The First Hill streetcar loads passengers on Jackson Street at 5th Avenue. (Photo by the author)
Seattle’s new streetcar route, the First Hill line, finally opened on Saturday. Despite the cold and rain, months of tantalizingly empty test runs and the promise of free rides drew large crowds along the entire route. The new line runs from Pioneer Square and the International District on Jackson Street, through the Yesler Terrace public housing development via 14th Avenue E and E Yesler Way, and on First Hill and Capitol Hill via Broadway. Though over a year late due to manufacturing problems, and designed less robustly than it could have been, the line adds a new transportation link for central Seattle and provides lessons for how future streetcar lines should be designed elsewhere.
The Northwest Urbanist 