From the Jul 12 – Jul 18, 2001 issue

News

The Monorail is Coming

One Step Closer to What You Voted For

by Pat Kearney

Seattle is a step closer to getting a monorail. Last week, the Elevated Transportation Company (ETC)--the organization created in November 2000 when voters passed Initiative 53 to plan and actually build the damn thing--approved a corridor for a Seattle monorail system. The approximately 14-mile long corridor is not a route yet, just a rough outline of areas the monorail will serve first. The line will run from Ballard to downtown Seattle to West Seattle and back. On Monday morning, July 9, The Stranger toured the proposed monorail corridor by car with Peter Sherwin, author of I-53.

Imagine boarding the monorail station at NW 85th and 15th Avenue NW, and then heading south into Ballard. The ride would be amazing. Looking out the monorail's left side window, you would easily see Mount Rainier (on a clear day), the Space Needle, and most of downtown. Looking down you would see a blur of little shops, apartments, and businesses lining the road. The monorail would head into Ballard near Market Street, then proceed downtown by traveling on, or under, the Ballard Bridge. "That will definitely be an engineering question," says Sherwin. "But it will happen." After stopping at the Seattle Center, the monorail would continue along Second Avenue, where a ton of business and entertainment options exist. It would continue south, stopping at the stadiums, before heading into West Seattle. Again, an engineering issue, but if the monorail ran along the West Seattle Bridge or took over a lane in the middle, the view would be incredible. The monorail would then loop around, or switch tracks and head back.

Consider this: The monorail would be automated, run every four minutes, and travel at speeds up to 55 mph. Unlike the Fifth Avenue monorail, which is outdated and uses huge supporting columns, Sherwin imagines a new monorail. "We should run the line down the sides of the streets, instead of the middle," he says while we drive, drawing a quick map with his fingers on the car's dashboard. "It just looks better that way." In September the ETC votes on the actual streets the monorail will follow.

pat@thestranger.com