Seattle Press on Line - The Monorail Mystique

There From Here

The Monorail Mystique

By Tara Peattie

Sep 13, 2001 -- Monorail, why do we love you so? Still just a concept, a plan taking shape on the Ballard flatlands' horizon, monorail is being praised even by incumbents who just one year ago couldn't take the trouble to fund its planning. Being against monorail has become something like being "against" salmon. It's an insult to Seattle sensibility. This is a practical gain for our planning process, but how do we explain the "elevated" appreciation of the true monorail enthusiast?

True believers know that monorail will be so much more than a boring "transportation alternative." Monorail will show America that the pioneer spirit is still alive and well in the Puget Sound--we're capable of creating software empires, re-juicing rock music, of bringing the WTO to its knees for a day, and now, monorail. We certainly won't be the first to build monorail, but we can still be the best.

What excites a true monorail believer? Well, even the boring practicalities: Monorail creates new corridor. It won't add to street congestion or be subject to traffic lights. There will be less property impact than other types of rail because it won't take away full street lanes. Monorail should eliminate the need for tunneling and thus we can better predict its cost. Since it is automated, the operating expenses are low. Conventional street rail kills people every year; monorail has a much safer track record.

Then there are the more subjective quality-of-life issues, the stuff that should be, but isn't, factored in by engineers and statisticians. Disney Corporation and Las Vegas both enthusiastically use monorail in their respective empires. Don't laugh--both know a little something about what makes people feel good. Monorail is quiet and can be beautifully landscaped below. Whisking above traffic with the views is an enjoyable, relaxing experience.

But that's not all for the true believers. While there are comfort factors that make us all the same, part of the attraction of monorail is that it will define Seattle as different. We like to envision how monorail would mesh with our unique city fabric. The support pillars can be decorated as totems to local culture. The trains themselves, gliding like shimmering, unearthly banana slugs in the sky, will add definition to Seattle's beautiful skyline.

Monorails in Japan and Germany

Outside of the enthusiasm of monorail supporters, there really is no monorail mystique. Where are monorails? There are four significant monorails in Japanese cities and scores of smaller ones.

* Monorail in Hanada, Japan is 16.9 kilometers long and has 10 stations. It is privately owned and operated, carries 200,000 passengers daily and turns a profit.
* Osaka's is 23.8 kilometers, with 16 stations and 50,000 passengers daily. It withstood the earthquake in nearby Kobe in '95, and provided vital transportation during the aftermath.
* Tama: 16 kilometers, 19 stations, 43,000 daily ridership.
* Shonan: 6.6 kilometers, 8 stations, 30,000 daily ridership. Interesting because trains run both directions on a single beam, passing at stations where the rail beam splits to both sides of the platform. It has operated flawlessly since 1970.

A monorail in Wuppertal, Germany is notable because it has been running since 1901. It is 13.3 kilometers long, with 18 stations and 70,000 daily ridership.

The most successful monorail in the U.S.? Well, that would be Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Mickey Mouse transit? Try again--the line is 23.6 kilometers long with six stations, and carries 150,000 passengers daily. Perhaps we can use a little Disneyfication.

Our incumbent leaders have betrayed a slightly desperate edge in the bid to turn Seattle into a "world-class" city. We must have a new stadium; we must have light rail because that's what other American cities do. But we don't need to take cues from just any other city. Monorail enthusiasts are looking at the transportation problem a little more creatively than that. What has made Seattle uniquely great is confidence that we know what's right for us alone, and willingness to take the inevitable risk to prove it. That's the monorail mystique.

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