Brewmaster wrote Also, what the hell is the title of the article about. "For better or worse"? The only "worse" part was from a crotchety old guy who called the whole thing a boondoggle, and said that he prefers busses. Sounds like the majority of people are rejoicing though.
That wasn't the only negative quote in the article:
But Jesika McEvoy, sporting one of St. Georges' T-shirts, was unconvinced. "Why spend a lot of money on something that doesn't go very fast and stops at every stoplight? It seems like Paul Allen should have funded this exclusively ... the only ones benefiting are him and a couple of retailers."
and the upset cyclists:
Wednesday evening, Michael Snyder of Seattle Likes Bikes, which campaigns for better biking measures, helped organize a ride attended by about 40 bicyclists to protest the dangers of streetcars.The gap created by the track can catch a bike tire and cause the bike to flip, Snyder said. "Multiple people have broken bones off this already."
Bicyclists have been trained to use the right side of the road, he said, adding that the city has not listened to the biking community, which has been concerned for years about where the tracks would go.
"We like transit, and it would be stupid to think they would rip up the tracks that they've already put down," Snyder said. "Our hope is that the future tracks are in the center of the road."
--which wasn't really a complaint/concern I remember hearing about streetcars before.
Otherwise the most interesting thing about the article for me was seeing basically the exact same streetcar issues (pros and cons) that we've seen go back and forth here -- especially given the general perception of Seattle being so much more progressive than Columbus.