Last night, a dedicated group gathered at City Hall for an Open House on the Seattle Center City Connector Transit Study. This study is being put together by Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to learn more about how to best “improve north-south transit mobility and link the First Hill and South Lake Union streetcars through downtown.”
A few basic ideas have been outlined by SDOT: run a route from Pioneer Square to Virginia along 1st Avenue, with a turn on Pike, Pine, Stewart or Virginia to meet up with the SLUT or a route that continues to Queen Anne, or a route that runs from Pioneer Square to Westlake Hub along 4th and 5th Avenues. These would connect with the First Hill Streetcar in the south, SLUT in the north, and potentially another line that will head to Ballard. Of course, there could also be various combinations of all of those elements.
During the open house, SDOT solicited opinions from attendees on everything from defining the purpose of the project to specifics of how the route will be aligned with streetcar routes and other public transportation. A spirit of collaboration seemed to fill the room as visitors were able to add their comments to posters explaining the options. Handwritten sticky notes sprinkled the room, as attendees voted for alignment options (or added in new ideas) and even expressed their thoughts on “modes” such as bus or streetcar.
Currently SDOT is in the planning stages, exploring what the public thinks of their purpose statements, stakeholder needs, goals and objectives and where the routes will be placed. Additional open houses will be held to continue to collect ideas and opinions throughout the year.
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