Bike share would be a great way to get from First Hill to Capitol Hill. Too bad Ed Murray killed it.

This seems like a pretty stupid design flaw--brakes unable to actually stop the vehicle in an emergency.

Cable cars designed 100 years ago didn't have this problem. The emergency brake was able to essentially weld the car to the track if necessary, even on the steep streets of SF: http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/the-brakes…

In other news, Seattle has spent over $27 million dollars on a single short transit line that that 1) Sees less than 3,000 (peak) riders per day, 2) Is slow and blocks traffic, and 3) Causes bicyclists to crash when their tires get caught in the tracks. Brilliant.

@DOUG: Too bad Ed Murray killed it.

I know, right? Now if someone in Seattle wants to bike to work, there is now, thanks to Ed, no possible way for them to obtain a bike in order to do so.

I know this sounds crazy, but maybe the city could start a web site where people who aren't using their bikes anymore can list them. Those who need a bike can then contact the owners and obtain permanent rights to use the bikes in exchange for some sort of fungible currency.

Never mind, Ed Murray would probably kill that, too.

@3- Right!? Turns out the high tech solution is wood. Literally a block of wood connected to a lever.

How can a streetcar get rolling backwards? Both ends are forwards... Momentum carries you in the direction you were going, even when a poorly engineered braking system locks up your wheels.

The damn thing never should have been built at all, as streetcars are the worst of all possible tranist options: high capital costs, zero route flexibility, and even more susceptible to traffic than a bus.

Too bad political cowardice will prevent the city from ever admitting their mistake and getting rid of them.

@4: You are not alone in not understanding how bike share works. How about car share? Or taxi cabs? Can you comprehend those?

@6: It's all in its desire.

What about that train thing under ground? Isn't that within walking distance or unless you can spit on it it is too far to walk and would then eat into your work travel fund. This is an awful Woe Is Me post. It is what three extra blocks in either direction?

Hey, at least you can drive down Broadway again.

unless all the rest of you gloomy guses, I want the streetcar to work again, and soon.

@10 - Some streetcars (like those in Toronto or Paris) carry more riders than a typical bus. For routes in very high density cities, this allows you to carry way more people per trip, saving money and avoiding bus bunching.

Some cities have an established rail system that can be leveraged with streetcars.

That is about it, as far as advantages go. Interestingly enough, our streetcars have absolutely none of those qualities. Our streetcars aren't bigger than our buses. Every mile of rail where they run is new. They have every disadvantage (lack of flexibility, high cost, inability to avoid minor obstacles or go up steep hills, being a hazard to bikes, etc.) while having none of the advantages. It was a stupid idea to build these here, and the extension is just putting good money after bad. We should get rid of them, pull up the tracks, and run buses on those (or similar) routes.

http://humantransit.org/2009/07/streetca…

The monorail is officially more functional than these steel shitboxes.