City council frees up $2 million for streetcar design

By Bob Young
Seattle Times staff reporter

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The full council's unanimous vote also approved $360,000 to study streetcar extensions from South Lake Union to the University of Washington and from Pioneer Square to the Chinatown International and Central districts.

Streetcar advocates applauded the council's action, which also called for a $200,000 study of the benefits that nearby property owners would receive from the South Lake Union streetcar. The line is estimated to cost $45 million to build and at least $1.4 million a year to operate.

Private property owners have pledged to pay $25 million to build the streetcar, and Mayor Greg Nickels hopes to finance the rest of the proposal with state and federal grants and possible "new revenue sources" devised by the city. Those new sources might include developer fees or parking-meter receipts, which, under the conditions imposed by the council, could be used for running, but not building, the line.

The council created two other financial openings for the streetcar. It said the streetcar could be built with city funds obtained from Paul Allen's development company's purchase in 2001 of city property in the South Lake Union area. The property sold for $21 million, but about $13 million of that has been spent.

The council also said that if King County's transit agency, Metro, decided to operate the streetcar, the city could compensate Metro by giving up new hours of bus service owed the city. A council analyst estimated such a deal could cost Seattle about 9,000 hours of Metro service — or about half the added bus service that Seattle is scheduled to receive from Metro from 2002 through 2007.

The council would only approve such an arrangement if it is a "responsible, effective and efficient" use of Seattle's share of Metro bus service.

Transportation Committee Chairman Richard Conlin called the council's action "cautious." Conlin noted that the streetcar is not essential to the South Lake Union area's redevelopment and not as cost-effective as new buses. But he said it might be a "helpful amenity" that was popular with property owners and federal and state agencies that provide grants.

Bob Young: 202-464-2174 or byoung@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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