Steve White () on October 25, 2011, at 04:41PM – #1

Hm, the new option for a route partially on 7th is interesting. It is certainly nostalgic for me, as I have hanging on my wall and I'd love to see it on a dense urban corridor like 7th.

I do worry about the amount of traffic on 7th compared to some of the other streets, however.

When I was in Seattle last weekend talking to some of the Streetcar people, one of the things they pointed out was that they specifically chose a low-traffic route for the line and that it has helped to build that less-trafficked area up. On an already heavy street, the streetcar would just end up sitting in traffic with the rest of the cars.

Jessica Wethington McLean on October 25, 2011, at 09:50PM – #2

@Steve - that is a great old photo! Thanks for posting it. Did it come from library archives, or...?

Downtowncommuter on October 26, 2011, at 09:46AM – #3

Remind me again why we need to reverse a hundred years of downtown beautification efforts by hanging power lines down the middle of major thoroughfares?

Tell me again why spending millions on 19th Century technology is a great idea for 21st Century, cash-strapped metropolis?

Steve White () on October 26, 2011, at 02:32PM – #4

@Jessica Yes, it came from the library archives. It's one of my favorites. Looking forward to the update on Thursday.

Everywhere I've seen, a streetcar has had a great impact on both the city life and development in the surrounding areas (which then compound on each other), we just need to make sure we do it right.

() on October 27, 2011, at 09:45AM – #5

Is this being coordinated with the bike lanes that are planned for 7th Street? 7th street can already be bumper to bumper from the freeway to Main during rush hour and the EIR needs to address how to deal with that problem.

Scott Piotrowski on October 28, 2011, at 11:21PM – #6

@"downtowncommuter" Last I checked, downtown in any city by its very nature is full of man-made architectural beauty. In some cases, the existence of a man-made mass transit system adds to that beauty. As the artist's rendition indicates, the "19th century" portion of this "technology" is the idea, and the "technology" portion is clearly a streamlined and more environmentally friendly way of moving large numbers of people.

I am an active member of the Route 66 preservation community. This historic highway had its original western terminus at 7th and Broadway after coming through Chinatown on Broadway. While this looks nothing like the trolleys that moved people throughout this much busier corridor previously, I am open-minded enough to realize just how well this could help keep vehicles OFF of this area and make it even more enjoyable of an experience. That foresight includes how spending money can bring money back in as well.

() on October 29, 2011, at 10:34AM – #7

Cars are also 19th century technology. That's an absurd position. Trains and trams have evolved over the years, as have cars. There's nothing "19th Century" about a modern streetcar. For too many years the streets of our cities have been given over to cars at the expense of pedestrians and mixed uses. Time to fix that.