Seattle and Streetcars An UpdateCliff HenkeSr. Analyst, BRT and Small StartsPB TR&S, Inc.

Denver Streetcar Workshop September 27, 2007

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Topics TodayBrief BackgroundStatus2007 opening2008 referendumKeys to success

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Challenging topography and street gridSouth Lake Union neighborhood

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A City Surrounded by Water and Hills

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The right time, the right placeTwo of fastest growing neighborhoods in SeattleExpect 25,000 new jobs and 11,000 new households by 2024

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Increasing mobility in the Center City

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Seattle Streetcar by the numbers2.6 miles11 stops3 streetcars$51 million to construct330,000 riders/year3.3 million square feet of office development6,100 units of housing

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Turning Challenges into OpportunitiesClimate of skepticismLeveraging private partnershipsMetro Transit Joint Operations Agreement

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Local Improvement DistrictSeattles first LID in 15 yearsCovers half of capital cost$25MOnly contested by 1.47% of property owners

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Funding streetcar operations

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Streetcar TimelineJune 2005Funding plan approvedJune 2007 Joint operating agreement approved

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Target Opening Day: December 2007!

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Increasing mobility in the Center City

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Opportunity:Streetcar extensions

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Keys to SuccessBuy-in of all major stakeholdersPublic share of financial planFast implementation (less than four years concept to revenue opening)Local developer supportMinimal disruption during construction (Portland model)Flexibility during construction to address field conditions

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First car delivered September 2007

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Thanks

When we zoom into Seattle you can see why moving around could be toughPartly because have steep terrainIt is mixed blessing, great for views, not so great for travelA ship canal cuts the city in half and water bounds us in on east and west sidesBesides topography we have two major highways slicing through the length of cityHowever, it is these obstacles that create opportunities, because it challenges us to look at things from a different perspective

It is a metropolitan area of 3.5 million and growing The region is expected to increase by 1.25 million people by 2030

Doubles the growth, but also committed to Kyoto streetcar seen as part of solutionOur virtual tour begins at the northern end of the line, looking south to the downtown core.The streetcar alignment is shaded in red.As we fly over the line, the buildings and vacant properties shown in blue represent development that has been built since 2005, is currently under construction, or is in the permit pipeline.On the shore of Lake Union, a new $35 million park will anchor the streetcar line.This area of traditionally low-rise warehouse buildings, and parking lots is transforming into a mixed-use neighborhood, with higher density commercial buildings, lab space for Seattles life sciences industry and transit oriented residential developments.The southern terminus at our Westlake intermodal HUB, will connect the Seattle Streetcar to bus routes, the Seattle monorail, and will be an escalator ride to the Seattle transit tunnel, where LINK Light Rail will begin operations in 2009.City Council was at first skeptical of the value of such a short transit line --one of the conditions of buy-in was a solid financial plan that did not include general fundsSDOT enthusiastic about the publics willingness to step up and contributeAlso successful in recruiting sponsors of our stops and the streetcars Negotiating the Joint Operations Agreement no picnic--lot of back and forth with King Co.CouncilPayments started September 2006Four pieces of funding operations: Funded 75% over 12-year period through FTA, Farebox recovery and Metro agreement. Farebox sales should generate around $8.2 million and the Federal Transit Agency is contributing $2 million a year as wellLooked across the nation to develop sponsorship program for remaining 25%.The sponsorships and joint operations agreement will fund the majority of our operational costsHighly successful sponsorship program. The station sponsors range in cost from $20K-$45k per year. We have sponsors for 7 of the 11 stations.This is a rendering of one of the streetcars and shows where sponsors name goes on the streetcar itself. All 3 of the streetcars are sponsored at $60k per year. Despite the challenges and thanks to opportunities like great public and private sector relationships, it has only taken four years to plan, design, fund and construct the new streetcarConnecting major activity centers, providing key circulation and stimulating developmentFirst of several extensions planned to serve Capitol Hill area in lieu of LRT serving area; others to Ballard etc. also plannedShop nearly complete, trackwork finished, OCS installed, testing phase beginning next monthRecognize Mark Dorn of URS