Seattle Press on Line - Monorail Routes Released

Monorail Routes Released

Jun 20, 2002 -- Seattle's Green Line, the monorail track from Ballard to West Seattle, has a route. The Elevated Transportation Company board has released its draft plan that will probably be what voters see on the ballot in November. Along with the route, the ETC also released its proposal for financing the system with auto licensing taxes.

The final route down 15th Avenue NW through Ballard, crossing the Ship Canal at the Ballard Bridge on a second, taller span (according to the ETC web site, it will have to be 150 - 200 feet high to accommodate passing ships). After passing through Interbay, it turns east onto Harrison and makes a semicircle around the north side of the Seattle Center. It continues down Fifth Avenue through Belltown to Stewart Street. At Stewart, it jogs over to Second Avenue and travels through Downtown to King Street Station, where it will share the transit hub with light rail, heavy rail and buses. South of King Street Station, the monorail runs down Third Avenue, jogging over to First at Lander and jogging over again as it joins the West Seattle Bridge. Crossing the bridge on an elevated guideway above traffic, the route turns south onto Avalon Way, curving up to rejoin Fauntleroy going west to California Avenue. The route goes south on California to its terminus at SW Morgan Street.

Construction costs, if voters approve the plan in November, will be paid for by a 1.4 percent Motor Vehicle Excise Tax. So, the owner of a $10,000 car would pay $140. The ETC chose this method instead of a flat license tab fee because it impacts less on drivers of less-valuable cars; the owner of a $1,000 car will pay only $14 under this plan.

To govern the construction and operation of the Monorail, the ETC board recommended an appointed body rather than an elected one, over the strong objections of many monorail supporters. Perhaps the most prominent among them is Cleveland Stockmeyer, one of the authors of Initiative 53, the 2000 measure that gave new life to the ETC after City Council effectively killed it. "Elected versus appointed needs more consideration," he said at the June 7 meeting of the City Council Monorail ad-hoc committee. He suggested a "blended board" of elected and appointed members to make everyone happy,

The proposed routes taxation numbers and governance are still just the "draft plan," but they will be finalized in August. Until then, the ETC is conducting public meetings to get even more ideas from the public. So, there is still opportunity to change the routes or alter the plan in other ways. For more information, visit the ETC web site at www.elevated.org. Other groups concerned with the monorail are Rise Above It all and Monorail Yes! Their combined web site is www.riseaboveitall.org.

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