All posts by Gordon Werner

Gordon lives in the Queen Anne neighborhood. His short-lived 2007 blog on airline operations at Seatac is integrated with the STB archives. He was also a contributor in mid-2010.

Rider Alert: Link Light Rail: Scheduled Track Maintenance: July 26th-30th

Posted on by Gordon Werner

Sound Transit will be performing track maintenance near the Columbia City station from 10pm – 1am on July 26th through July 30th.

Link trains will operate every 25-30 minutes during this period.

The following station platforms will be temporarily closed during the scheduled maintenance:

  • Columbia City — Southbound platform will be closed on Thursday from 10 p.m. – 1 a.m.
  • Columbia City — Northbound platform will be closed on Friday from 10 p.m. – 1 a.m.

Please board all trains at the other platform during the times indicated.

Fremont Streetcar History Walking Tour: Thursday, July 22nd

Posted on by Gordon Werner
Green Lake trolley, 1896

The Fremont Historical Society will be holding a historical walking tour of the Fremont area’s streetcar history on Thursday, July 22nd from 7PM to 8:30PM beginning in front of the old Car Barn on 34th and Phinney Ave. N. The Fremont Historical Society will also have a number of historic photographs on display for your viewing pleasure.
Continue reading “Fremont Streetcar History Walking Tour: Thursday, July 22nd”

What’s Next for the Tacoma Streetcar??

Posted on by Gordon Werner
Link at Convention Center – Tacoma, WA by Dave Honan
Link at Convention Center – Tacoma, WA by Dave Honan

TCC will be talking Tacoma Streetcar:

How much rail can $80 million buy? What’s the difference between streetcars and light rail? What are the benefits of rail?

For the event’s location and directions, Click Here.

Officials from Sound Transit, the City of Tacoma, and the Transportation Choices Coalition are holding a public forum on Friday, July 23rd to discuss the future of Tacoma Link, expansion plans for Tacoma Link, and streetcars in general. Various officials will be present to answer any and all questions.

What: Tacoma Streetcar Friday Forum
When: Friday, July 23, 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Where: University of Washington Tacoma, Garretson Woodruff Pratt Building, Tacoma Room (Room 320)


Jackson St. Streetcar Visualizations

Posted on by Gordon Werner

From the latest visualizations it looks like the current plan has the following changes:

  1. the line now becomes single-tracked (around 2nd Ave and turns left to a terminal on 2nd Ave and King Street … forgoing the Pioneer Square portion of the route.
  2. the 5th & Jackson street station will be center-tracked, with an island platform
    in the middle of Jackson St.

The Seattle Streetcar has posted visualizations for the Jackson Street portion of the route.

For More Information: Seattle Streetcar (official site)

Actual route map: Click here

Broadway visualization: Click here

First Hill Streetcar Jackson St. Corridor Update

Posted on by Gordon Werner

First Hill StreetcarSound Transit and the City of Seattle will be holding an open house at Seattle’s Hong Kong Building at the Summer Festival on Saturday, July 10th to discuss recent developments and the next steps involved with constructing the First Hill Streetcar line connecting the Capitol Hill and International District LINK Light Rail stations.

The Seattle City Council has approved the First Hill Streetcar with a segment along Jackson St. through the Chinatown/International District neighborhood.

The latest visualizations for the Jackson St. portion of the route will be on display at the open house for viewing and commenting by the public. City representatives will be on hand to answer any questions regarding this portion of the route as well as the line in general.

WHEN / WHERE
11:30 AM – 2:00 PM, Saturday, July 10th
Hong Kong Building
511B Maynard Avenue S., Seattle, WA 98104
For directions click here.

For More Information: Seattle Streetcar (official site)

Actual route map: Click here

RIDER ALERT: Nighttime light rail track work June 28-30

Posted on by Gordon Werner

Rider Alert

From the news alert:

Nighttime light rail track work June 28-30

Starting on Monday, June 28 and lasting until Wednesday, June 30, from 10 p.m. – 1 a.m. each night, Central Link light rail will operate every 20-25 minutes instead of every 10-15 minutes due to track maintenance.

The work will also temporarily close one platform at Columbia City Station Monday night from 10 p.m. – 1 a.m. Riders boarding at Columbia City may be directed to the opposite platform.

New proposal to keep North Link extension underground

Posted on by Gordon Werner
Alternative North Link Portal Location. photo courtesy of Mai Ling via Maple Leaf Life

According to Mai Ling of Maple Leaf Life, Sound Transit unveiled an alternative to the North Link light rail line extension at the recent public meeting at Roosevelt High School:

University Link Deputy Project Director Ron Endlich introduced a new proposal to keep the light rail line underneath Interstate 5 farther than the current proposal, which has the trains beginning their rise to freeway level starting at Northeast 75th Street. Under the new proposal, they would rise above ground en route to the Northgate station starting at Northeast 85th Street…

“This will improve our overall construction schedule,” Endlich said. “We believe it will also have a lower net cost to taxpayers under this approach.”… According to a flier from the meeting, the proposal is expected to save $5 million to $10 million.

First Hill Streetcar Broadway Corridor Update

Posted on by Gordon Werner

First Hill StreetcarSound Transit and the City of Seattle will be holding an open house at Seattle’s First Baptist Church on Saturday, June 26th to discuss recent developments and the next steps involved with constructing the First Hill Streetcar line connecting the Capitol Hill and International District LINK Light Rail stations.

The Seattle City Council has approved the route for the Capitol Hill and First Hill segments and will have new design concepts for Broadway available for viewing as well as guests involved with the project who will be available to answer questions.

In addition, Sound Transit and the City of Seattle will have an information booth set up at the Capitol Hill Pride Festival on Saturday, June 26th.

WHEN / WHERE
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM, Saturday, June 26 ,
Seattle First Baptist Church
1111 Harvard Avenue Seattle, WA 98122
For directions click here.

2:30 PM – 5:30 PM, Saturday, June 26
Capitol Hill Pride Festival
Booth #69 located at the intersection of Broadway at John St.

Update 1:20PM: I spoke with the folks at the Seattle Streetcar re: wonky station names and they replied that they have been monitoring the station name discussion on this blog. When they get to the point where the station locations are fixed, they will try to make the station names as obvious as possible to help guide people and avoid confusion. Furthermore they are open to suggestions.

For More Information: Seattle Streetcar (official site)

Actual route map: Click here