Friday Roundtable: First Hill Streetcar Turns 10

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the First Hill Line streetcar in Seattle. The 2.5 mile, 10 station line connects Pioneer Square, the International District, Yesler Terrace, First Hill and Capitol Hill. Since 2016, the line has carried over 10 million passengers.

First Hill Streetcar at Capitol Hill Station (Bruce Englehardt)

The First Hill Line launched in 2016 after years of delay. Construction of the route was primarily funded by Sound Transit as a mitigation for dropping a proposed First Hill Link station. Sound Transit contributed to funding the route's operations with $5 million annually until 2023. In 2024 and 2025, the Seattle Transit Measure provided funding to operate both streetcar lines.

Since 2016, most of the discussion around the First Hill Line has focused on the Cultural Connector extension (previously known as the Center City Connector). This extension would connect Seattle's two streetcar routes via dedicated right of way on 1st Ave. The Cultural Connector was initially scheduled to open in 2020, but has been delayed several times as cost estimates have more than doubled. Let's take a look at a few key events for the First Hill Streetcar and the Culture Connector from the past 10 years.

Map of the existing and proposed streetcar routes (SDOT)

• January 23, 2016: The First Hill Line starts service with a soft launch. The first trip takes 25 minutes from Pioneer Square to Capitol Hill.
• February 13, 2016: Formal grand opening of the First Hill Line.
• March 19, 2016: The Link 1 Line is extended north from Westlake to the University of Washington. An intermediate stop in Capitol Hill opens next to the First Hill Line's northern terminus.
• May 2016: Desiree McCloud is killed after crashing on E Yesler Way when her bike while got caught in the track gap. Seattle settled a lawsuit with McCloud's family in 2018.
• December 2016: The planned First Hill Line extension to Broadway & E Roy St is paused.
• February 24, 2017: SDOT considers a southbound Business Access and Transit (BAT) lane on Broadway between E Pike St and Marion St. This BAT lane did not come to fruition.
• March 2, 2017: A streetcar lost power and experienced a brake failure, causing it to roll over two blocks uncontrolled downhill. First Hill Line service was paused indefinitely.
• March 20, 2017: First Hill service resumes.
• November 2017: SDOT's 2018 budget includes funding for the Center City Connector (CCC) streetcar.
• March 30, 2018: Mayor Durkin paused work on the CCC over concerns of a $23 million cost increase from $177M to $200M.
• August 31, 2018: A third-party report on the Center City Connector requested by Mayor Durkin estimates the total capitol cost is $252 million.
• January 17, 2019: Mayor Durkin gives the CCC a green light, if the City can find $88 million in new funding.
• November 2019: SDOT's 2020 budget includes a $9 million provision to rework the CCC design due to account for longer and heavier vehicles than initially planned.
• June 24, 2020: SDOT pauses work on the CCC following financial concerns from the pandemic.
• May 2023: Mayor Harrell voices support for reviving the Center City Connector streetcar. The Downtown Seattle Association and then-SDOT director Greg Spotts also support the project.
• October 31, 2023: A delivery assessment for the CCC (now rebranded as the Cultural Connector) estimates $410 million price tag for the project.
• November 2024: Seattle City Council votes 7-1 to remove the Culture Connector from the Capitol Improvement Program.

While the Culture Connector is all but cancelled, the First Hill Line continues to provide essential service in some of Seattle's densest neighborhoods. Since the pandemic, the First Hill Line has reached record productivity levels. In 2024, the route carried 52 riders per revenue hour, more than the best performing King County Metro routes. Despite the route's efficiency, the future of the streetcar remains uncertain. Since 2024, the operational expenses for both streetcar routes have been primarily funded by the Seattle Transit Measure (STM), voter-approved measure that expires in early 2027. As the Wilson administration prepares a new measure to replace the STM, expect more discussion on the role that the streetcar routes play in Seattle's transit network.

For additional coverage on the First Hill Line's tenth anniversary, check out the Capitol Hill Seattle's excellent article from earlier this week.

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