinkled $1 bill.

Streetcar rides were free when the line opened Dec. 12. This month, fares kicked in — $1.50 per adult — on the 1.3-mile route from the Westin Hotel to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

The ticket machines are under warranty, and operators are working on a fix with the train maker, Inekon of the Czech Republic, said Ethan Melone, the city's streetcar project manager.

One solution might be to eliminate them.

The city already had planned to reprogram a few parking-sticker kiosks to dispense streetcar tickets — and install them at four of the line's 11 stops — starting Jan. 20. That way, people wouldn't need to fumble for change on the trains. Riders at other stops would still use the on-board machines.

But long term, Melone said, sidewalk ticket kiosks are "definitely worth exploring" for the entire route.

[BoulderGrad]

Does this thing need cow-catchers now?...

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transp...reetcar30.html

[CrazyAboutCities]

Sorry I haven't been on SSC for over a month... I know it is late for now... I rode SLUT on the opening day. I had really wonderful experience while riding it. I feel more comfortable to ride SLUT more than I did with Metro buses. There are few reasons...

-Streetcars are extremely Deaf-friendly environment than Metro buses. Streetcars got announcement banners and inform the passengers where we are going and next stops which is very helpful for many people who couldn't hear the driver's announcements. Metro buses don't have announcement banners and not everyone can hear the drivers' announcements so we have to watch out to make sure we don't miss our stops.

-Streetcars are way very smooth than Metro buses. When the streetcar departs, it doesn't go rough like Metro buses usually do. Only con about streetcar when it make a turn, its makes a lot of noises and didn't go smooth like Metro buses do.

-SLUT got nicer stops than eyesore bus stops. Come on, we can do better with nicer bus stops not cheap 80s tacky taste! I seen many cheap bus stops around the country that happen to be much nicer than Seattle bus stops.

I am surprised how many stupid drivers we have around here. They don't even bothered to learn how to cope with streetcars to avoid any accidents.

When will we have REAL streetcars system than just SLUT and Waterfront ones?

[UrbanBen]

Originally Posted by BoulderGrad

Does this thing need cow-catchers now?...

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transp...reetcar30.html

People will learn.

[BoulderGrad]

Another streetcar accident:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/...reetcar03.html

Streetcar hits parked truck

By SCOTT GUTIERREZ
P-I REPORTER

A South Lake Union Streetcar hit a pickup parked in its path Wednesday, shutting down service for about 25 minutes, according to the Seattle Department of Transportation.

It happened about 1:07 p.m. near the intersection of Terry Avenue and Harrison Street. Neither the streetcar or pickup was seriously damaged, but the red car was removed from service for repair, SDOT spokesman Richard Sheridan said. No one was hurt.

The pickup was parked along the curb but the rear was hanging over the streetcar path. The streetcar's left front side struck the vehicle, Sheridan said.

SDOT has installed road signs and striping around the streetcar's 1.3 mile line to prevent people from parking in its path, Sheridan said.

[CrazyAboutCities]

It is sad that some people STILL haven't adjust to SLUT yet. I think the streetcar driver should get fired for didn't stop and hit the truck. Also he should pay the damage too. Last thing, that truck driver should lose his license, his job and be fined by City of Seattle.

[sequoias]

Originally Posted by CrazyAboutCities

It is sad that some people STILL haven't adjust to SLUT yet. I think the streetcar driver should get fired for didn't stop and hit the truck. Also he should pay the damage too. Last thing, that truck driver should lose his license, his job and be fined by City of Seattle.

He probably didn't have time to stop and was probably not quickly seen at an angle? Streetcars don't stop on a dime like buses or semi trucks because they run on steel wheels on steel rails.