The Beacon Hill Streetcar Had to Go All the Way
Seattle's board of public works told the Union Trunk line to repair its rough Beacon Hill extension and run to the franchise terminus.
The board of public works yesterday notified the Union Trunk line that the council had decided that the company must operate the Beacon Hill line, in compliance with the franchise, to its terminus, as far as the tracks are now laid. For some months past the road has been operated a short distance beyond the city reservoir, the tracks beyond, across the country and through the woods, being in bad shape. The subject has been the cause of much discussion in the council. The company is now required to repair and put its Beacon Hill extension in running order.
“The company is now required to repair and put its Beacon Hill extension in running order.”
Franchise enforcement is an old Seattle story: private transit companies promised service to new neighborhoods in exchange for public rights-of-way. The fight over whether a line actually reaches its terminus still echoes in debates over transit levies and service equity.
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