Broadway streetcar extention will include cycle track, open house Dec 13

With funding for the planning phase of the First Hill Streetcar secured, the city is holding a Broadway Extension open house to discuss what such an extension could look like for the neighborhood.

The meeting will be 4–6 p.m. December 13 at the Silver Cloud Hotel at Broadway and Madison.

The $25 million project will continue the streetcar line from it’s current planned terminus at the Capitol Hill Light Rail Station to the dense and bustling north Broadway area (and maybe beyond?).

And yes, the cycle track currently under construction (and due to open as early as the end of 2013) will be extended, as well. Once completed, the entire length of Broadway would have a two-way protected cycle track, securing inviting bicycle access to the city’s most dense and bustling commercial street.

The extension could also bring the streetcar beyond Broadway, continuing on 10th Ave as far as E Prospect St., where it would serve Volunteer Park. E Prospect happens to be a good neighborhood greenway candidate that Central Seattle Greenways has discussed. If a cycle track is included for the complete length, the terminus would bring the cycle track within a mile of the potential 520 Trail (the open house fact sheet says the project would “extend the Broadway cycle track or add a northbound bike lane”).

The most tricky part of the extension design will probably be the remake of the intersection at Roy, where Broadway curves and turns into 10th Ave. It will be interesting to see what preliminary design solutions are planned there, especially for people on bikes trying to get from the cycle track to westbound Roy St. and the businesses there.

More details on the project and the open house from SDOT:

The City of Seattle has secured funding to plan and design the “Broadway Extension”—the extension of the First Hill Streetcar Line championed by the Capitol Hill community—and is hosting an open house for the public to meet with the project’s designers and planners, view initial designs and to provide comments.

The open house will be held Thursday, December 13, 4 to 6 p.m., in the Silver Cloud Hotel’s Broadway Room. The open house will be an opportunity for the public to view early design concepts, and to learn about the proposed extension’s terminus options, and about how to keep apprised of the project’s design and engineering progress. The open house format will allow attendees to drop in at any time.

The Silver Cloud Hotel is located at 1100 Broadway between East Madison Street and East Union Street. The location is transit accessible, and on- and off-street parking is available nearby. There is also limited free parking at the Silver Cloud Hotel.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is currently constructing the First Hill Streetcar Line with funding provided by Sound Transit from the Sound Transit 2 measure. From the project’s earliest planning stages, the Capitol Hill community has advocated for an extension of the line to the north end of Broadway instead of its current terminus at the future Capitol Hill Link light rail station.

On October 25, the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) adopted its Regional Transportation Improvement Program, which included $850,000 of Federal Transit Administration funds for the first phase of design and preliminary engineering for the Broadway Extension. By securing the funds through this competitive process, SDOT can begin its design process for the extension in early 2013.

Additionally, PSRC’s Regional Project Evaluation Committee has recommended that Seattle receive $900,000 in federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program funds to complete the design work. Final approval and award of these funds is scheduled to occur in early December.

With the extension’s planning and design work expected to cost $3 million through final design, Seattle has potentially secured $1.75 million in federal funds via these two competitive grants. The remaining $1.25 million will be covered by the City of Seattle using local funds. When completed, the line currently under construction will allow riders to easily travel between neighborhoods on Capitol Hill, First Hill, Yesler Terrace, the Central Area, the Chinatown/International District and Pioneer Square, and better access Link light rail service.

The extension project would continue the at-grade double-track streetcar installation with two to three additional stops. The City also intends to extend the cycle track included in the current First Hill Streetcar project along with enhanced sidewalks, landscaping, wayfinding and signal/operational improvements. The extension’s total project cost is estimated to be $25 million.

For further information, visit the project website at www.seattlestreetcar.org.