First Hill Streetcar launches, but riders are still waiting

After an 18-month delay, the First Hill Streetcar began making trips this weekend for a “soft launch,” providing free trips along the 2.5-mile route from the new Capitol Hill station to SoDo. But it was a different kind of waiting that had at least a few of the riders wanting more.

There are 10 stops on the First Hill Streetcar line, and, once it’s on its regular schedule, streetcars should show up in 10-12 minute intervals during normal business hours.

Danny O’Neill, filling in for KIRO Radio’s John Curley, said he had the “quintessential streetcar experience” over the weekend, by driving from the house to streetcar pickup and then waiting 28 minutes for the next trolley to arrive.

Related: Twisted trolley tales and sad Seattle streetcar stories

“I did the quick math, could I walk to Pioneer Square as fast?” O’Neill asked. “No, I couldn’t. It probably would have been about 45 minutes. But it probably would have been close if at that point I’d have hoofed it down there.”

Mike Archambault, with the Capitol Hill Community Council, called the soft run a “fun vibe” and believes the streetcar brought out people who might not ride public transit regularly.

“I thought it was great, actually,” he said. “Everybody seemed excited … Our transportation picture is coming together.”

That doesn’t mean the experience was flawless. Archambault said the cars run “pretty slowly,” timing the trip from the International District to Capitol Hill at 18.5 minutes, with roughly one-third of the time sitting at stop lights.

Archambault was also confused about the signage, saying maps at the stations seem oriented in the wrong direction, which would be confusing for tourists or people new to the area.

Despite his wait, O’Neill said the Capitol Hill station was “packed,” which made him second guess his initial thoughts on the project as a whole.

“I thought to myself, if there’s really that many people that are going to use it, then maybe I need to rethink my belief that this is one of the biggest wastes of public transportation system, because it screwed up traffic on Broadway,” he said.

KIRO Radio’s Tom Tangney said no matter how successful the streetcar might be, the experiment of putting so many different types of transportation on Broadway (bike lanes, streetcar, light rail) was an important lesson. He suggests renaming Capitol Hill “What not to do.”

“We tried everything and now we know, OK, at least we know enough not to do that in Ballard and Queen Anne and anywhere else that’s gonna happen,” he said.