The Seattle Department of Transportation announced late Sunday night that a fix was identified and executed and the First Hill Streetcar will be back in action Monday morning starting at 5 AM — albeit at a speed-restricted 7 MPH through the stretch where the March 1st sliding incident occurred:
Prior to returning to service, the entire fleet of vehicles had a modification installed, tested, and documented individually. The modifications and operating orders have been reviewed and approved by the required safety officials. With these modifications, operating orders, and safety approvals in place, the vehicles are safe and operational for return to service. Continue reading →
Officials shut down the First Hill Streetcar system Wednesday after a mechanical issue was identified prompting officials to inspect the fleet of six seven Czech-designed cars that serve the line.
The service stopped serving riders mid-Wednesday afternoon. The first announcement of the disruption came from King County Metro, the agency that operates the City of Seattle service, just before 3 PM Wednesday. An announcement early Thursday morning confirmed the line was still not operating.
Transit Alert – First Hill Streetcar service is interrupted. Use alternate Metro bus rts 7, 9, 36 or 60, or Link light rail.
A King County spokesperson told CHS Wednesday night that a mechanical issue was identified in one of the streetcars prompting officials to pull all of the cars back to the service facility on 8th Ave S in the International District. The spokesperson said he did not yet have additional information about the nature of the issue.
The First Hill Streetcar began service in January in 2016 after months of delay. The start of service on the line was bogged down, in part, by longer-than-expected testing on the propulsion system designed specifically for the First Hill line. The system uses regenerative braking during downhill sections in order to power special batteries allowing streetcars to periodically detach from their overhead wires so they can travel alongside city busses. The system was developed for the First Hill Streetcar to reduce overhead wire conflicts with the Metro trolley buses.
In 2015, CHS reported more details of some of the issues that caused the rollout of the service to be delayed including “water-damaged inverters.”
The Seattle Department of Transportation says that around 3,000 riders utilize the First Hill Streetcar daily. UPDATE 3:25 PM: Metro is operating a shuttle (PDF) to partially cover some of the streetcar’s route.
Wednesday, SDOTalso said its announcement of changes to Broadway to help speed up service on the notoriously slow-paced streetcar route was premature and that planned changes to the street won’t happen until after more “analysis and outreach.” A department spokesperson told CHS that SDOT plans to begin that outreach this summer.
UPDATE 5:50 PM: A spokesperson said he still could not provide information on the nature of the mechanical issue but it must be serious. The First Hill Streetcar will not be in service again on Friday.
Capitol Hill pedestrians you might soon have to up your pace to beat the First Hill Streetcar in a footrace.
The Seattle Department of Transportation is planning a roster of changes in three sections of the 2.5-mile line to help boost the performance of the streetcar connecting Pioneer Square, the International District, First Hill, and Capitol Hill including the addition of a “southbound Business Access and Transit lane” to Broadway. Continue reading →
On Saturday, January 23, 2016 — after more than two years of construction and then lengthy delays caused by technical issues with its brightly painted set of six shiny, new, Czech-designed cars — the First Hill Streetcar clang-clanged to life. The start of service marked the return of the tracked streetcars to Capitol Hill’s streets after a 75-year absence and reshaped Broadway with a new bikeway. While many have questioned the need for the $134 million, 2.5-mile line paid for by Sound Transit in lieu of a planned First Hill light rail stop, CHS reported in December that the line was serving more than 3,000 riders a day. With City Hall, the local chamber of commerce, and merchants mixed on a planned two-stop extension north on Broadway, any ridership boost will have to wait for the 1st Ave-routed “City Connector” line that begins three years of construction this month. Work on 1st Ave will also hopefully help inform safety efforts to improve the bike-dangerous tracks across the city — including along the First Hill Route. In the meantime, you can celebrate the anniversary with a weekend of free rides across First Hill from Pioneer Square to Broadway — and, if you like, back again. Happy birthday, First Hill Streetcar:
In celebration of its first full year of service, the Seattle First Hill streetcar will provide free rides for three days this weekend, from Friday, January 27 through Sunday, January 29.
The First Hill Streetcar is currently averaging 78,000 monthly riders and has 3,050 average weekday riders.
Streetcar riders and its service area neighbors are encouraged to enjoy a free ride and explore the many shops, businesses and restaurants in the Chinatown-International District, Pioneer Square, First Hill, Yesler Terrace and Capitol Hill neighborhoods.
There is no other free service. All other transit service requires valid payment of the regular fare.
Streetcar tracks, especially wet ones, are notorious hazard for cyclists. Westlake Ave is a perennial problem for biking along the South Lake Union Streetcar line and one young woman’s fatal crash along the First Hill Streetcar in May prompted calls for safer street designs.
A group of mobility advocates and members of the Bicycle Advisory Board are now being tasked with finding ways to improve bike safety around the next leg of Seattle’s streetcar system.
The Center City Connector will connect the First Hill and Westlake lines by 2019, and with this group’s help, could also include some much-needed bike infrastructure downtown. Officials say the streetcar design group for the Center City line will also look at how to make existing lines safer — including the First Hill Streetcar. Continue reading →
Image taken from a society camera near 13th and Yesler.
13th and Yesler from the street. (Image: CHS)
In the moments before Desiree McCloudfatally crashed her bike near 13th and Yesler, she crossed in between the tracks of the First Hill Streetcar to pass a friend. After a police investigation, it remains unclear if it was the track that ultimately caused McCloud to flip over her handle bar and land headfirst on to the street.
“That question appears impossible to resolve,” said a SPD investigation report obtained by CHS.
According to investigators, all signs point to “operator error” in McCloud’s May 13th crash which led to her death a week later. Security camera video obtained by police show McCloud passing her friend while riding in between the tracks, but does not show the actual crash. McCloud was riding westbound on Yesler when she crashed shortly after passing through the 14th Ave intersection. Continue reading →
A pro-bicyclist community group is organizing a walk and meeting Monday night to remember the life of Desiree McCloud and start the process of improving safety on the street where she suffered her fatal bike crash.
“Girl Scout leader, Magic player, Geek Girl Desiree McCloud was a dynamic young woman completely engaged in a positive way with many communities in Seattle,” the Central Seattle Greenways announcement of the walk reads:
Seattle Neighborhood Greenways honors people who have died walking and biking on Seattle streets. We only do Memorial Walks with the full blessing and cooperation of families of the victims. This advocacy honors families, provides a forum for the community to grieve the loss together, and gives communities an opportunity to address street safety.
CHS reported on the death of the 27-year-old McCloud after she crashed on a Friday morning in May while riding with friends on E Yesler near the First Hill Streetcar tracks. While authorities await the results of the investigation of the crash, friends and family say the city must do more to improve safety along the tracks which can cause riders to slip or tires to get stuck. Seattle Neighborhood Greenways has also started a petition calling on city officials to “develop a policy to provide safe, protected bike facilities wherever streetcar tracks are laid.”
The Seattle Department of Transportation announced late Sunday night that a fix was identified and executed and the First Hill Streetcar will be back in action Monday morning starting at 5 AM — albeit at a speed-restricted 7 MPH through the stretch where the March 1st sliding incident occurred:
