Everett, WA — Streetcars Study Released

Rail Transit Online, January 2008

A year-long $113,000 feasibility study that determined streetcars would benefit Everett was released in mid-December by consultants Nelson-Nygaard. The north-south system would connect the city's busy downtown with a proposed new University of Washington campus at Everett Station, the waterfront and a new residential neighborhood on the Snohomish River. "The streetcar is really the mode that you're looking for," Tom Brennan of Nelson-Nygaard told The Daily Herald. The first segment would run about 1.5 mi. (2.4 km) and cost approximately $54 million. Subsequent extensions would add another three miles (4.8 km) and bring the price tag to around $131 million. Annual operating costs would be $6 million to $9 million. Funding could come from bonds, an increased sales tax, special assessments and parking districts. City officials will have to decide whether to pursue the streetcar plan.