The transit network in Seattle, Wash., had a good news/bad news situation last week as one light-rail project progressed, while work was halted on a streetcar project.
First, the good news, Sound Transit says girders will be set near the future Bel-Red/130th station as part of the East Link light-rail guideway construction.
The girders will support light-rail tracks near the future Bel-Red/130th station and when complete, this segment of the alignment will transition from the elevated section of track beginning in downtown Bellevue and spanning I-405, to the street-level section beginning at the Bel-Red/130th station.
After the girders are set, Sound Transit says contractor crews will begin work constructing a bridge deck for the future rail line from 124th Avenue NE to 130th Avenue NE.
Some of us who use Seattle Transit a lot question the value of street cars. They seem to require as many workers per passenger, the rails are a bike and foot hazard. This particular line would connect two disparate lines, but I suspect that a bus with some street privileges would do a better job.
The rails are hardly a foot hazard since the top of the rail is at or very close to pavement level. The rails are a bicycle hazard only if a cyclist insists on riding in the middle of the street.
If the proposed streetcars are similar to the light rail vehicles currently operated by Sound Transit, they would have a one-man crew and could handle a lot more passengers than any bus.
The current Lake Union streetcar line in Seattle is a joke. The traffic on those streets is so bad, that you can walk from one end to theother faster than you can ride. This was Seattle’s gift of a train set to Jeff Bezos.