Second Tacoma Streetcar Stakeholder Meeting is Tonight

The group tasked with developing alignment principals for the Tacoma Link Extension will be having its second meeting tonight.

Information on the meeting is posted on the City of Tacoma's website here http://www.cityoftacoma.org/Page.aspx?hid=15078.

The first meeting we toured various neighborhoods and potential alignments for Tacoma Link extension.  This meeting we will likely dig into more of the discussion around alignment principals for extension.  This stakeholder group is not tasked with recommending an alignment to the board; we are tasked with developing principals for the extension which we will then report to the Tacoma City Council and ST Board.

The meeting is tonight from 5-7pm at UWT in the Matress Factory Building in room 352 and is open to the public.  If you have any ideas around Tacoma Link extension principals please feel free to comment below or contact me. Andrew@transportationchoices.org

July 23rd FRIDAY FORUM: What Lies Ahead for the Tacoma Streetcar

Join us for a comprehensive update on rail transit in Tacoma this Friday!

In 2008 voters approved $80 million for Tacoma Link extension. Just how much rail can that buy? What's the difference between streetcars and light rail? What are the benefits of building more rail transit in Tacoma? Panelists Greg Walker from Sound Transit, Alisa O'Hanlon from the City of Tacoma and Bill LaBorde from Transportation Choices will be on hand to provide a comprehensive update on rail transit and answer your questions. Join us for a discussion on everything you need to know about the future of streetcars in Tacoma!

WHEN: Friday, July 23, 12:00pm – 1:30pm
WHERE: University of Washington Tacoma, Garretson Woodruff Pratt Building, Tacoma Room (Room 320) http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/campus_map/ (accessible by multiple bus routes and Tacoma Link)

Special thanks to the City of Tacoma and Downtown: On the Go! for sponsoring the Tacoma Streetcar Friday Forum. As always, feel free to bring your lunch. Coffee will be served.

First Hill Streetcar - Broadway Visualization

WSDOT is not the only agency with amazing new visualization and animation tools. SDOT has produced some new illustrations and an animation that provide an enticing preview of life with a streetcar on Broadway in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.

YouTube transfer, courtesy the Stranger.

What may actually be more interesting in the animation than the streetcar itself (after all, we do have one real life streetcar line in Seattle already) is the cycle-track that will be integrated into the project. Seattle's first cycle-track is coming early next year on Dexter Ave, but the Broadway Streetcar animation is a great illustration of how it'll look in practice on another important Seattle bicycle passageway.

The First Hill Streetcar was funded through the Sound Transit 2 plan passed by regional voters in 2008. Through an interlocal agreement, SDOT agreed to manage the planning and construction of the project. Construction begins late next year with the line entering service two years later in late 2013. One question that remains is whether the line, which starts in Pioneer Square, will terminate at the Light Rail Station at Denny, or proceed to the north end of Broadway at Aloha or Roy. Advocates for the North Broadway extension, including Transportation Choices, believe that by utilizing some of the ST2 funding to complete preliminary engineering and environmental work for the extension now, the city and Sound Transit will be in a good position to leverage federal dollars for the actual construction of the extension.

First Hill Streetcar Update

Two weeks ago TCC hosted a Friday Forum on the First Hill Streetcar project, where project manager Ethan Melone was on hand to present the latest alignment alternatives and answer questions. Much of this information is available on the Seattle Streetcar website, but Ethan was able to go into more detail on some of the different alignment options.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the project, the First Hill Streetcar is funded by the 2008 Sound Transit ballot measure as a way to connect First Hill to the International District light rail station to the south and the future Capitol Hill light rail station to the north. The 1996 ballot measure that created Sound Transit included a plan for a First Hill station, but those plans were scrapped due to cost issues. The streetcar will help provide access to light rail for First Hill and other neighborhoods along the route.

Through an interlocal agreement reached late last year, Sound Transit is paying for the project but the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will design and build it. SDOT has developed several alignment alternatives and hopes to make a recommendation to the City Council on a preferred alignment for a vote this April. The main 3 alignment alternatives are the Boren/Minor Alignment, the 2-Way Broadway Alignment, and the 12th Avenue/Broadway Couplet Alignment. These alternatives have been the focus of much debate in the community, but Ethan Melone pointed out that there are many other small alternatives along the line that need to be considered. I will examine these in detail starting with the International District and working towards Capitol Hill.

Spokesman Review: Spokane Transit Authority to study downtown trolley's and streetcars

The Spokesman Review reports today that Spokane Transit Authority (STA) is utilizing 360,000$ of federal and state grant funds to study trolley's and streetcars in their downtown. It sounds like a lot of exciting action in the transit world in Spokane surely we'll keep our eyes peeled as things develop.

From today's article:

Talk of developing a trolley or streetcar system in downtown Spokane is being re-energized this month.

Spokane Transit Authority and city officials are teaming up to study alternatives for downtown mass transit.

The public is invited to join a “sounding board” to advise local officials on the best transit alternatives and routes.

Electric trolley buses with overhead wiring are a possibility. Streetcars on rails will be considered, too, along with conventional buses.

The idea is to get the Spokane area in line for federal grants that may become available for transit.

“Federal funding is going to be spent somewhere,” said Susan Meyer, chief executive officer for STA, and a good place may be Spokane.

Guided by local officials and citizens, the Downtown Transit Alternatives Analysis will employ a consultant. STA is using $360,000 in federal and state grant funds to pay for the analysis, which should take about 15 months.

The idea of trolley service in Spokane dates back at least 15 years, when STA bought replica trolleys to shuttle through downtown to the Spokane Arena. Those trolleys are being replaced with new hybrid diesel-electric buses next Monday.

Meyer said that downtown-area businesses and institutions have pointed to the need for greater transit connections in the University District including Gonzaga, hospital facilities, county government buildings, the convention center and inner-city neighborhoods.

The study area is bounded by Mission Avenue to the north, Perry Street to the east, 14th Avenue to the south and Latah Creek to the west.

Mayor Mary Verner is joining Meyer in co-chairing the effort.

In a press release, Verner said “to be a vibrant city we must promote multiple modes of transportation.”

One arm of the study will include a stakeholders group, which will include representatives from Avista, the Downtown Spokane Partnership, Washington State University, the Public Facilities District and Spokane Regional Transportation Council.

Residents interested in serving on the sounding board are asked to apply at spokanetransit.com or by calling (509) 343-1653 to request application materials.

Results of the study are to be incorporated into STA’s long-range plan for a high-performance rapid transit network across the metro area.

A similar alternatives analysis is expected in about a year for the south Spokane Valley corridor with an eye toward finding a less costly alternative to light rail.

Along with other alternatives, Meyer wants the agency to study the possibility of electric rapid transit on separated traffic alignment, which can be accomplished for about 15 percent of the cost of light rail. That Spokane Valley corridor study would update work previously done for a light rail project.

On another note Seattle Transit blog picked up our legislative preview from our last newsletter, read it here.

Sound Transit to Seattle: Your Streetcar is Coming Sooner

Sound Transit officially announced today that the Seattle 1st Hill Streetcar will be up and running by 2013 instead of 2016 as originally planned. This is great news for first hill residents, commuters, and visitors alike!

From Sound Transit's Press Desk:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Nov. 16, 2009

Seattle, Sound Transit execute agreement for expedited streetcar construction
Partnership scheduled to deliver Sound Transit 2’s First Hill Streetcar project by 2013

The City of Seattle and Sound Transit are moving forward with plans to build a new streetcar line linking the city’s First Hill neighborhood with Capitol Hill and the International District.

The city and Sound Transit have executed an agreement that includes an expedited construction timeline — the line is anticipated to open in 2013 instead of the 2016 completion that was earlier planned. The City of Seattle will build and operate the new line, which voters approved as part of the 2008 Sound Transit 2 ballot measure.

“This line will be the first two of 36 new miles of rail coming to our region,” said Sound Transit Board Chair and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, who today added his signature to the agreement following recent approvals by the Sound Transit Board and Seattle City Council.

The First Hill Streetcar will serve major Seattle work centers, including Swedish Hospital, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle University and Seattle Central Community College. The line will provide easy access to the Link light rail system that opened this summer and the Capitol Hill light rail station when University Link opens in 2016.

“First Hill is home to more than 22,000 jobs and the streetcar will be a great new option for the people who live and work here,” said First Hill Improvement Association Vice President Jim Erickson. “We look forward to working with the City and Sound Transit to meet the transportation needs of First Hill.”

Sound Transit will cover the project’s costs up to $132 million, and the city will take the lead on design, property acquisition and construction of the two-mile line connecting downtown Seattle, First Hill and the Capitol Hill light rail station. Sound Transit will cover operating costs when the line begins service.

The First Hill line will be the second modern streetcar line in Seattle following the Sound Lake Union Streetcar line which opened in December, 2008.

The City plans to begin construction in 2012. The final route will be determined as part of the environmental review process over the next two years. The Sound Transit Board included the streetcar line in the ST 2 expansion package after determining that a previously-planned light rail station at Madison Street and Summit Avenue on First Hill would be too costly.