Who Wants to Kill the Streetcar?
Seattlest pointed out a few days ago that the future of the waterfront streetcar is not bright, but forces seem to be aligning to keep it around after all. The sticking point was, and continues to be, the maintenance barn near Pier 70 that is inside the boundaries of a planned SAM sculpture park. However, when the announcement was made that the barn and the streetcar would be scrapped in favor of the park and a "decorated bus" there was some resistance.
That resistance may have been enough to persuade the various groups involved (who never had any true animosity towards the trolley to begin with) to modify the plans. We haven't seen any proposals for the park that would spare the maintenance barn, but Seattlest expects there to be at least one circulating very soon. Meanwhile, the City Council, never known to shy away from cheap, positive public opinion, vowed yesterday to preserve the streetcar.
From the Seattle Times:
"Seattle shouldn't have to choose between its historical past and its future," said [Councilman Richard] Conlin. "We have to engage the political will and come up with a creative solution so that George Benson's legacy is preserved," he said.
Also check out SAM director Mimi Gardner Gates's letter regarding the streetcar.
