So, basically, this would cost 1/2500th what the SR-99 Billionaires Tunnel will cost, in other words?

Make it so.

Poor and middle class people could actually use the rail line, as opposed to the $10 each way Top Hat Toll for the underfinanced and going into the red Billionaires Tunnel we'll never use.

To this day I have no clue why SLUT didn't reach up to the U District where it would have been a useful piece of transit in Seattle. That would have allowed us to drop several more busses from the roads (less CO2 in the air) and make Seattle a little greener.

But then I wonder why the fuck light rail wasn't designed to include Southcenter Mall before going to SeaTac

As a West Seattle resident who was promised a train in the last mayoral election, I feel really shafted.

It's never been clear to me why we need three separate transit agencies--Link, Metro, and streetcar--overlapping each other all over the city. I'm all in favor of rail, but Link's on its way to the U District and beyond already--why not concentrate on that? QA and WS are fairly well served by buses, and (I think) long term plans are to extend light rail to those neighborhoods. I just don't "get" the streetcar, except that it's cute and doesn't take as long to build, which I suppose is a political advantage.

@1: P.S. Time to shut up. Your team lost.

@4 why do hate the industrial and taxpaying parts of the city that keep you wastrels fed?

@3 - There's a West Seattle now? When did that happen?

If he can pull it off, it's a significant step in McGinn's transformation as a mayoral candidate full of lofty goals and arbitrary timelines to a mayor who has mapped out the studies, partnerships, timelines, and funding sources to actually achieve those goals.

In other words, he's taking a page from everyone who's outmaneuvered him during his term so far.

@4, the different transit types serve different purposes. Link is regional transit, designed to create a background linking the suburbs to downtown for high-frequency, high-capacity corridors, and to serve as an urban metro in the downtown core. Sound Transit's other modes (Sounder and express buses) are also regional in focus, with an emphasis on commuting lines that are not along the regional backbone, or don't yet have the demand to support a rail line.

Streetcars are for traveling between neighborhoods within the city, much like buses. In some cases electric bus trolleys could do the same job. But as with Link rail that focuses on high-capacity corridors, streetcars serve a similar purpose for local corridors.

In terms of operations, I think it's Metro drivers for all three services.

You need different modes like this. The important thing is to integrate them into an overall system that works. That takes some doing.

@9: Thanks. I think "to integrate them into an overall system that works" is the concept that I'm not convinced is working. Maybe it will...maybe McGinn will find a way pull it off with his $5M (I'm not optomistic).

One day, maybe we'll have a transit system as good as Portland's.

Why would we spend money to send a street car to the U District when we're already in the middle of building light rail there?

Yes, let's spend millions of dollars on studies when the City's in the red and will be cutting human services. Good idea, Mike.

$5 million is blowin in the wind. Link to the airport: 2.4 BILLION. Link to UW: 1.9 BILLION. Link to msft: 2.8 BILLION. LInk to Northgate: 1.6 BILLION.

And the low tech, slow running FH street car: $127 Million.

What is $5M going to McGinn except the right to say he threw some study money at some ideas the city will never, ever be able to pay for in the future. by itself.

And btw a streetcar to UW? When Link will get you there in 5 minutes? Really?