One of Mayor McGinn's unheralded accomplishments that hasn't been talked about much was the passage of his Transit Master Plan. First proposed in May, 2010, it appeared to fall victim to city hall politics and/or inertia until the council approved it largely intact in April of this year.

Well today the city will announce a major milestone, the selection of Nelson\Nygaard as the contractor to move forward with planning of the City Center Connector, a high-capacity transit corridor connecting the existing South Lake Union streetcar with the First Hill line that is currently under construction. The planning phase is largely funded by a $900,000 Federal Transit Administration grant, and will study options that include a "rapid streetcar" through the downtown Seattle. (Whatever that is. I presume something somewhat grade separated, as opposed to just a street car with the word "Rapid" painted on it.)

Public outreach and comment will begin in October, and a final draft plan is expected to be presented by the end of 2013.