Why is this nit-picking important? Because many people are under the mistaken impression that it’s cheaper to start with shared-lane and then go to exclusive-running later on, but it turns out that’s nearly impossible to do in the practical universe we live in – you’d have to completely shut down the street on which it ran, or run in very difficult conditions (upgrade to exclusive running on the right side or start with shared running on the left side, both of which are awful ideas).

In case the point to which I am working toward is less than clear, let me be frank. The city already has electrified, regular transit routes that are very near capacity (or beyond capacity). They simply have rubber rather than steel tires. The streetcar plan basically spends a lot of money ($25+ million per mile) to put a few of them on rails without removing the routes from traffic (darn, there go most improvements to on-time percentage) AND as an added bonus only increases per “vehicle” capacity by err… ~33% since the first wave of streetcars are going to be gimped so that they’re cuter (thus they can’t entrain).

Sure, your point is that these systems take time to grow into their own but rather than building a (relatively) extensive streetcar network that will take 90 years (if we’re as lucky as SF) to build toward high capacity, why not build higher-capacity now on an slightly more limited set of routes (or even the same number of routes but over slightly shorter distances)? The difference in cost between a reserved or exclusive right of way (NOT grade separation as with LINK) and this mixed-traffic street running is quite small in the grand scheme of things (compared with the per mile costs of true rapid transit or even “real” light rail like LINK).

AJ, what are your thoughts on running buses (or, in the future, trains) to the suburbs to build ridership and political support for still more transit? I can guess from your previous comments but I’d like to know from the asses’s mouth since you’re advocating something quite similar here (though admittedly your idea is more capital intensive and what they county is doing is more operations intensive).

Tn Ts GS P V V P
(one lane each N and S with shrubs and a sidewalk between cars and trams)

or

Tn Ts V V V V P
(two lanes each N and S with a curb between vehicles and trams)

with “GS” being Greenery and sidewalk, like shrubs that create a physical barrier and a narrow sidewalk for parkers.

Near intersections, you could remove some parking to make a turn lane.

Regardless, where there are some thin spots (like 1st and Virginia) one could always lose parking for a block or two.

You also lose the need for rush-hour lanes since half of the traffic is redistributed onto 2nd ave.

anyway … this is how i’d plan it.

This would allow for better traffic flow through downtown and still allow for parking on both sides of 1st ave

Tn = Tram northbound
Ts = Tram southbound
P = Parking
V = vehicular traffic

Tn Ts P v v v P
Tn Ts P v v v P
Tn Ts P v v v P

or perhaps, since the market is on the west side of 1st ave

P v v v P Tn Ts
P v v v P Tn Ts
P v v v P Tn Ts

as for lower queen anne … the tram should run split on 1st ave north (northbound) and on Queen Anne Ave N. (southbound) like the busses do today. On these streets, the single track could easily be also made into a dedicated bus/tram lane

Ideally, the old QFC at 1st ave N and Mercer (well the whole block) could be made into the Queen Anne Transit Center / Car barn/mx shops.

this way the 74, 8, and 1 (night owl), and BRT lines can terminate there … and the 1/2/13/15/18 can stop there.

The southbound 15/18 can then continue up Mercer to this new transit center, and then head West down Republican St. and turn South on Queen Anne Ave N and continue down their existing routes (with the Central Tram line doing the same)

The Republican Street extension that goes around the old QFC could still have parking for trucks for Seattle Center events … and would otherwise be dedicated to Transit use only

I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if 10-15 years from now, the next stage of streetcars is contemplated. Elevated? Tunnel under part of Madison?

I’m sure transit heads would love to put a streetcar there, but with traffic the way it is, there’s no room to spare, even for construction.

Plus, it would be really difficult to get rail across those grades. From Van Ness to Gough, you get Cathedral hill, then way down to the cut on Filmore, then back up to Anza Vista on the Hill again. It’s hundreds of feet each time, and that’s only about a mile.