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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Transportation / City Seattle's First Hill Streetcar, Made in Seattle. Kinda.

Posted by Cienna Madrid on Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 2:56 PM

This post has been updated with new information from Pacifica president Bill Patz.

With the releasing of doves and sacrificing of virgins, today Mayor Mike McGinn and City Council President Richard Conlin announced that the Czech Republic- and Seattle-based company Inekon-Pacifica will be manufacturing Seattle's voter-approved First Hill streetcar, which is due to be operational in 2013.

And while the streetcars (six, total) will be manufactured in the Czech Republic, they'll be assembled, painted, and maintained in the city, creating 20 new union manufacturing jobs, with the potential for double that union work as Inekon-Pacifica competes for other streetcar bids across the country (20 cities around the country are planning for light rail, which Pacifica president Bill Patz says his company will likely bid on).

"This investment in improved transit will produce family wage jobs and send money back into our local economy,” said McGinn in a statement released today.

"This is great synergy!" Conlin added, synergistically.

The streetcar line will link First Hill to the region's light rail system via connections on Capitol Hill and in the International District. The city expects to break ground on the First Hill line in the beginning of 2012; Pacifica plans to finish the first street car in the fall of 2013.

Comments (11) RSS

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20 jobs is it?!? Am I supposed to feel good or feel like someone just cut by balls off with a chain saw?

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on October 26, 2011 at 2:59 PM

140 million and its only create 20 new jobs?

Posted by Kinison

on October 26, 2011 at 3:04 PM

Bad thing about streetcar is the lines are horrible and dangerous for biking. I wonder if that was under consideration at all...

Posted by sikandro on October 26, 2011 at 3:13 PM

Oh, and re: # of jobs....I'd rather have 20 new union manufacturing jobs than, say, 100 new jobs at WalMart. At least these workers will make something they can live on.

Posted by sikandro on October 26, 2011 at 3:17 PM

What happened to United Streetcar Company, which manufactures the cars in the USA from the ground up? http://unitedstreetcar.com/
A lot more than 20 American jobs created, but, oh yeah, they are down there in Oregon....

Posted by Citizen R on October 26, 2011 at 3:58 PM

Note that's 20 manufacturing jobs. There's a lot more work that goes into building the streetcar rail than the streetcars themselves. This will help our bored unemployed construction workers that have spent the last three years dreaming of highrises.

Posted by Matt the Engineer on October 26, 2011 at 4:14 PM

@3: Not to mention they burn millions of dollars in subsidies each year to do exactly what a bus would do.

Oh well, if it does anything to create and maintain jobs, that's certainly welcome.

Posted by seandr on October 26, 2011 at 6:07 PM

As the husband of a Slovak (who share a common geography with the czech, but my god NEVER say czecho-slovakian or they will straight up CUT A BITCH) I think this is awesome.

Posted by LORD ZOD on October 26, 2011 at 6:10 PM

This is 20 more jobs than I expected this to make.

Posted by Cascadian on October 26, 2011 at 6:49 PM

Cienna, you fetid cunt;
How about an update on the ACLU suit against Alice HS on behalf of the Kissing Cheerleader?

Posted by fishmarket on October 26, 2011 at 9:12 PM

this is pitiful. 20 jobs is a success? pitiful.

roosevelt created six million jobs in six months. here in seattle one of the most so called liberal cities in the nation, we're touting 20 jobs? we have truly redefined failure as success.

Posted by got no .... expectations.... on October 27, 2011 at 4:56 AM