Cyclists issued early warnings to the City of Seattle about the hazardous rails along Westlake Ave. N. for the $50 million streetcar project that so far is a monumental waste of taxpayer dollars. (Back when the streetcar was about to debut a friend and I managed to walk the streetcar route and beat it point-to-point. Cycling the route was exponentially faster. In other words, if they’d just left the street the way it was and put in a boulevard, people would move faster from downtown to Lake Union.)
Now cyclists who have crashed on the patently unsafe route are suing the city.
Yep, the SLUT is a total waste of money, unless you are Paul Allen of Vulcan and use it to sell your new office space to people who don’t actually ride street cars.
I too easily walked the end to end distance and beat the streetcar. Bicycling is faster as long as you stay away from the tracks and thus avoid the detour to Harborview emergency room.
whilst i cannot agrue with the pointlessness of a tram system that can be beaten on foot, i have to wonder about the problem cyclists are having. think about the numerous european cities where trams and cyclists coexist in sweet harmony. what’s wrong with the seattle tram rails? are they invisible? do cyclists in seattle cycle with their eyes shut?
suing the city..? seriously..
while it is true that tracks are very hazardous,westlake is actually the slowest way to core seattle, try maybe just cutting up to 5th ave. cars are used to the commuter and messenger traffic. iam the owner of zen couriers and i use this route almost everytime i come into the downtown core traveling southbound.
This morning a zen courier cut me off as I was walking acros the crosswalk. I had the light to walk, he was breaking the law running a light without even stoppping. When I called him out about it, he circled back and offered to fight it out with me. He threatened further violence if I continue to complain. If he does not want complaints about his driving, he should follow the law. Shame on Zen Courier for hiring drivers who think force justifies driving against the law and putting others at risk.