Occidental Park Station before closure

In operation from May 29, 1982 to November 18, 2005, the 1.6 mi long George Benson Waterfront Streetcar Line was Seattle’s first streetcar line to operate in the city since the disappearance of it’s trams on April 13, 1941. In classic style, it was not just a means of transport, but also a piece of nostalgia. Running from Chinatown to Belltown, along the waterfront, it was also an attraction akin to the streetcars on Market Street or the Embarcadero in San Francisco. Unfortunately this was not enough to save the line, and it was retired when construction of the Olympic Sculpture Park led to the destruction of the streetcar’s storage and maintenance barn.

The question has been asked since it’s closure. “What will happen with the Waterfront Streetcar line?” The simple answer: Nothing. Since the closure, SDOT/Metro have resigned to leaving the completed line unused. In it’s place, we have a metro bus wrapped to look like an old style trolley. It’s hideous.It seems that this is the way things will be for some time too. The city has confirmed that any reintroduction of the line would be held off until the waterfront redesign is under way, or until the viaduct comes down – in 2016.

Occidental Station after closure. Will the streetcar ever come?

Why is this the case though? The track is laid.  Stations are in place. The streetcars are sitting in storage about 1/2 mi away. With some rehab and a new maintenence facility the line could be operational in a seemingly short amount of time. If SDOT were willing to rehab the tracks, overhead wires, and stations, the line surely could be opening by the time the First Hill Line opens. With proper planning, this could create a link from Capitol Hill, through Little Saigon/Chinatown, Pioneer Square, Downtown, and Belltown. So, where would we start?

My hypothesis: By purchasing roughly 1/8 of the Qwest Field north parking lot, SDOT could build a barn that would facilitate both the opening of the First Hill Streetcar Line and the reintroduction of the Waterfront Streetcar Line by 2013. In choosing this spot, SDOT could also use money allocated for track extensions to proposed barn sites in Little Saigon to build the one block of track needed to connect the Waterfront Line to the future First Hill Line terminus near 2nd and King (eliminating the current Waterfront terminus at 5th and Jackson). Considering the barn would literally be across the street from the terminus, and only two blocks from the currently defunct Waterfront Line, it seems this would be what is known as “killing two birds with one stone.”

In purple is the proposed First Hill route and in gold is a partial view of the current Waterfront route with my proposed connection to the terminus on 2nd.

As we look toward a future where King Street Station is one of the three major multi-modal transfer points in the center city, this just makes sense. If SDOT were to scrap the two options in Little Saigon in lieu of purchasing a small portion of the gargantuan north lot and rehabilitation of a line that has already had millions spent on it, this would bring 4 types of rail connections to King Street – international passenger rail, regional commuter rail, metropolitan light rail, and inner-city tram lines. King Street Station would essentially function like any main rail station in most modern European cities.

It’s worth noting, that track gauge for the Waterfront Streetcar is the same as that which would be used for the First Hill line, but the overhead wire voltage is not. Voltage required for the Waterfront Line is 600 v and for the First Hill Line it will most likely be 750 (modern streetcar standard). As this is the case, a terminus configuration where both lines end at the same place, but on different tracks, would be the most prudent solution. I figure, a closure of 2nd Avenue between Jackson and King would create adequate space for this scenario. As I see it, there could be one central track station serving inbound First Hill trains and outbound Waterfront trains, with two outside stations serving inbound  Waterfront trains on the west side and outbound First Hill trains on the east side. From the terminus area tracks would run toward the maintenance barn and an area where trains can switch directions.

It’s hard for those of us outside of city government to say how much this reconfiguration would cost. Though this is the case, practically speaking, it doesn’t seem like it would be much more than the already proposed First Hill Line idea. Of course rehab on the Waterfront Line would probably bring the cost up a bit, but at the fraction of the cost of building an entirely different Waterfront Line in the future (as is the current plan).

photo by Stephen De Vight

It’s been widely covered by local transit-related blogs over the past week that last Saturday, Hollow Earth Radio and Sound Transit hosted a series of micro-concerts on board select Link* trains. I was actually quite surprised that they really didn’t take this as an opportunity to dive into the impact of events such as this one though. Well, since no one else did, I will give it a go.

Events like Hollow Earth Radio’s Light Rail/Dark Rail just are not common. They are attention-getters and they make for any interesting story, if not a fun experience. These sort of events make taking public transport an experience, especially to those who think “dirty” or “scary” or “not worth it” when it comes to transit. Things like this create buzz, and that might just push someone over the edge to check out the system. “Hell, if the transit agency is doing this sort of thing, it can’t be all bad.”

This is not to say that this very type of event (concerts on trains) should happen often. I think it would be great as an annual thing, which this year it was, as part of Hollow Earth’s Magma Festival. So, what else is there to do to? I’ve been mulling around the question for a bit and have come up with really only two ideas. One, make stations points of commerce, and two, integrate stations into the neighborhood fabric.

Since I have already talked about adding commerce to stations, I would like to focus my attention on bringing the neighborhood to station level. In this case there are events that take place in certain locations that can integrate stations. I’m talking about events such as Farmers” Markets and Art Walks.

Pioneer Square’s First Thursday Art Walk is a monthly exhibition of Art that takes place from noon to 8pm in the City’s oldest and most historically pedestrian focused neighborhood (It existed before cars). It’s the largest in the city, and includes many venues across the neighborhood. Naturally, Pioneer Square Station comes to mind as the primary transit hub in the neighborhood. It serves Link and tunnel buses and is located directly below the Third Avenue transit mall. Integration of this station could bring a great number of potential riders from Seattle and it’s surrounding metropolitan area.

When I talk of integration I am really thinking one two different levels. One, present the station as a gateway to the neighborhood Walk via advertising at the station and on board Link, as well as possible advertisement at other high ridership stations. Two, use the mezzanines as venue space. Allow artists that would otherwise be unable to get their work into some of the more exclusive Pioneer Square galleries to showcase their works in the station during the walk and encourage a lively atmosphere by allowing musicians to play in the spaces as well.

The question would be whether or not to charge the artists and musicians to use the space. I say no, but Metro/Sound Transit might say otherwise. The reason I’d suggest a “no” is pretty simple. Artists don’t have a ton of money. Besides, both parties would be doing each other a big favor. The artists are given a venue and If these artists, musicians, and the neighborhood could bring in ridership by promoting the use of the station, then in my opinion that should be enough. Advertising on the other hand? The organizers of the Walk probably couldn’t get around paying for that, but it might be worth the fee to them as well with the possible increase patronage.

As far as Farmers’ Markets go, I can only think of one station that is remotely close to one, and that is Columbia City Station. Columbia City’s Farmers’ Market has garnered national attention and definitely serves as a means of activating the neighborhood. Station integration could be trickier with Columbia City, as it is a center-road station. I believe the big win for this neighborhood could be advertisement and possibly setting up vendors closer to the station. In any case, it could provide incentive for someone to explore a part of the city that they’ve never explored (I love you Bike Works).

If Pioneer Square and Columbia City were to become a success, then this could lead Capitol Hill’s Art Walk to an obvious means of promotion and/or expansion in 2016. It could also serve as a great station proximity incentive model for the Broadway Farmers’ Market.

* A word to Sound Transit, please drop the Light Rail portion of the name. We get it. For example, Muni is just called “Muni” even though it technically is light rail.

Devin needs a frame that isn't 39 years old (and a different rear derailleur).

That sounds pretty promising. So, if you are looking to jump into cycling on the hill, or if you are looking to upgrade your frame (I am looking at myself right now), then it is definitely worth checking out. Not to mention that it is a breeze of a bike ride down from Capitol Hill. Especially since the bulk of the ride will be on the Elliott Bay Trail.

Single day tickets are only $10. Two days for $12.

A map of Pier 91 is here. Bike parking is available (obviously).

Belmont & Pine

In 2007 I moved to Capitol Hill, the once beating heart of industry in central Seattle, because of the character that had been presented by historic preservation. As we have seen in these past years though, preservation doesn’t stand up in the face of new development and increasingly larger mega-projects, but there is something that does hold true – brick.

In Seattle’s early days brick was the source for paving, thus most of the center city was covered in a beautiful crimson. From as far south as Georgetown, as east as Montlake and Madison Valley, and as far north as Ballard we can see evidence of it’s resilience. Usually it’s not easy to find. Much like the interurban tram lines of old Seattle, our brick streets are buried under what is now our crumbling cross-hatch of concrete thoroughfares.

It’s something that I think about literally ALL THE TIME. I can’t help it. I pass massive potholes on a daily basis, and at the bottom of those potholes there usually lies comparatively unblemished brick (sometimes rails too). It makes me wonder why we even bother filling in these potholes or why SDOT tears up entire stretches of concrete roadway, uncovering beautiful brick streets that have been hidden for decades, just to pave right on over them again (See: 12th Avenue and Airport Way South last year).

On Capitol Hill we have two city designated historic preservation areas. One of them being the Harvard-Belmont Historic District, and the other being the Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay District. Both of which house some of Capitol Hill’s oldest buildings. What would be another common factor that these areas share? They are located in an area with heavy pedestrian use. What would be just one advantage of restoring at least a few of our brick streets in the most pedestrian heavy areas? Traffic calming.

Brick’s naturally rough surfer causes vehicles traveling at higher speeds to vibrate to the point where many people will slow down just to not experience this sensation. If you’d like some proof, just watch the intersection of Pike Street, Pike Place, and First Avenue. It’s not pleasant unless speed is decreased. Would this be a speeding deterrent for everyone? Of course not, but it can be a speed deterrent for some, which causes everyone in the immediate area to slow down.

Ideally, restoration wouldn’t be done on an arterial like 12th or Airport Way. It’s true. These roads are built for quick access, but restoration could be ideal in Capitol Hill’s commercial cores, like Pike/Pine or Broadway (the streetcar will already prove to a be traffic calming measure). These places could especially be great candidates for restoration as not only are they heavily occupied by pedestrians at most times, but they are also destinations.

People like pretty destinations. It’s just that simple. If not for the pedestrian safety, then restore the brick for the character and charm building of an already interesting slice of Seattle. Character and charm are inviting, and those that have been invited will more than likely be spending money in our historic commerical cores.

Lastly, if anything, brick is much less likely to crumble than our already horrid concrete streets and it’s easier to maintain. It’s true that the initial restoration might cost more than a standard repaving, but after that, it’s as simple as replacing brick and sandblasting.

Plus, brick streets are just damn pretty to look at.

Heiligeweg in lovely Amsterdam

This is a great idea, but what about serving the transportation spine of the state? Yes, of the state. This spine serves three of the largest job centers (someday four), and the most populated counties in the state.  Link and Sounder stations (especially the DSTT and all Sounder Stations) are ripe for vendors. Many European cities and even some in the US (See DC or San Francisco) have already taken advantage of these sorts of heavily used transit routes. It might be high time for us to also provide incentive like this to people that walk or bike to transit hubs, not just those that drive.

I’d hope that this bill is revised to include such places before  being passed into law.

Start: 7 pm
Where: Liberty on 15th
Price: Free. Drinks cost money still, though

Re-rendering of orinigal SDOT street design proposal shows Zipcar parking at Broadway & Denny

Some may say that this is a somewhat odd topic for a blog that promotes alternative means of getting around town, but hear me out. The one gripe I hear from my car owning friends is over convenience. “Some things are made easier with cars” they say. With car sharing on the rise on the Hill, many of those friends have ditched their cars in lieu of a cheaper solution- Zipcars.

Now, the thing about Zipcars is that, depending on where you are located, it may not be completely convenient to hop in and go. They are also never really positioned with multi-modal transfers in mind (unlike Flexcar). Also, in the coming years we will be seeing more development on the Hill. As fierce as most neighborhood activists are, developers will be steered toward vacant spaces for their developing needs. What space is vacant and cheap to build over? Parking lots. Where do Zipcars live? Parking lots.

You are starting to think this is a post about Seattle’s effort to kill car culture, no?

Broadway is highlited as highly accessable with 10th as a possible extension

On the contrary. I am quite happy that these lots are being phased out and doubly glad that the city council is ruling to repeal minimum parking requirements for low rise development. I do see that Zipcars will be displaced though and instead of relegating them to another lot somewhere, I thought maybe a more practical choice might be floating around somewhere.

The possible solution popped up in a recent conversation that I was having about the need to see these parking lots develop and turn into something worthwhile. Why don’t we put Zipcars on street? Obviously not the whole Capitol Hill fleet, but some of it. A likely location for these on street spaces? How about Capitol Hill’s soon-to-be transit mall?

Broadway will have buses and a tram line running on the surface and right below will be light rail. There will be access to all three within one block on Broadway and as we have seen in the most recent street configuration plans, Broadway is going to have room for parking on both sides of our transit mall. This is where Zipcar comes in. As we have also seen, there has been a lot of push-back on increased street parking rates in the center city. SDOT is feeling the squeeze, but maybe they can fire back. Place Zipcars along a thoroughfare with some of the heaviest foot traffic in the city, and add another transport option.

As it stands right now the city wants to increase rates to $3 per hour on Broadway. The city could net the same amount of money as they would net from 15 hours of parking usage per day at this rate by charging a lower parking fee (approx $1 per hour 24/7) to Zipcar and adding on another $1.62 (approximately) for every vehicle mile traveled (Zipcar charges $7 per hour to most Seattle customers) and averaging 13 hours of vehicle use per day per car. The easiest pilot would probably utilize a smaller fleet, but the (very very broad and basic) suggestion I am presenting is based upon a fleet of 30 cars.

It may not be the most streamlined proposal and as you can see, the math would need to be tweaked to give Zipcar some incentive but maybe this could help the city net some dough, provide a reason for someone to ditch their car, appease the autophiles afraid of a “war on cars,” and help Broadway become a more alternative transport oriented corridor. It’s possible that it could even improve safety. With less parking on this stretch of Broadway, comes less parking for those coming to the Hill with the intent of drinking and driving.

If you are like me, you have run into the conundrum of unusable space on an otherwise accommodating bike rack. The situation goes like this: You find a rack (usually the ones that look like upside-down u’s) that has been designed to accommodate a certain number of bicycles. Unfortunately on each side of the rack someone has locked up one bike directly in the middle of the rack, essentially rendering the capacity for the extra 2+ bicycles to be null.

With this campaign I am looking to spread just a bit of know-how to help people help others. Each sticker is placed in a visible location on the rack. The stickers are easy to read and illustrate proper lock up positions for bicycles. I’m hoping that this bit of information will encourage folks to lock up while leaving some room for a fellow cyclist, instead of relegating the other cyclist to the daunting task of finding another non-SDOT provided place to lock up (see: trees and sign posts).

One neat tidbit that I’ve decided to utilize is Microsoft’s TAG bar code technology that, when scanned on a smartphone, redirects people to the campaign page. On this page they will be given an overview of the campaign and a chance to take part in it themselves.

If you’d like to take part in the campaign too, please contact us here.

Most importantly, in the struggle to make our metro areas more sustainable Bellevue is not the problem. There is a narrow issue of light rail alignments, where in my opinion a very vocal neighborhood and a certain moneyed interest have led the city astray. This kind of thing happens everywhere, and I think Bellevue’s institutions in particular haven’t caught up with its size. Nevertheless, the problem is not dense, mixed-use downtowns with a little too much emphasis on driving; the problem is Redmond Ridge and Snoqualmie Ridge and Marysville. Bellevue is also making a serious effort at encouraging biking, has a high transit share, and has ambitious development plans for the Bel-Red light rail corridor. We need more Bellevues.

One of two entrances to Downtown Park from downtown, through the middle of a parking lot.

I have to respectfully decline this theory, that unlike other suburbs, the city of Bellevue has just gotten a bad rap when it comes to liveability. This post in particular seemed to bring out claims by commenters that Bellevue “really is walkable” and that it is even easy to get around by bike downtown.

As someone who commutes to, and works in, Bellevue 5 days a week I can say that this is not what I have experienced. Biking in downtown can sometimes be terrifying. Stay off of Bellevue Way or 4th for sure. Cyclists are relegated to sidewalks, which aren’t the greatest pedestrian environment to begin with. There are no bike lanes striped in the downtown area – not even a sharrow. There are also no shoulders, but there are very wide lanes for traffic, and lanes just as wide for parking. Intersections are set up to get cars to and from 405, which means pedestrians are waiting at lights for 3-4 minutes at most major intersections and the speed limit on downtown streets is 30 mph.

When it comes to pedestrian infrastructure, Bellevue is on par with Federal Way. There is one block-long “pedestrian mall” which is basically a set of staircases heading from the City Centre building to the malls (Bellevue Square and Lincoln Square). Sidewalks are narrow and often times have cars halfway parked on them trying to merge from one of the numerous parking areas.

The good news? Bellevue Downtown Park is a gem, though getting to it by foot can be a bit of a hassle. There are also a few privately owned pedestrian connections. The most visible one is owned by Microsoft as part of their City Centre building directly adjacent to the transit center, and a few others that connect other offices located on the downtown super-blocks. Unfortunately these connections are not the will of the city, but of the businesses. Bellevue does not have the right idea when it comes to a walkable downtown, major companies like Microsoft, Wells Fargo, and Expedia do.

As far as density, Bellevue has it’s pencil tower office park downtown with a few condos sprinkled in, but directly adjacent to these towers and condos are gaping parking lots. In fact, even the pedestrian mall is lined by cars. It really is a fallacy to  label this downtown as a truly livable urban core, especially when most residents seem to be completely anti-density in most (if not all) neighborhoods around the city center. Yes, in comparison to the rest of the city, these 6 square blocks are very dense, but not to the point where it has made downtown feel livable.

The fact of the matter is that Bellevue was not built to be big. It was not built to be dense. It was built for cars and single family homes. Bellevue was built for SOV commuters and not really even for any other form of commuting. Yes the transit share is quite sizable for a city designed in such a way, but on what routes? To Redmond and Seattle?  The city sucks for busing elsewhere. For example, Crossroads (RapidRide is on the way!) and Bel-Red take way longer than by car. The lack of a grid is partly to blame, but so is an overall over-dependence on cars.

As someone that spends most of there time in Bellevue, I would love to see more non-chain retail, wider sidewalks, bike lanes, and transit. The city has committed to thinking about it, but that is not enough. Bellevue still has a chance to transform the city as it continues to grow. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the state, so why not embrace it? The city council needs to get on board with Link and actually make strides toward ped-bike plans. They need to reconsider dropping pedestrian and biking improvements on 108th and they need to stop catering to NIMBYs. If Bellevue wants to pretend to be a big city, it should start to reconfigure right now.

In response to your post Martin, as the current trend goes, no, we do not need more Bellevues.

There is speculation that the cutbacks could include elimination or Link to Lynwood from Northgate and it already means stop consolidation, reduced frequency on some routes, elimination of planned transit projects, and experimentation with one car Link trains. Rather than join the never-ending argument over these changes, I would like to take this -the first of our off-hill posts- in another direction: How can Metro/Sound Transit generate some of revenue while having to renegotiate their position on our transportation future?

As a daily commuter I use both Metro and ST buses, along with my bicycle, to get to and from work. My main point of intersect? The Downtown Transit Tunnel. Every weekday morning I find myself congregating with my fellow commuters in the cavernous Westlake Station and while I am waiting, I wonder what the planners had in mind for this place.

If you are not familiar with Westlake Station, it is, well massive. Westlake is by far the largest of the four downtown stations and rightfully so. It has been envisioned as Seattle’s transport hub (pdf). The centrally located station runs underneath Pine Street from 3rd Avenue to 6th Avenue. It has 5 entrances and provides 5 different transit connection options. Link, the Monorail, and the South Lake Union Streetcar all terminate at the Westlake hub, albeit it in different areas. In addition, there is also constant through-traffic with surface buses and tunnel buses.

With all of these choices one would be lead to believe that Westlake probably is the pounding heart of our transport system and that it should more than likely be a vibrant station full of commuters. Unfortunately this is not so. I did say cavernous didn’t I? It’s barren and maybe it’s time to think of some ways to change that.

In Lille I was charmed not only by their many interesting métro stations (60 in all), but I was absolutely smitten with the amount of amenities that these stations provide. Stations like Gare Lille Flandres métro station  (think King Street Station with Link directly under it) and République – Beaux Arts (a much prettier iteration of University Street Station) have small corner stores, boulangeries, free email/internet kiosks and newspaper vendors on their mezzanine level. While I can only anecdotally say that this sort of activation seems to encourage ridership, I can definitely say that it presents a more friendly atmosphere and makes grabbing breakfast or something to read on the bus or train much easier.

In the case of Lille, Transpole owns these stations and vendors rent space from the agency. In the case of Seattle, vendors, operating out of kiosks most likely, could pay a rent to Metro (the owner of all tunnel stations) to use space in the DSTT. In a perfect world, we could hope that Metro and ST could split these profits and generate at least a small amount of extra revenue. In addition to vendors, stations in Lille had vending machines, which could also be another source of revenue in Seattle.

The case for this has actually been discussed in the other Washington for the past few years now. There have been talks about allowing anything from food vendors to retail and tourist kiosks. I would like to suggest taking a step further. As Seattle is progressively growing it’s network of bike infrastructure, more and more people will be wanting to ride bikes in the center city. There have been rumblings about King County experimenting with a pilot bike sharing project. It seems more than feasible to place a bike sharing station at Westlake, if not all stations. Maybe even a more attractive and lucrative approach could be to allow a small bike rental/repair outfit to run in some of that unused space and yet again, Metro could charge rent. In addition to newspaper stands, food vendors, and other ventures Metro/ST could stand to make a decent chunk of money, while providing a more pleasant experience for those of us utilizing their systems.

These are just some thoughts that have been buzzing around my brain during my morning commute. Implementation is of course never as easy as it sounds, but maybe it’s time that the space in these stations is utilized for something. If it’s any incentive, Washington DC’s metro agency is standing to make 1 million dollars in the next 8 years in DVD kiosks alone in just 13 stations, with just over $100,000 coming in the first year.