Slog - Comments on Disappointing SLUT http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut Reader "Kinkos" writes: Just got back from “riding the SLUT." Useless. We got off after two stops and took the 8 back up the hill. Aside from the four traffic lights we had to wait for between the first and second stops on the line, the SLUT also crawled along at maybe 2mph. Many others mutteringly abandoned the worthless voyage as we did. The most telling thing of all, though, was the stuff they were giving away—Seattle Streetcar bumper stickers. The greatest moment of marketing irony or something more sinister? Yes, a lot of people will indeed be sticking those... Copyright 2008 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:00:35 -0800 Thu, 20 Dec 2007 14:31:49 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by DOUG. I was just down there at Whole Foods. Not surprisingly, the SLUT cars were packed. Packed with people who, like Kinkos implies, are likely one-and-done.

The coolest thing about it, however, is the electronic board telling riders when the next streetcar is due. I would like to see this technology added to all bus stops.

]]> DOUG. http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872508 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872508 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:10:06 -0800 Comment by unPC Why the pessimism?

At $50 million and $2 million a year we could expand SLUT to a 100 mile system which would only cost $2.5 billion plus $200 million a year to operate. That's only another $4 billion over twenty years. Or $ 9 billion total.

For a system totally just as fast as a bus!

]]> unPC http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872512 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872512 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:10:56 -0800 Comment by Lake See, Paul Allen gets REAL train sets for Christmas (thanks, City of Seattle!! You shouldn't have.)

]]> Lake http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872517 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872517 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:12:28 -0800 Comment by MvB Oh dear, a ride on the very first day of a streetcar's operation didn't meet expectations. Nothing can be done about it now and there's no possible way to make improvements. Better mothball the whole thing. Why were we the only city in the entire world to build a streetcar line? Just to dash kinkos' hopes? It's just cruel.

]]> MvB http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872519 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872519 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:13:02 -0800 Comment by Just Me I took it today as well. It took forever to get to Whole Foods from Westlake. It was the first and last time for me. Walking would have been nearly as fast, or a cab.

Fuck the SLUT! Fuck her real good! HA HA HA HA HA!!!!

]]> Just Me http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872520 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872520 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:14:05 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle Too slow.

Hope they decide to build an elevated light rail or monorail instead.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872523 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872523 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:15:40 -0800 Comment by Mr. X Just Me @ 5

Too late, she (along w/Hallivulcan) has already started fucking us.

]]> Mr. X http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872526 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872526 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:16:33 -0800 Comment by Just Me @1, Metro has that on a couple of bus stops in North Seattle on the #48 and another route. It is pretty cool but no idea why they did not expand that on some of the other larger bus stops or P&R's around the area. Like the bus area at UW on Campus Parkway or even in the bus tunnel.

]]> Just Me http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872541 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872541 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:23:10 -0800 Comment by Chris B Should they start to take suggestions for alternatives, may I suggest "People Mover"? I mean, it worked in Detroit...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_People_Mover

]]> Chris B http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872550 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872550 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:28:16 -0800 Comment by Lloyd Clydesdale The 5-some of haircuts and calf-length coats who were all smiles and handshakes at the corner of Fairview and Harrison by the SLUT barn an hour ago looked pretty pleased with themselves.

]]> Lloyd Clydesdale http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872566 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872566 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:35:30 -0800 Comment by Ian Part of the problem is Westlake--the street is timed for maximum signal delay. I learned to avoid it soon after I moved to Seattle, after watching four signals turn red right as I reached the intersection. One problem with rails: no detours. You build a line down the slowest street in downtown, you get stuck at lights.

]]> Ian http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872567 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872567 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:35:32 -0800 Comment by Lee Ving I love living in the city / I love living in the city / My house smells just like a zoo/ It ís chock full of shit and puke/ Cockroaches on the walls/ Crabs are crawling on my balls/ Oh, but I'm so clean cut/ I just want to fuck some slut/ I love living in the city/ I love living in the city/ Spent my whole life in the city/ Where junk is king and the air smells shitty/ People puking everywhere,/ Piles of blood, scabs and hair/ Bodies wasted in defeat/ People dying on the streets/ But suburban scumbags they don't care/ They just get fat and dye their hair/ I love living in the city/ I love living in the city


I love living in the city

]]> Lee Ving http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872587 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872587 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:41:15 -0800 Comment by ah seattle You have to hand it to Seattle, though - a charmed city doing all the right things, but totally fucking it up.

]]> ah seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872590 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872590 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:42:34 -0800 Comment by David Wright If the SLUT does torpedo public perception of street-rail transport, then at least the $7000/foot we spent building it will have served some useful purpose.

]]> David Wright http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872595 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872595 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:44:06 -0800 Comment by irony Ah, the irony. Remember that the monorail was supposed to be operational in ... December 2007. Thank you, Joel Horn, for screwing it up.

]]> irony http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872598 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872598 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:45:37 -0800 Comment by K X One

We have such a special kind of hell...

]]> K X One http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872602 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872602 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:46:37 -0800 Comment by vooodooo84 @15 god thats is depressing

]]> vooodooo84 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872609 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872609 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:48:51 -0800 Comment by COMTE Ah well, in the end, don't ALL sluts disappoint?

(And on a completely unrelated note: can anyone in The Stranger IT Dept. PUHLEEZ explain to me why I have to constantly type in my name & email & URL - why won't SLOG remember me?)

]]> COMTE http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872613 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872613 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:50:08 -0800 Comment by Packratt Nothing worse than a slow slut.

]]> Packratt http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872620 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872620 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:55:14 -0800 Comment by kinkos i will personally purchase a drink at next month's SLOG happy or whatever it's called for whoever takes the best seattle streetcar bumpersticker photo. how doomed do you have to be as a public transportation agency to be giving out f'ing bumper stickers to your customers? how about gas cards? big plastic-wrap ads on the SLUT that say "DON'T RIDE ME" - drive your car!!

this has been one of the roughest years in seattle memory - the sculpture park, the death of pike/pine, and the SLUT.

]]> kinkos http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872625 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872625 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:57:58 -0800 Comment by unPC The real problem is it's too long.

1.3 miles is way longer than what you need to have a ribbon cutting photo, or to show the mayor riding it for 3.5 seconds on the 5 o'clock news.

]]> unPC http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872634 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872634 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:02:23 -0800 Comment by Just Me @15, I totally forgot that the Monorail was supposed to be up and running this month. FUCK that is super depressing. But honestly it probably would have been a couple of months later given that all projects of that sort are late. But still... we could have had a monorail. Now we just have a SLUT.

So, time until the SLUT runs someone over and kills them? I give it a month! Any takers?

]]> Just Me http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872639 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872639 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:09:07 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Chris B @9:

You must have a lower threshold for "worked" than I do. From Wikipedia: "Average ridership today is currently around 7300 people a day, still well below capacity of 24,000 an hour" and "the city was subsidizing the system $3.00 for every $0.50 rider fare". The Detroit People Mover is probably the most useless major rail transit system in the world.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872656 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872656 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:20:43 -0800 Comment by Packratt @22

At 2.5 MPH, the scene of the slut running over a pedestrian would be similar to that scene in Austin Powers where the guard is run over by the ponderously slow steamroller.

The making and marketting of the "I was creamed by the slut" t-shirts would be finished before the guy was hit.

]]> Packratt http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872664 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872664 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:24:20 -0800 Comment by Packratt @22

At 2.5 MPH, the scene of the slut running over a pedestrian would be similar to that scene in Austin Powers where the guard is run over by the ponderously slow steamroller.

The making and marketting of the "I was creamed by the slut" t-shirts would be finished before the guy was hit.

]]> Packratt http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872665 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872665 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:24:32 -0800 Comment by Packratt ach.. sorry for the doubleply.

]]> Packratt http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872668 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872668 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:26:26 -0800 Comment by Chris I just got back from riding it and despite other user comments I don't think it was all that bad. Yes, it's not a fucking bullet train but it is faster than walking or waiting for a half an hour for a freaking bus.

From the conversations I over heard on board, many who otherwise wouldn't take public transit will take this. Yes running a bus down the same route would be cheaper (and probably a minute or two faster) but you wouldn't have nearly as much ridership.

Rail transit (even along a busy street, although this isn't ideal) has many advantages: smoother ride, easy boarding (no paying to board), coolness factor which will lure more people to take this thing than other forms of public transit.

BTW, San Francisco has many streetcar routes than run in a similar manner as the SLUT. Hell the SLUT is an exact copy of the streetcar they have in Portland!

]]> Chris http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872670 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872670 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:26:58 -0800 Comment by K X One
That not paying to board advantage is good for one month...

]]> K X One http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872692 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872692 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:42:19 -0800 Comment by matthew fisher wilder Olympic Sculpture Park was so damned when there were too many people on its opening weekend. Too crowded. Couldn't really get a feel for it.

Obviously the park was a failure.

]]> matthew fisher wilder http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872697 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872697 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:44:12 -0800 Comment by raindrop Ken Schram doesn't like it:

http://www.komotv.com/news/12437276.html

]]> raindrop http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872767 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872767 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:27:29 -0800 Comment by chi type Excuse a poor Chicagoan her ignorance, but it your little trolley thingee actually called SLUT? All this time I just thought ya'll were being snarky.

]]> chi type http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872777 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872777 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:33:34 -0800 Comment by andy Don't you people realize the value (yes, over the long term) of having fixed rail? Unlike other transit choices, such as buses, buses in priority lanes, etc., the streetcar ain't goin' nowhere. Those rails are in the ground and it shows a commitment to transit. Maybe in 5, 10, 20 years Westlake will be one big pedestrian/transit corridor. It's possible! We have a start with the streetcar, so stop bitching and start riding and walking.

]]> andy http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872778 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872778 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:34:25 -0800 Comment by 202 @8

When I went to UW (~2 years ago) there was a TV right by the HUB bus stop that showed when the next buses were coming, don't know if it's still there though.
@31

SLUT = South Lake Union Transit, the streetcar's (nick)name.

]]> 202 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872818 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872818 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:08:16 -0800 Comment by xx They got off after riding the SLUT for two blocks!?!

]]> xx http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872819 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872819 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:10:20 -0800 Comment by Fnarf @32, about "the long term": yeah, like the last time the region was covered in streetcar tracks -- look how permanent that was. Ever wonder why Interurban Avenue is called that? Or why that statue in Fremont is called "Waiting for the Interurban"?

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872870 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872870 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:49:11 -0800 Comment by chris The streetcar in Portland (the inspiration for Seattle's) is just as slow, so this should not have been a surprise to anyone. It looks supercool but it's faster to get out and walk. Hell, I bet an old guy with a walker could outrun it.

]]> chris http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872872 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872872 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:51:02 -0800 Comment by andy @35 Yes, I do realize that. But how long did we have streetcars in many American cities? 30, 40, 50 years? Even longer if you include horse-drawn rail vehicles. Rail can have a significant AND lasting impact on the built environment in that amount of time. How do you think Wallingford (and many other Seattle 'hoods) got going and stayed alive as dense urban neighborhoods?

]]> andy http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872890 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c872890 City Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:22:10 -0800 Comment by M167A1 Sigh..

Welcome to mass transit folks. More expensive and much more trouble....

Might as well pave over all the stupid tracks and add another traffic lane or build the stupid monorail, at least it wouldn't stop at a light..

]]> M167A1 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c873701 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c873701 City Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:39:42 -0800 Comment by Pacific Grove Phlash I wonder what the economic impact on the SLUTS that work the South Lake Union area will be now that the City has put in their own S.L.U.T on the street.

]]> Pacific Grove Phlash http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c873723 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c873723 City Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:51:37 -0800 Comment by Mike @27, Yes SF has many surface level streetcar lines, and we bitch and moan about how often they get disrupted by double-parked cars, traffic and the like.

When the newest line, the T-Third, opened in April it was considerably slower than the 15 line bus that it replaced. Traffic officials were afraid to give the streetcars signal priority in some places...so trains packed with people were stuck at red lights around the Caltrain station and the ballpark.

Even after some tweaking in early summer, people are still begging for the 15 line to be reinstated.

]]> Mike http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c875490 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c875490 City Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:56:19 -0800 Comment by Jack I haven't ridden yet, but it is clear that walking is much faster. Seeing it in action is eye-opening...

Another first in Seattle yesterday-see KOMO news-guy ran a red lite and "rear-ended a lingering SLUT" :)

]]> Jack http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c880230 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/disappointing_slut#c880230 City Thu, 20 Dec 2007 14:31:49 -0800