Seattle — Lake Union Streetcar Funded

Rail Transit Online, June 2003

A $4.2-billion transportation package signed May 19 by Washington State Gov. Gary Locke includes $3 million for a proposed streetcar line from Westlake Center to South Lake Union.  Approximately $500,000 would be spent on a feasibility study with the remainder to be used for design and engineering if a decision is made to move forward with the project.  The 2.7-mi. (4.3 km) circulator was first proposed by entrepreneur Paul Allen last summer as a traffic mitigation measure for a massive office and residential development he has proposed for the South Lake Union district (see RTOL, July 2002 & Feb. 2003).  Mayor Greg Nickels quickly signed on to the plan and lobbied hard to have it included in the state’s transportation bill.  But that has angered some influential city council members, who insisted the streetcar cannot be a priority while important social programs are being cut.  In a Mar. 31 letter, Council President Peter Steinbrueck and Transportation Committee Chairman Richard Conlin asked Nichols not to push funding for the streetcar.  The mayor ignored the advice, which in turn has raised the specter of the council rejecting the $3 million.  But that could backfire, according to Councilman Nick Licata.  “We'll look at the conditions of (accepting) the money,” Licata told The Seattle Times.  “(But) then we're the bad guys because we're opposed to jobs and free money.”  He added he opposed diverting money from badly needed road projects to the streetcar, which will cost an estimated $45 million.   However, a spokesman for the mayor said the private sector will have to pony up at least half the cost through a taxing district that would collect assessments on adjacent property owners.  Licata said the mayor was playing an “old political game,” which the councilman described to the Times: “You get a resolution passed, you get some money from the state, some property owners behind you, and next thing you know, you're on your way to spending millions of dollars.”