Streetcar may need city loan

Licata proved right about operating costs

Seven months before Seattle christens its new South Lake Union streetcar, the expected operating costs are increasing.

And the income from train and station advertising, though robust, is going to arrive more gradually than planned.

So, Mayor Greg Nickels is asking the City Council to give the streetcar a line of credit -- up to $3 million -- to be repaid within 10 years...
. . .

Metro Transit, which will operate the trains, plans to bill the city $2 million a year, compared to the city's original $1.5 million estimate. Startup costs will add $500,000, compared to the early estimate of $144,000. The current shortfall is about $1.5 million for the first two years of operations, said a City Council staff analysis issued this week.

Rising costs would mean that the streetcar would soak up a greater share of Seattle's Metro Transit allotment than earlier thought, limiting bus-service expansion to other neighborhoods.

. . .

City Councilman Nick Licata, an early opponent, has long warned operating costs would rise.

"I think it's unfortunately indicative of how we're not paying attention to the more basic services around the city. How did Seattle become unaffordable? It's through a number of these projects that benefit a small sector of the population." Source

Ehh, what's a few million between friends? I mean -- those poor gentrifiers.