The City Council Grants Massive Streetcar Monopoly
A sweeping new ordinance grants a local transit company the right to lay tracks across vast swaths of Seattle's downtown, prioritizing private infrastructure over the city's future growth.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The city of Seattle ordains that the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad and Transportation Company is granted the right to lay down tracks for a street railway over the public streets of the city. This ordinance permits the company to lay tracks of iron and operate streetcars driven by horses, mules, or steam. The company is required to keep the space between the tracks in repair and is liable for damages to property owners along the route. However, if no petition for compensation is filed within two years, any claims for damages will be barred. The city reserves the right to regulate the fares, with a limit not exceeding ten cents per passenger for any one way.
“The owner of such railways shall have the right to make and enforce such rules and regulations for the fare and operation thereof as shall not be contrary to the ordinances of the city of Seattle.”
This 1886 ordinance reflects the familiar Seattle story of rapid, developer-led expansion. Just as city leaders then were willing to grant private corporations immense power over the public right-of-way to accelerate transit, modern Seattle continues to grapple with the tension between public infrastructure needs and the influence of powerful private interests in urban planning.
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