The Seattle Streetcar—First Hill Line, commonly called the First Hill Streetcar, is a proposed 2.2 miles (3.5 km) streetcar line connecting the Capitol Hill, First Hill, and the International District neighborhoods in central Seattle. It will be part of the Seattle Streetcar Network

Seattle Streetcar Network

The Seattle Streetcar Network will be a system of streetcar lines in Seattle, radiating out from Downtown, in the U.S. state of Washington. One line has been in operation since 2007, and others are planned....

.

History

First Hill is considered a regional destination due to its concentration of major medical facilities and Seattle University

Seattle University

Seattle University is a Jesuit Catholic university located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, USA.SU is the largest independent university in the Northwest US, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs within eight schools, and is one of 28 member...

. It was to be served by a deep-bore Link light rail

Link Light Rail

Sound Transit Link Light Rail is a rapid transit project in the Greater Seattle region, originally approved by a ballot measure in November 1996. Two lines are currently operating as of 2009: Tacoma Link, which uses 3 vehicles built by Škoda, and Central Link, which uses 35 vehicles built by Kinki...

 station as part of the North Link

North Link

North Link is a northern extension of the Central Link light rail line that will connect the University District to Northgate in Seattle. The 4.3-mile light rail extension includes stations in the University District , Roosevelt neighborhood and Northgate. North Link is scheduled to open for...

 project. Due to high construction and engineering risk, Sound Transit

Sound Transit

Sound Transit has been the popular name of Washington state's Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority since September 19, 1999. It was formed in 1996 by the Snohomish, King, and Pierce County Councils...

 removed the station from the North Link preferred route in July 2005. The First Hill Work Program did a study to evaluate alternative transit options to connect First Hill to the regional transit system. Neighborhood residents, institutions, and business owners strongly preferred a streetcar.

The $140 million line is funded as part of the Sound Transit 2 mass transit expansion ballot measure approved by voters in November 2008. The line is expected to open for service in 2016, at the same time University Link

University Link

University Link is a future light rail extension of Sound Transit's Link light rail system in Seattle, Washington, USA. The line will connect downtown Seattle with the University of Washington via Capitol Hill. The line was approved by the Federal Transit Administration in November 2006...

 opens for service. However, the Seattle City Council plans to accelerate the opening date to 2012 to reduce costs.

Route and stops

The proposed line could begin at the terminus of the Waterfront Streetcar

Waterfront Streetcar

The Waterfront Streetcar, officially the George Benson Waterfront Streetcar Line, was a -long streetcar line run by Metro Transit in Seattle, Washington, so named because much of its route was along Alaskan Way on the Elliott Bay waterfront...

 in the International District near the International District/Chinatown light rail/bus station, travel east on a S Jackson Street and S King Street one-way couplet, then turn north up Boren Avenue onto Broadway, ending near the Capitol Hill Link light rail station

Capitol Hill Station (Link station)

Capitol Hill Station will be an underground Sound Transit University Link light rail station located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It is scheduled to open along with the rest of the University Link project in 2016...

 at Broadway and E John Street. An extension north to Aloha Street would be built if funds are available.

Sound Transit plans to have 13 stops on the line. Planning maps from the Seattle Department of Transportation and community groups show more stops.

Routing debate

There is an ongoing debate on the exact routing of the First Hill streetcar line. A community group has petitioned the city of Seattle to run the streetcar down 12th Avenue, 2 blocks east of Broadway. The rationale is to use the streetcar as a catalyst to revitalize the street with new pedestrian-oriented development. First Hill Improvement Association, however, wants the streetcar to run down Boren Avenue, turn right on Seneca Street and back to Broadway to bring it closer to the core of the neighborhood.

Proposed Stops

Name	Neighborhood	Location	Other
First Hill Streetcar
Pioneer Square	Pioneer Square Pioneer Square, Seattle, Washington Pioneer Square is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of Downtown Seattle, Washington, USA. It was once the heart of the city: Seattle's founders settled there in 1852, following a brief six-month settlement at Alki Point on the far side of Elliott Bay. The early structures in the neighborhood...	2nd Avenue S. and S. Main Street	Connections to Washington State Ferries Washington State Ferries Washington State Ferries is a passenger and automobile ferry service owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation that serves communities on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. It is the most used ferry system in the world and the largest passenger and automobile... , King County Water Taxi. Serves Occidental Park Occidental Park (Seattle) Occidental Park, also referred to as Occidental Square and Occidental Mall , is a 0.6 acre public park located in the Pioneer Square district of Seattle, Washington. Created in 1971, it essentially consists of the Occidental Avenue S. right-of-way between S. Washington and S... , Qwest Field Qwest Field CenturyLink Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It serves as the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League and Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer... , Safeco Field Safeco Field Safeco Field is a retractable roof baseball stadium located in Seattle, Washington. The stadium, owned and operated by the Washington-King County Stadium Authority, is the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and has a seating capacity of 47,878 for baseball... , Waterfront Central Waterfront, Seattle The Central Waterfront of Seattle, in the state of Washington, USA, is the most urbanized portion of the Elliott Bay shore. It runs from the Pioneer Square shore roughly northwest past Downtown Seattle and Belltown, ending at the Broad Street site of the Olympic Sculpture Park.The Central... , Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park commemorating the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1890s. The gold rush was in the Yukon Territory, and this park comprises staging areas for the trek there, and routes leading in its direction... .
Chinatown/International District West	Chinatown/International District International District, Seattle, Washington The Chinatown-International District of Seattle, Washington is an ethnic enclave neighborhood and is the center of Seattle's Asian American community. The neighborhood is multiethnic, consisting mainly of people who are of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino ethnicity...	S. Jackson Street and Fifth Avenue S.	Connections to Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel and King Street Station. Serves Uwajimaya Uwajimaya Uwajimaya, Inc., doing business as , is a family-owned supermarket chain with its corporate headquarters in the Industrial District, Seattle, Washington, and with locations in Greater Seattle. Uwajimaya sells mainly Asian food—with an emphasis on Japanese—though it also stocks Western staples...
Chinatown/International District East	Chinatown/International District	S. Jackson Street and 7th Avenue S.	Serves Wing Luke Asian Museum Wing Luke Asian Museum The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience is located in Seattle, Washington's Chinatown-International District. A Smithsonian Institution affiliate, it is dedicated to engaging the public to explore issues related to the culture, art and history of Asian Pacific Americans... , Kobe Terrace Kobe Terrace (Seattle) Kobe Terrace is a public park in the International District neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It incorporates the Danny Woo International District Community Garden. Named after Kobe, Seattle's sister city in Japan, it occupies most of the land bounded on the west by 6th Avenue S., on the north... .
Little Saigon	Little Saigon/International District	S. Jackson Street and Boren Avenue S.
12th Avenue	Central District	E. Yesler Way and 13th Avenue
Yesler Terrace	Yesler Terrace Yesler Terrace, Seattle, Washington Yesler Terrace, a 22 acre public housing development in Seattle, Washington was, at the time of its completion in 1941, that state's first public housing development and the first racially integrated public housing development in the United States. It occupies much of the area formerly known as...	E. Yesler Way and Broadway
First Hill South	First Hill	Broadway and Terrace Street	Serves Harborview Medical Center Harborview Medical Center Harborview Medical Center, located on Seattle's First Hill, is a public hospital in King County, Washington and is managed by UW Medicine.-Overview:... .
First Hill North	First Hill	Broadway and Marion Street	Serves Seattle University Seattle University Seattle University is a Jesuit Catholic university located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, USA.SU is the largest independent university in the Northwest US, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs within eight schools, and is one of 28 member... , Swedish Medical Center Swedish Medical Center Swedish Medical Center is a large nonprofit health care provider located in Seattle, Washington. It has three main hospital locations in Seattle and is also affiliated with many other suburban hospitals and clinics. As of 2009 it has 7000 employees and 2,300 credentialed physicians.-History:Swedish... .
Pike/Pine	Pike/Pine	Broadway and E. Pike Street	Serves Seattle Central Community College Seattle Central Community College Seattle Central Community College is a community college located in Seattle, Washington, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. It is one of the three colleges which make up the Seattle Community College District... .
Broadway	Capitol Hill	E. Denny Way and Broadway	Connection to Capitol Hill Station Capitol Hill Station (Link station) Capitol Hill Station will be an underground Sound Transit University Link light rail station located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It is scheduled to open along with the rest of the University Link project in 2016...  of Link Light Rail Link Light Rail Sound Transit Link Light Rail is a rapid transit project in the Greater Seattle region, originally approved by a ballot measure in November 1996. Two lines are currently operating as of 2009: Tacoma Link, which uses 3 vehicles built by Škoda, and Central Link, which uses 35 vehicles built by Kinki... . Serves Cal Anderson Park Cal Anderson Park Cal Anderson Park is a public park on Seattle, Washington's Capitol Hill that includes Lincoln Reservoir and Bobby Morris Playfield.-Features:... . Future extension to Aloha Street proposed.
End of line

See also

• South Lake Union Streetcar
  South Lake Union Streetcar
  The Seattle Streetcar—South Lake Union Line is a streetcar line connecting the South Lake Union neighborhood to Downtown Seattle, United States. Service began on December 12, 2007...
  
  
• Waterfront Streetcar
  Waterfront Streetcar
  The Waterfront Streetcar, officially the George Benson Waterfront Streetcar Line, was a -long streetcar line run by Metro Transit in Seattle, Washington, so named because much of its route was along Alaskan Way on the Elliott Bay waterfront...
  
  
• Streetcars in North America
  Streetcars in North America
  Electric streetcars—trams outside North America—once were the chief mode of public transit in scores of North American cities. Most municipal systems were dismantled in the mid-20th century....
  
  

External links

• Sound Transit: First Hill Streetcar Project
• Seattle Streetcar: First Hill Line