Comments on: What the Mayor Told Us Last Night

By: litlnemo

litlnemo — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:11:50 +0000

As promised, there is now a blog to help keep the idea of the streetcar alive, and not to let it fade away. It’s at http://streetcar.slumberland.org/ , and people are welcome to submit posts to be published there.

By: Mike Orr

Mike Orr — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:56:02 +0000

Responding to the Mayor needs a multi-angle approach. On the one hand he has been supporting rail and spearheading walkability/sustainability in a way no other mayor has done. How much of that is sincere vs political or construction-lobby-friendly is debatable, but the fact remains that he’s doing it. At the same time he’s dropping the ball on affordable housing, basic maintenance, and fiscal restraint. Methinks we should approach him as the ally he claims to be, while still putting pressure on him to address these neglected areas.

By: litlnemo

litlnemo — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:04:12 +0000

Argh. I really can spell. *Throw* under the train, not through.

By: litlnemo

litlnemo — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:03:17 +0000

OK, there is a blog set up to support the Waterfront Streetcar. (Incidentally, there’s already a Facebook group for supporters, but they don’t have a blog. So perhaps we can join forces.)

As I said, I don’t really have time to write much for the blog, since I have a thesis to finish and a neighborhood blog to write and edit already. So if anyone wants to post there, please let me know and I will make a posting account for you. Mail me at litlnemo at slumberland dot org.

I’ll post the URL or mail it to the STB folks once we have some actual content. Right now the blog is up, but there’s no content on it yet, so no point in posting the URL for now.

I just find it frustrating that we had an actual tourist-attracting, (some) residents-serving, money-making, character and color-providing streetcar fully functional on the waterfront, that has stopped running for what seem to be completely goddamned stupid reasons. And people just wanna give it up so easily. I want the First Ave streetcar too, but that is no reason to through the Waterfront one, um, under the train.

By: litlnemo

litlnemo — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:57:49 +0000

FWIW, I often went to the waterfront just for the experience of being there, seeing the people and the activity and the streetcar, not for a specific destination. And the streetcar made it a much more fun place than it would be otherwise.

One thing I was thinking last night is that in the northern stretch, 1st Avenue and the waterfront are separated by a pretty steep grade. So the 1st Ave streetcar isn’t a great replacement in that area — there are some accessibility issues for some people. Further south in Pioneer Square it’s not too bad, though.

By: litlnemo

litlnemo — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:52:44 +0000

I am setting it up now. I’ll email you once I’ve got it working.

By: serial catowner

serial catowner — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:01:25 +0000

Incidentally, regarding the whole ‘stopping’ issue, it should be possible to add track brakes.

A track brake uses current from the overhead wire to power a magnet that tries to grasp the rail. Power on, magnet acting as brake shoe on rail, power off, no brake. It was not uncommon for streetcars to have both brake-on-wheel and brake-on-track.

By: serial catowner

serial catowner — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:54:04 +0000

Well, if you can make the back end work, send me an authorization to post and I will write a ‘Welcome to…’ post to get started. My e-mail: tscott-at-sinclair-dot-net.

Also, if anyone has photos, they can send them to me at the same e-mail address. You can send the largest and best resolution and I can crop and resize with a graphics program I have (jpegs and gifs but not pngs). However, I’m on a landline, so please send only one photo over 300k in any single e-mail.

By: Ben Schiendelman

Ben Schiendelman — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:09:56 +0000

I don’t think the Mayor is reading the comments at this point. :) He does sometimes, but this is pretty far down. Why do you ask? Email us, I can try to answer there.

By: Ben Schiendelman

Ben Schiendelman — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:02:27 +0000

So come to our meetups. I can fight the tunnel without harassing the mayor about it.

By: Ben Schiendelman

Ben Schiendelman — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:00:42 +0000

I think it will be too.

By: Erik

Erik — Thu, 07 May 2009 08:08:44 +0000

Mr. Mayor!

Where, between Pier 70 and Yesler is there anything less than a 50 foot elevation difference between Alaskan Way and First Avenue?

By: Erik

Erik — Thu, 07 May 2009 08:04:54 +0000

Damn you Mimi Gardner Gates!!! Damn you and your outdoor sculpture park (is the land underneath it REALLY clean enough for children, puppies and expecting mothers to be on?) to HELL!!!!

P.S. Sell the Melbourne cars to San Francisco. They’d be perfect for the E-Embarcadero service which has high platforms already.

By: litlnemo

litlnemo — Thu, 07 May 2009 03:23:07 +0000

Heck, I just realized that if they brought it back to its existing route, and extended the hours a bit, I’d be able to commute on it too. (Unfortunately I get out of work after streetcar hours.) It would very nearly connect with Link in the ID, and I could just take the train home, since I live near a station. Sigh.

By: litlnemo

litlnemo — Thu, 07 May 2009 03:14:32 +0000

I’d be glad to host a WordPress blog to organize this. However, I can’t commit to posting on it much because I’m pretty busy. If people are willing to post content regularly so it is not going to look dead, let me know.

By: Lydia

Lydia — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:21:46 +0000

The waterfront trolley won’t have support for public funding for years, possibly, but could still happen. It needs an angel (not yet identified) and lots of enthusiastic volunteers, which seem to be in good supply. When Dallas started the McKinney Avenue Trolley Association (MATA) in 1989, it was really through the impetus of one individual, who supplied a couple of vintage streetcars and got enthusiasts together to restore and operate them. The old rails were discovered when the city was resurfacing the street, and the city provided the infrastructure, but volunteers provided the cars, operation and maintenance. When the area started redeveloping (thanks to the streetcar) they started the Uptown Business Improvement District, which is a similar sort of funding as a Local Improvement District here, which in our case could be used to back the capital financing for the infrastructure. They also started getting funds from DART, and the streetcar extended a line to one light rail station and soon there will be another. It’s possible for that to happen here. If not, the motormen at MATA have told me they’d love to buy our Melbourne cars.

By: lloyd

lloyd — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:23:49 +0000

ROW separation on First Avenue will be crucial – the Avenue will need re-configured from Mercer Street all the way to Spokane Street regardless of when and where the streetcar gets built. As a frequent rider of the 56, I’ve had days when it has taken more than a half hour to get from 1st and Pine to the on-ramp to the Viaduct on days when the Mariners play the Red Sox or that other American League team, the one from NYC (whom we don’t mention in polite company).

By: serial catowner

serial catowner — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:12:26 +0000

This would be a great thing if someone would create a “storefront” blog for a “Save the Waterfront Streetcar” committee and update often enough to avoid that gray dead appearance we often see around unattended blogs. I would be a bad choice to do this myself but can commit to a monthly blog post about streetcars, waterfronts, or something of that nature.

Not sure how many of you know about the Center for Wooden Boats on Lake Union, or the park being built next to the CWB. The CWB is, if not in size, in scholarship and community building on a par with the Northwest Rail Museum at Snoqualmie. The CWB is a world-class historical resource and tourist attraction and it’s right on the South Lake Union Streetcar line. They also rent out boats, so now you can take the streetcar to the park and rent a boat for a day on the water. The big festival there on July Fourth is a good time to see the place in all its glory.

Starting and running a historical trolley is a big job. However, the first Baby Boomers are beginning to retire, and the CWB and the NRM have people familiar with linking historical organizations to public needs and resources.

As I see the problem right now, it is simply to keep the idea of the Waterfront Streetcar alive. Exactly what form it may take in the future is unclear, although it would seem obvious that waterfront property owners should subscribe to an LID to build a streetcar in that totally linear and level place. Connecting in Pioneer Square (a historical district) with a First Avenue trolley to the Market (a historical place) and the CWB on Lake Union (living history) would seem perfectly logical for a historical trolley.

By: Tri Nguyen

Tri Nguyen — Wed, 06 May 2009 05:26:59 +0000

I’m with Andrew. The First Avenue corridor fairly pulses with city life, cultural institutions and tourist crowds. A streetcar here would have great ridership potential, day and night, and strengthen the identity of one of the most vibrant corridors of town. SAM, the Market, Belltown, the Olympic Sculpture Park. Not so long ago this was Skid Row.

litlnemo, the waterfront streetcar was no doubt charming, but it couldn’t draw me to the waterfront by itself. I always came for specific destinations like the Aquarium, the curiosity shop, Ivars, the ferry, and now-a-days the sculpture park. For me the waterfront streetcar was nice to have but not essential to the experience. Whereas along First Avenue a streetcar would heighten the experience.

By: L. Smith

L. Smith — Wed, 06 May 2009 02:46:30 +0000

I support 100% any effort to bring back the Waterfront Streetcar. Here’s my opinion: If Seattle’s trying to bring streetcars into the picture, why not start by providing service on the streetcar system we already have!?