Community Council Recap: CH hearts trolleys, streetcar update, TOD champion

[Full Disclosure: Josh is an officer on the Capitol Hill Community Council]

Seattle Trolley Bus. Originially uploaded by Jason Rodriguez

Thursday night was the monthly general meeting (3rd Thursdays, 7pm @ Cal Anderson Shelterhouse) for the Capitol Hill Community Council. With three major topics and a packed house, there was a lot covered and discussed in the two hour meeting.

As always, the meeting started with open floor, a time for any community member to make an announcement or voice their opinion. Five comments were made:

• Friends of the Volunteer Park Conservatory asked for support on their Opportunity Fund proposal to rehabilitate the Conservatory's East Greenhouse.

• SDOT is currently looking for ten more locations for on-street bike corrals. Unfortunately we were informed that plans to install a corral near Bimbo's and Cafe Vita has stalled.

• Sound Transit representative, Rhonda Dixon gave us the monthly light rail construction update: D. K. Pan was selected as sound wall artist

• Community Lunch will be hosting their Spring Fundraiser on May 8th at All Pilgrims Church. For more info: events@communitylunch.org.

There is worry that Broadway is dying. We need to work hard to ensure its survival, specifically by limiting building sizes to something similar to historic structures.

Trolley Buses vs. Hybrid Diesel Buses

First on the agenda was Johnathan Dong from SDOT who came to get feedback about Metro's proposal to replace the electric trolley buses (those with the overhead wires) with hybrid diesel buses. According to Metro the plan could save an estimated $8.7 million per year. Of course, the other side of the coin is that hybrid diesel buses produce more pollution and tend to be louder. While Dong has been going around to many neighborhoods, the decision could have the largest affect on Capitol Hill as The Hill has by far the most electric trolley lines.

During discussion community members resoundingly favored keeping the electric trolleys. With increased noise and air pollution one person said that there was "no question" to keep the trolleys. Another pointed out that the trolleys are a mainstay of the hill and contribute to the neighborhood character. Other commenters said that replacement was a "terrible idea" and "short-sighted". One community member suggested that metro should save money by simply stopping the study of replacement.

After the discussion, Dong said that he had heard similar comments in other neighborhoods (except West Seattle which was "lukewarm" but doesn't have any trolley lines). Metro's official study will take place this summer but Dong seemed confident that the Seattle leadership would support retention.

If you would still like to send SDOT your comments, you can fill out a short survey found here.

First Hill Streetcar Update

From trolleys it was on to streetcars with Ethan Malone coming to give the Council an update on the First Hill Streetcar planning process. The next big step will be the City Council's alignment decision, coming sometime this April. Since a loop around Cal Anderson has been almost definitively removed, the alignment decision will likely have little impact on the Capitol Hill section of the streetcar route on Broadway that SDOT is recommending.

Much of the discussion revolved around the North Broadway extension, part of the Community Council's bold vision for a Complete streetcar. Although the extension still lacks funding, Malone said that there are a number of good prospects federally. He also said that with a flexible construction process, building the streetcar "step-by-step" wouldn't be very difficult and pointed out that the Portland Streetcar was constructed in sections as small as 1/3 of a mile, based on when funding was available.

The Council's Proposal also included a number of streetscape improvements, including a possible bike boulevard along Broadway. Malone didn't have any additional information on the streetscape and said that after the alignment decision they could start developing "the next level of detail" for the project. He did suggest that the unconventional streetscape could be a pilot project for Mayor McGinn's "Walk, Bike, Ride" Initiative.

Creating the TOD Champion

One of the largest discussions on the hill these days is the future development of the empty 3-acres where Sound Transit is currently building the light rail station and tunnel. Commonly referred to as the TOD (transit-oriented development) site, community members have voiced interest in all kinds of community amenities on the site, from affordable housing, to a cultural center, to the Farmer's Market.

In order to push for these community amenities and ensure that the TOD site is developed with the highest civic principles in mind, the Capitol Hill Community Council and the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce have proposed a joint venture to form a group to work closely with Sound Transit and the City of this project. Tony Russo and Cathy Hillenbrand laid out the idea, referring to the recommendations laid out in the TOD Recommendation Report, a cumulative report on the TOD site put out earlier this month by Schemata Workshop and Makers and funded by the Cap Hill Chamber of Commerce.

Unfortunately, with such a packed agenda, no decision on creating the new group was officially made, but a straw poll showed that the majority of the present members were in favor of the group. Next month details of the group will be more clearly stated and a formal vote of its creation will be made.

Next meeting: April 15th, 7-9pm @ Cal Anderson Shelterhouse

More info at: www.capitolhillcommunitycouncil.org