A decade later, First Hill Streetcar tracks still dangerous for bicyclists

(Image: CHS)

By Matt Dowell

For its 10th birthday, the First Hill Streetcar will get a suite of minor safety upgrades from the Seattle Department of Transportation. But a decade after a bicyclist died following a crash near the streetcar tracks, cyclists want more.

As part of this year’s portion of the eight-year $1.55 billion Transportation Levy that Seattle voters approved in 2024, SDOT has promised a number of spot improvements for the First Hill Streetcar:

• New red paint on 14th Ave S just north of Rainier Ave S to make it clearer to people that they are not allowed to drive in the streetcar-only lane
• Lighting added to eight streetcar shelters (to be completed before the FIFA World Cup)
• New pavement markings at three private driveways that cross the streetcar tracks to improve visibility

In addition to those changes, as part of the Safe Routes to School Program, SDOT will make bike lane and crossing enhancements around E Yesler Way and Boren Ave to improve safety for families traveling to Bailey Gatzert Elementary. They will upgrade the eastbound bike lane on E Yesler Way between 10th Ave S and Boren Ave by:

• Removing the right turn only lane on eastbound Yesler onto southbound Boren Ave which currently creates a small gap in the eastbound bike lane
• Extending the bike lane through the intersection and installing concrete barriers on the eastbound bike lane. This change also prevents people in cars from using the right turn lane to drive around the streetcar.

But according to Tom Fucoloro of the Seattle Bike Blog, streetcar tracks around the city still cause crashes — the worst kind of crashes — and that issue isn’t addressed as long as bikes are asked to share the road with the lines.

“The tracks grab your bike wheel without any warning, so you think you’re past them safely but you turn a bit more shallow than you meant to and your back wheel gets grabbed. Your bike suddenly stops and you keep going forward. People tend to fall over their handlebars which is the most dangerous kind of fall.”

McCloud’s ghost bike (Image: CHS)

Desiree McCloud’s death in 2016 occurred after a crash on 13th and Yesler that had these characteristics.

“[McCloud] was biking down the hill and ended up between the tracks,” said Fucoloro. “She realized she didn’t want to be there. So as far as we can tell, she tried to get out and her wheel was grabbed.”

“She wasn’t doing anything egregiously irresponsible. The consequence for such a small mistake is too big. That’s what’s frustrating about that.”

Following McCloud’s crash, the city did install protected bike lanes along Yesler, which completely separated bikers from the rails. But on Jackson, bikers must still share with the streetcar.

While it’s difficult to know how many solo bike crashes have occurred along the tracks since 2016, a number of expensive settlements between the city and injured cyclists corroborate Fucoloro’s sentiment. In the most recent and highest profile cases, separate parties settled for a total of $5.75 million.

Fucoloro says that the city advises bikers to avoid the streetcar tracks, in this case by avoiding Jackson and using the neighboring King St. But he says it’s not realistic.

“We’ve tried using other streets and it isn’t the same. They moved hills to make Jackson as flat as it is and in biking that’s really important.”

To those who’d tell bikers to bike more carefully, he points out that expert bikers have crashed on the streetcar tracks.

“There’s a concept that the city ascribes to called a Safe System Approach. It acknowledges that people will make mistakes. We need to design our roadways so that a small mistake doesn’t have a catastrophic consequence.”

And at this point, he doesn’t see a technical solution.

“I’m all about the city trying the rubber flanges [that would fill the gap between the street and the rail]. But their problem was that they broke down. So after a certain time the rubber starts sticking out and becomes itself a hazard.”

“I’m hopeful that there could someday be a product that solves this problem. But the conclusion we came to is that you have to separate the bikes and the streetcars – it’s the only way to do it safely. They’re not compatible. It’s an inconvenient answer.”

An SDOT spokesperson said that S Jackson St is a priority for the Vision Zero program, which aims to end traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets by 2030.

“The S Jackson St Vision Zero Safety Corridor Project recently began reaching out to community members to gather feedback about people’s experience travelling along S Jackson St between Alaskan Way and Rainier Ave S.”

“This feedback will be used to inform our designs for the upcoming safety project. While we have not yet shared specific designs, SDOT will be considering enhancements such as traffic calming treatments, reducing conflict points at intersections, and upgrading traffic signals to improve safety. We expect to have more to share about potential designs later this year.”

Even Fucoloro admits that a bike lane on Jackson is a tall order.

“There’s no cheap option. You’ll have to install floating bus stops, then you’re building curbs and pouring cement.”

“The city is in a hard spot, there’s not an obvious answer, but that’s not an excuse to not try.”

“We need to understand that people are going to be everywhere and we need to make everywhere safe for everyone.”

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