Seattle Streetcar

Seattle Streetcar
Overview
Owner Seattle Department of Transportation
Locale Seattle, Washington
Transit type Modern low-floor streetcar
Number of lines 2[1]
Number of stations 17 stops[1]
Daily ridership 4,950 (December 2016)[2][3]
Website seattlestreetcar.org
Operation
Began operation December 12, 2007 (2007-12-12)
Operator(s) King County Metro
Character Street running
Number of vehicles
  • 3 Inekon 12-Trio
  • 7 Inekon Trio Type 121
Technical
System length 3.8 mi (6.1 km)[4][5]
Seattle Streetcar
 Fairview & Campus Drive
Lake Union Park
Westlake & Mercer
Terry & Mercer
maintenance facility
Broadway Streetcar
(planned)
Westlake & Thomas
Terry & Thomas
Broadway & Denny Link light rail
Broadway & Pine
Westlake & Denny
Broadway & Pike
Westlake & 9th
Broadway & Marion
Westlake & 7th
Broadway & Terrace
Link light rail Seattle Center Monorail
Westlake Hub /
McGraw Square
Yesler & Broadway
2nd & Stewart
14th & Washington
1st & Pike
12th & Jackson
1st & Madison
to maintenance facility
Pioneer Square
7th & Jackson
Occidental Mall
5th & Jackson Link light rail Sounder commuter rail Amtrak

The Seattle Streetcar is a system of two modern streetcar lines operating in the city of Seattle, Washington. The first line was opened in 2007, the second in 2016.

Both routes offer frequent service, with streetcars arriving every 10–15 minutes most of the day, except late at night.

The streetcar lines are owned by the Seattle Department of Transportation and operated by King County Metro.

Current lines

South Lake Union Streetcar

The South Lake Union Streetcar is a 1.3-mile (2.1 km), seven-stop line[4] serving the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle. Its route goes from the Westlake transit hub to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in South Lake Union. The South Lake Union Streetcar connects with Link Light Rail (at the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel Westlake Station), the Seattle Center Monorail (at the 3rd floor of Westlake Center) and the RapidRide C Line (at several stops). The line opened to the public in 2007.

First Hill Streetcar

The First Hill Streetcar is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km), 10-stop line[5] that connects Pioneer Square and Capitol Hill via Chinatown, Little Saigon, Yesler Terrace, and First Hill. The First Hill Streetcar connects with Amtrak and Sounder Trains (at King Street Station) and Link Light Rail (at both the International District/Chinatown and Capitol Hill stations). The line opened to the public in January 2016.[6]

Future lines

Center City Connector

The Center City Connector project would connect the existing South Lake Union Streetcar at Westlake to the First Hill Streetcar with new tracks along 1st Avenue and Stewart Street in Downtown Seattle.[7][8] It will serve popular downtown destinations like Pike Place Market, the Seattle Art Museum, Colman Dock and Pioneer Square. The two existing lines would overlap within downtown, increasing frequencies, and the streetcars would operate in an exclusive transit lane. The project is expected to greatly increase ridership on the Seattle Streetcar Network to 20,000–24,000 riders per day (compared to about 5,000 today).[9]

The project is scheduled to begin construction at the beginning 2018 (with utility relocation work starting in mid-2017) and be completed in 2020.[10] In June 2017, the city accepted a $50 million federal grant for the project.[11]

Broadway Streetcar

The Broadway Streetcar project is currently on an indefinite hold, although design work has been 90% completed. The project would extend the First Hill Streetcar a half-mile further north on Capitol Hill into the commercial core of Broadway with two stops near Harrison Street and Roy Street. The extension of the line will also include extending the protected bike lanes to Roy Street. The plan was put on hold in December 2016 due to a lack of support from businesses for the design (particularly a shortage of loading zones for delivery trucks) and the financial plan, which would involve taxing properties located along the alignment.[12][13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Seattle Streetcar Map (PDF) (Map). Seattle Department of Transportation. December 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  2. ↑ American Public Transit Association, Public Transit Ridership Report, Fourth Quarter 2016 & End-of-Year Report 2016 (March 25th, 2017)
  3. ↑ "First Hill Streetcar First Anniversary". sdotblog.seattle.gov. January 24, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "South Lake Union Streetcar". Seattle Streetcar. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  5. 1 2 "First Hill StreetCar Construction - Frequently Asked Questions". Seattle Streetcar. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  6. ↑ "First Hill streetcar opens". KING-TV. January 23, 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  7. ↑ "Morning Fizz: The Supposed Gap". Seattle Metropolitan. July 22, 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
  8. ↑ "Center City Connector". Seattle Streetcar. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  9. ↑ Lee, Jessica (March 27, 2017). "What’s with Seattle’s ‘constant’ drawbridge openings?". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Center City Connector Schematic Design Update" (PDF). Seattle Department of Transportation. March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  11. ↑ Lindblom, Mike (June 30, 2017). "Seattle accepts $50M grant for First Avenue streetcar, while ridership lags on existing routes". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Broadway Streetcar Information - Project Overview". Seattle Streetcar. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  13. ↑ Osowski, Kaylee (December 13, 2016). "Seattle City Hall presses pause on Broadway streetcar extension". Capitol Hill Seattle. Retrieved March 3, 2017.

Route map: Google

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