Seattle Center released a new report on how to maximize the operating potential of Seattle Center Monorail. The report, which reflects significant public engagement and stakeholder outreach, analysis of current conditions and modeling for future outcomes, found significant capacity improvements with modest station changes. It shows potential benefits that include the ability for Monorail to carry an additional 3,000 riders before and after large events, a reduction of 1,250 vehicles circulating during those events, and potential parking revenue increases of $5 million per year in garages near Westlake Station.
The report, conducted by VIA Architecture and entitled “Seattle Center Monorail Stations Reconfiguration Evaluation Report,” will be submitted as a supporting document to the Arena Project Draft Environmental Statement (DEIS).
The Report examines how improvements to Seattle Center Monorail could increase capacity, improve accessibility, and better connect it with Link Rail and Metro bus service to encourage the use of public transit to and from Seattle Center. The report evaluated a number of improvements, including improving entry and exiting capacity at the Monorail line’s two terminal stations at Seattle Center and Westlake Center; offering options for more immediate capacity increases; and a more phased approach aligned with the completion of Sound Transit 2.
Built for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, the red and blue Monorail trains depart every ten minutes from the stations at Seattle Center and Westlake. The City-owned public transit system transported over 2.3 million passengers in 2017, carrying up to 250 passengers per trip. The trains have undergone significant renovation over the past ten years to provide an enjoyable and reliable ride well into the 21st century.
Seattle Monorail Services, a private concessionaire, operates Seattle Center Monorail for the City of Seattle. For more information on the Monorail, click on www.seattlemonorail.com. For information on this report and other redevelopment at Seattle Center, visit www.seattlecenter.com or call 206-684-7200.
About Seattle Center:
Connect to the extraordinary at Seattle Center, an active civic, arts and family gathering place in the core of our region. More than 30 cultural, educational, sports and entertainment organizations that reside on the grounds, together with a broad range of public and community programs, create thousands of events on the 74-acre campus and attract over 12 million visitors each year. At Seattle Center, our purpose is to create exceptional events, experiences and environments that delight and inspire the human spirit to build stronger communities. Activities at the Center generate $1.15 billion in business activity and $387 million in labor income.
