Seattle DOT falsely claims fresh paint makes transit ‘more reliable’

Color me surprised to learn that the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) believes fresh paint makes the underused South Lake Union streetcar more reliable.

I check if there is any validity to the claim. There isn’t.

It all started on Twitter when streetcar Operations Manager Curtis Ailes tweeted: “Fresh paint on the Westlake transit lanes. Makes @TheStreetcar a more reliable service” (which was retweeted by SDOT).

Ailes is referring to fresh coats of red paint at nearby streetcar stops.

This tweet offers some significant implications, including that mere paint can somehow make service more reliable.

How can paint make service more reliable? Will the paint end some of the gridlock on Westlake, where the streetcar primarily operates? If paint can work that kind of magic, can we start a massive paint job on Seattle streets?

I asked SDOT what the tweet means. Mafara Hobson, communications director for SDOT, sent me a statement that reads, in part:

I think Curtis was enthusiastically sharing that the repaint project was complete — and wanted to share his personal sentiment about the work he and his team completed, and simply meant that that fresh paint makes transit lanes more easily identifiable, thereby dissuading cars and other nonpublic transit vehicles from occupying the lane thus reducing public transit interruptions such as parked, stalled or turning vehicles from throwing off transit times.

I’m not entirely sure I buy this claim and SDOT didn’t provide any specific data points to back up their position.

The vast majority of the streetcar line shares the road with cars and buses, including lanes where cars can make right turns. That means paint won’t stop cars from occupying the lanes.

Plus, I walked by the intersection where Ailes took his photo and it was full of cars, buses, and the streetcar (they all share the lane). Indeed, cars use the line on northbound Westlake to make a right onto Denny to get to I-5 or Capitol Hill.

I didn’t need to wait to stage the photos (above), like Ailes seems to have done. I was just walking by around 6 p.m. on Wednesday night, on my way to a movie screening. The paint didn’t seem nearly as effective as Ailes makes it seem.

Plus, the section of the street where Ailes took his photo is already a transit-only lane.

Do I buy that cars would be generally more aware of the drop-off/loading spots for the streetcar? I suppose, though I suspect the giant streetcar they see in their rearview mirror will tip them off.

As to the implication that the streetcar wasn’t reliable without the fresh paint, Hobson doesn’t believe Ailes was making that claim and that it’s not an SDOT position that red paint equals more reliable service. That is disappointing. I’d be fine painting streets red to get transit and cars moving a bit more efficiently.

What say you? Do you think paint can make the streetcar more reliable? Have you seen any indication to suggest this works because I haven’t yet?

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