If it’s still broke, why fix it?
In case you haven’t noticed, we love the wacky monorail hijinks here at Metroblogging headquarters. (Actually, we just like the word hijinks. And by we I probably mean just me.) Today, the Seattle Times pointed out that the old, broken, best-used-as-a-paperweight Seattle Center monorail needs $4.5 million in repairs to make it work again [Times].
Somewhere in the article Tim Ceis mentions that buses break down all the time and no one cares, that they just get them fixed and everyone moves on. Only how often have you been stuck on a bus suspended way the heck up in the air? I love the monorail, truly. The thing is 14 years past its expected 30-year lifespan, however, and sometimes it’s time to pull the plug. So couldn’t we use all of that money towards building a new, better, not on fire monorail? Maybe one that people could actually commute on?
But that’s not going to happen, so instead they’re conducting all manner of tests, including loading the cars with 12 tons of steel plates, which equals a full load. There’s still no estimate as to when it’ll be up and running again, but even if it’s active by Bumbershoot I don’t think I’ll be hopping on. I’d rather not get stuck.
Now that the tourist monorail is nearing the end of its life, and the Sound Transit light rail line is destined to become the transportation backbone, maybe monorail in the city needs to reinvent itself as the feeder system for the regional line, connecting neighborhoods to downtown and other urban centers.
Extend the current line to Queen Anne. Put another line up Madison to 23rd. Put a north line along 45th and Market Street connecting Ballard and U Village to points between. Maybe send a line up Lake City Way. Maybe another up Yesler or Jackson to Martin Luther King Way. These are all relatively dense corridors that are ignored or poorly served by any future light transit development. Buses along these lines could then be redirected to other areas, such as cross-town routes to West Seattle, south Seattle, and north Seattle.
The key is to start small and affordable. Maybe the Westlake-Seattle Center-Queen Anne route could be approved as part of a larger Seattle Center revival effort. If it’s a success, move on to the other routes. If it’s not, at least the existing line will be more functional.
I saw it running today, so I guess they’ve started the tests. I was on 5th, so I couldn’t really see in the windows very well, but it didn’t look like there was anyone on board.