Seattle Streetcar
 | |
 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Seattle Department of Transportation |
| Locale | Seattle, Washington |
| Transit type | Modern low-floor streetcar |
| Number of lines | 2[1] |
| Number of stations | 17 stops[1] |
| Daily ridership | 2,200 (in 2014)[2] |
| Annual ridership | 707,700 (in 2014)[2] |
| Website |
seattlestreetcar |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | December 12, 2007 |
| Operator(s) | King County Metro |
| Character | Street running |
| Number of vehicles |
|
| Technical | |
| System length | 3.8 mi (6.1 km)[3][4] |
The Seattle Streetcar is a system of two modern streetcar lines operating in the city of Seattle, Washington since 2007.
The streetcar lines are owned by the Seattle Department of Transportation and operated by King County Metro.
Current lines
South Lake Union Streetcar
The South Lake Union Streetcar is a 1.3-mile (2.1 km), seven-stop line[3] serving the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle. Its route goes from the Westlake hub to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in South Lake Union. Transfers can be made at Westlake to many bus routes on the surface streets, and to some bus routes and Link Light Rail in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel's Westlake Station. The line opened to the public in 2007. In 2008, about half a million people rode the Seattle Streetcar, averaging out to about 1,400 riders per day.[5]
First Hill Streetcar
The First Hill Streetcar is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km), 10-stop line[4] that connects Pioneer Square and Capitol Hill via Chinatown, Little Saigon, Yesler Terrace, and First Hill. The line opened to the public in January 2016.[6]
Future lines
Broadway Streetcar
The Broadway Streetcar project would extend the First Hill Streetcar a half-mile further north on Capitol Hill into the commercial core of Broadway.[7] Two stations would be added near Harrison Street and Roy Street. The project is currently in the final design phase and construction could begin as early as late 2016.[7]
Center City Connector
The Center City Connector project would connect the existing South Lake Union Streetcar at Westlake to the First Hill Streetcar with new tracks along 1st Avenue and Stewart Street in Downtown Seattle.[8][9] It will serve popular downtown destinations like Pike Place Market, the Seattle Art Museum, Colman Dock and Pioneer Square. The two existing lines would overlap within downtown, increasing frequencies, and the streetcars would operate in an exclusive transit lane.
See also
- Waterfront Streetcar – A streetcar line that operated in Seattle between 1982 and 2005
- Link Light Rail – Puget Sound's light rail network
- Sounder Commuter Rail – Puget Sound's regional commuter rail service
- Streetcars in North America
- List of streetcar systems in the United States (all-time list)
References
- 1 2 Seattle Streetcar Map (PDF) (Map). Seattle Department of Transportation. December 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
- 1 2 American Public Transit Association, Public Transit Ridership Report, Fourth Quarter 2014 & End-of-Year Report 2014 (Accessed February 6th, 2016)
- 1 2 "South Lake Union Streetcar". Seattle Streetcar. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
- 1 2 "First Hill StreetCar Construction - Frequently Asked Questions". Seattle Streetcar. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
- ↑ "City's generous South Lake Union streetcar ridership numbers raise questions". Seattle Post Globe. May 24, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
- ↑ "First Hill streetcar opens". KING-TV. January 23, 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
- 1 2 "Broadway Streetcar". Seattle Streetcar. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
- ↑ "Morning Fizz: The Supposed Gap". Seattle Metropolitan. July 22, 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
- ↑ "Center City Connector". Seattle Streetcar. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Seattle Streetcar. |
- Seattle Streetcar official site
- King County Metro official site
- Flickr: The Seattle Streetcar Pool
- Guide to the Seattle Municipal Street Railway Photograph Collection: 1913-1940 Special Collections, UW Libraries