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Thursday, July 29, 2004
Yes to streetcar, limited city money
The stars might be aligned over Seattle. A business group dreams of a gleaming new South Lake Union, a corridor served by modern streetcars running back and forth to downtown.
The idea has merit, but a lot of folks -- including this newspaper -- don't like the idea of the city paying for a local neighborhood transportation system when there are so many other deserving projects on the "wish-we-had-the-money" list.
But there's a win-win way to get this project moving. Legislation proposed by City Councilman Richard Conlin would allow South Lake Union business owners to create their own tax district, raise additional state and federal funds to build, operate and maintain the trains and limit the city's financial involvement.
This plan also adds value by releasing federal money to study the plan as well as an extension of the George Benson Waterfront Streetcar through the Chinatown/International District and an additional line from South Lake Union to the University of Washington.
The City Council will discuss this idea at the next transportation committee meeting on Aug. 10 and the matter could reach the full council by Aug. 16.
We need more public transportation alternatives in Seattle. Streetcars make sense because of their popularity where they've been tried -- Portland and Tacoma, for example. We also like a system that's largely funded by a local taxing district. Yes, those stars just might be aligned.
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