121-539: Pioneer Square station is a light rail station that is part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel in Seattle , Washington, United States. The station is located under 3rd Avenue at James Street, between Symphony and International District/Chinatown stations. It is served by the 1 Line , part of Sound Transit 's Link light rail system, and provides connections to local buses and Colman Dock ,
242-724: A "light rail" vehicle (it is a heavy rail vehicle), and is only included for comparison purposes. Low-floor LRVs have the advantage of a low-floor design, allowing them to load passengers directly from low-rise platforms that can be little more than raised curbs. High-floor light rail systems also exist, featuring larger stations. Historically, the track gauge has had considerable variations, with narrow gauge common in many early systems. However, most light rail systems are now standard gauge . Older standard-gauge vehicles could not negotiate sharp turns as easily as narrow-gauge ones, but modern light rail systems achieve tighter turning radii by using articulated cars . An important advantage of
363-477: A "when issued" market, and also immediately after they are issued. Once the bonds find their way into retail and mutual fund portfolios, the volume of trade drops off dramatically. The MSRB reports that from March 1998 to May 1999, 71% of the outstanding issues did not trade at all. A 2005 study concluded that 4–6 months after issuance, less than 10% of the sampled bonds traded at all; the probability then rises somewhat so that by four years from issuance, roughly 15% of
484-458: A bus, there will be even more capacity when there is a combination of cars and light rail. Table 3 shows an example of peak passenger capacity. The cost of light rail construction varies widely, largely depending on the amount of tunneling and elevated structures required. A survey of North American light rail projects shows that costs of most LRT systems range from $ 15 million to over $ 100 million per mile. Seattle's new light rail system
605-403: A chaotic breakdown inflow and a dramatic drop in speed (a traffic jam ) if they exceed about 2,000 vehicles per hour per lane (each car roughly two seconds behind another). Since most people who drive to work or on business trips do so alone, studies show that the average car occupancy on many roads carrying commuters is only about 1.5 people per car during the high-demand rush hour periods of
726-1102: A common right-of-way (however, Link converted to full separation in 2019). Some systems, such as the AirTrain JFK in New York City, the DLR in London, and Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur , have dispensed with the need for an operator. The Vancouver SkyTrain was an early adopter of driverless vehicles, while the Toronto Scarborough rapid transit operated the same trains as Vancouver, but used drivers. In most discussions and comparisons, these specialized systems are generally not considered light rail but as light metro systems. Around Karlsruhe , Kassel , and Saarbrücken in Germany, dual-voltage light rail trains partly use mainline railroad tracks, sharing these tracks with heavy rail trains. In
847-536: A day on weekdays and Saturdays, from 5:00 am to 1:00 am, and eighteen hours on Sundays, from 6:00 am to 12:00 am; during regular weekday service, trains operate roughly every eight to ten minutes during rush hour and midday operation, respectively, with longer headways of twelve to fifteen minutes in the early morning and at night. During weekends, Link trains arrive at Pioneer Square station every ten minutes during midday hours and every twelve to fifteen minutes during mornings and evenings. The station
968-446: A discount. While minimum denominations contribute to illiquidity, another such reason is the total amount of municipal bonds outstanding. There are over 1,500,000 individual municipal CUSIPs representing over 50,000 issuers. To put this into context, there are ~4300 US domestically incorporated exchange-listed stocks and 10,500 stocks that trade over-the-counter . Over the last decade, technology solutions have been applied to make
1089-541: A large flywheel once used by the Yesler Way cable car and later buried in a vault until its discovery during tunnel construction. Pioneer Square station is approximately 570 feet (170 m) long, 70 feet (21 m) wide, and 60 to 70 feet (18 to 21 m) deep. Designed by architect Jerry McDevitt, the station has an arched vault ceiling that is meant to reflect the area's historic buildings. The platform level also makes extensive use of red and gray granite , matching
1210-560: A large pergola similar to an older streetcar shelter in Pioneer Square. The Prefontaine Park entrance houses an 8-by-50-foot (2.4 by 15.2 m) ceramic mural created by artist Laura Sindell, depicting people-like figures, a 19th-century quilt pattern, a Coast Salish basket design, and a dugout canoe . Several of the station's entrances feature inscribed quotes from historic Seattle figures, including Chief Seattle , "Doc" Maynard , and Arthur A. Denny . The south mezzanine also has
1331-416: A light rail train may have three to four cars of much larger capacity in one train under the control of one driver, or no driver at all in fully automated systems, increasing the labor costs of BRT systems compared to LRT systems. BRT systems are also usually less fuel-efficient as they use non-electrified vehicles. The peak passenger capacity per lane per hour depends on which types of vehicles are allowed on
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#17330925046281452-435: A live rail. In outer areas, the trams switch to conventional overhead wires . The Bordeaux power system costs about three times as much as a conventional overhead wire system and took 24 months to achieve acceptable levels of reliability, requiring the replacement of all the main cables and power supplies. Operating and maintenance costs of the innovative power system still remain high. However, despite numerous service outages,
1573-536: A longer distance. Light rail cars are often coupled into multiple units of two to four cars. Light rail systems may also exhibit attributes of heavy rail systems, including having downtown subways, as in San Francisco and Seattle . Light rail is designed to address a gap in interurban transportation between heavy rail and bus services, carrying high passenger numbers more quickly than local buses and more cheaply than heavy rail. It serves corridors in which heavy rail
1694-648: A major ferry terminal serving areas west of Seattle. The station consists of two side platforms situated under street level, with two mezzanines connecting to the surface at James Street and Yesler Way in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood. It opened on September 15, 1990, and was used exclusively by buses until 2009. The tunnel and stations closed for almost two years, from 2005 to 2007, for renovation and modifications to accommodate light rail trains. Link light rail service to Pioneer Square station began on July 18, 2009, and bus service ended on March 23, 2019. Trains serve
1815-631: A more diverse range of design characteristics than LRT, depending on the demand and constraints that exist, and BRT using dedicated lanes can have a theoretical capacity of over 30,000 passengers per hour per direction (for example, the Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit system operates up to 350 buses per hour per direction). For the effective operation of a bus or BRT system, buses must have priority at traffic lights and have their dedicated lanes, especially as bus frequencies exceed 30 buses per hour per direction. The higher theoretical of BRT relates to
1936-413: A municipal bond is calculated as follows. Where r m = interest rate of municipal bond, r c = interest rate of comparable corporate bond and t = investor's tax bracket (also known as marginal tax rate): For example, assume an investor in the 38% tax bracket is offered a municipal bond that has a tax-exempt yield of 1.0%. Using the formula above, the municipal bond's taxable equivalent yield
2057-499: A municipal bond sale to be spent on capital projects within three to five years of issuance. In the United States, although not all municipal bonds are tax-exempt, most are. Tax-exempt securities represented about 80% of trading volume in U.S. municipal bonds in 2020. Interest income from most municipal bonds is excludable from gross income for federal income tax purposes, and may be exempt from state income tax as well, depending on
2178-458: A proposal are issued in series over a period of time, in order to allow contractors a steady stream of work and the jurisdiction to not be overwhelmed in managing too many projects at once. Before a particular municipal bond is offered to the public, the issuer must publish an "official statement" disclosing material information about the offering. Key players in the issuance process include: Tax regulations generally require all money raised by
2299-407: A result, has many of the operating characteristics of a metro system rather than a light rail system. A capacity of 1,350 passengers per train is more similar to the heavy rail than light rail. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is an alternative to LRT and many planning studies undertake a comparison of each mode when considering appropriate investments in transit corridor development. BRT systems can exhibit
2420-530: A top speed of 55–71.5 miles per hour (88.51–115.1 km/h) depending on the system, while the trains on the all-underground Montreal Metro can only reach a top speed of 72 kilometres per hour (44.74 mph). LACMTA light rail vehicles have higher top and average speeds than Montreal Metro or New York City Subway trains. Many light rail systems—even fairly old ones—have a combination of both on- and off-road sections. In some countries (especially in Europe), only
2541-418: A tramway, a light metro, and, in a narrow sense, rapid transit. This is especially common in the United States, where there is not a popularly perceived distinction between these different types of urban rail systems. The development of technology for low-floor and catenary-free trams facilitates the construction of such mixed systems with only short and shallow underground sections below critical intersections as
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#17330925046282662-399: Is 1.6% (0.01/(1-0.38) = 0.016) - a figure which can be fairly compared to yields on taxable investments such as corporate or U.S. Treasury bonds for decision making purposes. Typically, investors in the highest tax brackets benefit from buying tax-exempt municipal bonds instead of taxable corporate bonds, but those in the lowest tax brackets may be better off buying corporate bonds and paying
2783-462: Is a generic international English phrase for types of rail systems using modern streetcars/trams, which means more or less the same thing throughout the English-speaking world . Light rail systems can range from trams runnig in streets along with other traffic, to semi-metro systems having portions of grade separated track. People movers are even "lighter", in terms of capacity. Monorail
2904-565: Is a separate technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role. The use of the generic term light rail avoids some serious incompatibilities between British and American English . The word tram , for instance, is generally used in the UK and many former British colonies to refer to what is known in North America as a streetcar , but in North America tram can instead refer to an aerial tramway , or, in
3025-602: Is a significant amount of overlap between the technologies; similar rolling stock may be used for either, and it is common to classify streetcars or trams as a subcategory of light rail rather than as a distinct type of transportation. However, some distinctions can be made, though systems may combine elements of both. Low-floor light rail lines tend to follow a reserved right-of-way and with trains receiving priority at intersections, and tend not to operate in mixed traffic, enabling higher operating speeds. Light rail lines tend to have less frequent stops than tramways, and operate over
3146-454: Is also the main entry to Colman Dock and Pier 50, connecting to Washington State Ferries service to Bainbridge Island and Bremerton ; Kitsap Fast Ferries service to Bremerton; and King County Water Taxi service to West Seattle and Vashon Island . A proposed Seattle Streetcar line would serve a stop at 1st Avenue and Yesler Way, one block from the station's Prefontaine Park entrance. From 2009 to 2019, several bus routes also ran in
3267-501: Is among the risks evaluated by a rating agency , which assigns a credit rating to the bond. Credit ratings are generally the starting point buyers use when deciding how much to pay for a municipal bond. Historical default rates have been lower in the municipal sector than in the corporate market. This may be due in part to the fact that some municipals are backed by state and local government power to tax, or revenue from public utilities. However, sharp drops in property valuations (as in
3388-451: Is approximately 35 minutes from Lynnwood City Center station and 34 minutes from SeaTac/Airport station . In 2023, an average of 2,815 passengers boarded Link trains at Pioneer Square station on weekdays. In addition to light rail service, Pioneer Square station is adjacent to several surface bus stops near its entrances, served by King County Metro , Community Transit , and Sound Transit Express routes. Two of Metro's RapidRide lines,
3509-783: Is at the northern end of the Pioneer Square National Historic District, where the city's oldest buildings are located, and is near the Seattle Underground Tour and the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park . To the north and east is the Seattle Civic Center , a complex of city and King County government office buildings, including Seattle City Hall and the King County Courthouse . Pioneer Square station
3630-560: Is by far the most expensive in the US, at $ 179 million per mile, since it includes extensive tunneling in poor soil conditions, elevated sections, and stations as deep as 180 feet (55 m) below ground level. This results in costs more typical of subways or rapid transit systems than light rail. At the other end of the scale, four systems (Baltimore, Maryland; Camden, New Jersey; Sacramento, California; and Salt Lake City, Utah) incurred construction costs of less than $ 20 million per mile. Over
3751-426: Is especially important for wheelchair access, as narrower gauges (e.g. metre gauge) can make it challenging or impossible to pass the tram's wheels. Furthermore, standard-gauge rolling stock can be switched between networks either temporarily or permanently, and both newly built and used standard-gauge rolling stock tends to be cheaper to buy, as more companies offer such vehicles. Overhead lines supply electricity to
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3872-498: Is expensive. Similarly, the most expensive US highway expansion project was the " Big Dig " in Boston, Massachusetts, which cost $ 200 million per lane mile for a total cost of $ 14.6 billion. A light rail track can carry up to 20,000 people per hour as compared with 2,000–2,200 vehicles per hour for one freeway lane. For example, in Boston and San Francisco, light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour, respectively, in
3993-575: Is hard to distinguish between what is called light rail, and other forms of urban and commuter rail. A system described as a light rail in one city may be considered to be a streetcar or tram system in another. Conversely, some lines that are called "light rail" are very similar to rapid transit ; in recent years, new terms such as light metro have been used to describe these medium-capacity systems. Some "light rail" systems, such as Sprinter , bear little similarity to urban rail, and could alternatively be classified as commuter rail or even inter-city rail. In
4114-549: Is impractical. Light metro systems are essentially hybrids of light rail and rapid transit. Metro trains are larger and faster than light rail trains, with stops being further apart. Many systems have mixed characteristics. Indeed, with proper engineering, a rail line could run along a street, then go underground, and then run along an elevated viaduct. For example, the Los Angeles Metro Rail 's A Line "light rail" has sections that could alternatively be described as
4235-480: Is one of the highest capacity ones, having been upgraded in a series of expansions to handle 40,000 passengers per hour per direction, and having carried as many as 582,989 passengers in a single day on its Line 1 . It achieves this volume by running four-car trains with a capacity of up to 1,350 passengers each at a frequency of up to 30 trains per hour. However, the Manila light rail system has full grade separation and as
4356-407: Is similar to that of a traditional tram, while operating at a higher capacity and speed, often on an exclusive right-of-way. In broader use, it includes tram-like operations mostly on streets. A few light rail networks have characteristics closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail , yet only when these systems are fully grade-separated are they referred to as light metros . The term light rail
4477-463: Is six blocks east of Colman Dock , the city's primary ferry terminal for Washington State Ferries and King County Water Taxi service. Much of the non-government and non-historic land use around Pioneer Square station is for high-rise offices and multi-family housing. Within a 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (0.8 km) radius of the station is an estimated population of 12,866 people, and approximately 69,795 jobs. Nearby office towers include Smith Tower ,
4598-547: The 2009 mortgage crisis ) can strain state and local finances, potentially creating municipal defaults. Harrisburg, PA, when faced with falling revenues, skipped several bond payments on a municipal waste to energy incinerator. The prospect of municipal bankruptcy was raised by the Controller of Harrisburg, although it was opposed by Harrisburg's mayor. Default risk to the investor can be greatly reduced through municipal bond insurance, which promises to pay interest and principal if
4719-508: The Ballard Link Extension includes a new transfer station one block east of Pioneer Square to be used by trains on the realigned 1 Line in lieu of a transfer at International District/Chinatown station. Pioneer Square station consists of two underground side platforms used to load passengers onto trains and buses, a mezzanine level, and several surface entrances. The station has two mezzanines on its north and south ends, with
4840-468: The Columbia Center , and Wells Fargo Center . The corporate headquarters of logging company Weyerhaeuser was moved from Federal Way to Occidental Park near Pioneer Square station in 2016; the company cited transit access as one of its main reasons to choose the neighborhood. Pioneer Square was developed as Seattle's initial settlement in the 1850s and continued to serve as the city's downtown into
4961-535: The Cádiz TramBahia , where trams share track with commuter and long-distance trains from the main terminus in the city and curve off to serve cities without a railway connection. Some of the issues involved in such schemes are: There is a history of what would now be considered light rail vehicles operating on heavy rail rapid transit tracks in the US, especially in the case of interurban streetcars . Notable examples are Lehigh Valley Transit trains running on
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5082-537: The D Line to Ballard and the E Line on Aurora Avenue North to Shoreline , terminate in Pioneer Square. The area is also served by several east–west bus routes that travel towards First Hill , the Central District , and Leschi . During disruptions to light rail service, King County Metro also runs a special route between all light rail stations that stops on 3rd Avenue between Jefferson and James streets to serve Pioneer Square station. Pioneer Square station
5203-486: The King County Courthouse and former Public Safety Building , and railings that resemble hitching posts and hanging lamps. Artists Kate Ericson and Mel Ziegler created the station's two "artifact clocks ", which hang from the mezzanine at each end of the platform. The north mezzanine clock uses materials from modern construction, including granite, steel beams, and electrical wires; the south mezzanine clock incorporates artifacts found during construction dating back to
5324-543: The Local Government Funding Agency (LGFA), is the second-biggest issuer of New Zealand-dollar debt behind the government. Local governments in China were not permitted to issue bonds in the open market until 2015, and historically these governments relied on local government financing vehicles as a major source of debt finance. By the end of 2022 a total of CN¥35.1 trillion of bonds were outstanding. In India,
5445-735: The London Underground and the New York City Subway . Conventional rail technologies including high-speed , freight, commuter , and rapid transit urban transit systems are considered "heavy rail". The main difference between light rail and heavy rail rapid transit is the ability for a light rail vehicle to operate in mixed traffic if the routing requires it. The world's first electric tram operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg , Russia , invented and operated on an experimental basis by Fyodor Pirotsky in 1880. The first tramway
5566-624: The Netherlands , this concept was first applied on the RijnGouweLijn . This allows commuters to ride directly into the city center, rather than taking a mainline train only as far as a central station and then having to change to a tram. In France, similar tram-trains are planned for Paris, Mulhouse , and Strasbourg ; further projects exist. In some cases, tram trains use previously abandoned or lightly used heavy rail lines in addition to or instead of still in use mainline tracks. In 2022, Spain opened
5687-831: The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa, Ontario , Canada, the River Line in New Jersey , United States, and the Sprinter in California , United States, which use diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars. Light rail is different from the British English term light railway , long-used to distinguish railway operations carried out under a less rigorous set of regulations using lighter equipment at lower speeds from mainline railways. Light rail
5808-673: The Philadelphia and Western Railroad high-speed third rail line (now the Norristown High-Speed Line ). Such arrangements are almost impossible now, due to the Federal Railroad Administration refusing (for crash safety reasons) to allow non-FRA compliant railcars (i.e., subway and light rail vehicles) to run on the same tracks at the same times as compliant railcars, which includes locomotives and standard railroad passenger and freight equipment. Notable exceptions in
5929-460: The Stellar Connections series and its points represent nearby destinations, including Seattle City Hall , Colman Dock , the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park , and King Street Station . Pioneer Square station is part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel , which is served by the 1 Line of Sound Transit's Link light rail network. The 1 Line runs between Lynnwood ,
6050-516: The University of Washington campus, Downtown Seattle, the Rainier Valley , and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport . Pioneer Square is the eleventh southbound station from Lynnwood City Center and eleventh northbound station from Angle Lake , the line's two termini. It is situated between Symphony and International District/Chinatown stations. 1 Line trains serve the station twenty hours
6171-530: The medians of roads . If run in streets , trains are usually limited by city block lengths to about four 180-passenger vehicles (720 passengers). Operating on two-minute headways using traffic signal progression, a well-designed two-track system can handle up to 30 trains per hour per track, achieving peak rates of over 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction. More advanced systems with separate rights-of-way using moving block signaling can exceed 25,000 passengers per hour per track. Most light rail systems in
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#17330925046286292-597: The 1920s. In the late 1960s, the Forward Thrust Committee put forward a ballot measure to fund a rapid transit system in the Seattle metropolitan area, including a downtown subway under 3rd Avenue with a station between Cherry and James streets. The ballot measure, requiring a supermajority to support bonding to augment $ 385 million in local funding with $ 765 million from the Urban Mass Transportation Administration , failed to reach
6413-619: The 1970s was proven to have been a technical failure by the following decade. After World War II, the Germans retained many of their streetcar networks and evolved them into model light rail systems ( Stadtbahnen ). With the exception of Hamburg , all large and most medium-sized German cities maintain light rail networks. The concept of a "limited tramway" was proposed by American transport planner H. Dean Quinby in 1962. Quinby distinguished this new concept in rail transportation from historic streetcar or tram systems as: The term light rail transit
6534-470: The 2 Line in early 2020, Pioneer Square station was outfitted with a temporary third platform in the center to allow passengers on terminating single-tracked trains to transfer. The temporary platform was installed during two weekend closures in October 2019 and was used from January to March 2020. Ownership of the tunnel and Pioneer Square station was transferred to Sound Transit in 2022. A 2022 proposal for
6655-511: The 60 percent threshold in 1968 and again during a second vote in 1970. The failure of the Forward Thrust ballot measures led to the creation of Metro Transit in 1972, operating bus service across King County. Metro Transit began planning a bus tunnel through downtown Seattle in the 1970s, to be eventually converted to use by light rail trains. Metro approved the construction of a bus tunnel under 3rd Avenue in 1983, and chose to site one of
6776-1095: The Congress could tax interest income on municipal bonds if it so desired on the basis that tax exemption of municipal bonds is not protected by the Constitution. In this case, the Supreme Court stated that the contrary decision of the Court in Pollock had been "effectively overruled by subsequent case law". The Revenue Act of 1913 first codified exemption of interest on municipal bonds from federal income tax. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 greatly reduced private activities that may be financed with tax-exempt bond proceeds. The United Kingdom 's UK Municipal Bonds Agency (UK MBA) provides services for borrowing by municipalities. Canada has CIBC . Municipal bonds agencies also known as Bond banks or Local government funding agencies exist in other countries, such as Sweden and Finland. In New Zealand,
6897-635: The District of Columbia and U.S. territories and possessions (American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) can and do issue municipal bonds. Another important category of municipal bond issuers which includes authorities and special districts has also grown in number and variety in recent years. The two most prominent early authorities were
7018-491: The French city of Bordeaux , the tramway network is powered by a third rail in the city center, where the tracks are not always segregated from pedestrians and cars. The third rail (actually two closely spaced rails) is placed in the middle of the track and divided into eight-metre sections, each of which is powered only while it is completely covered by a tram. This minimizes the risk of a person or animal coming into contact with
7139-590: The Port of New York Authority, formed in 1921 and renamed Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1972, and the Triborough Bridge Authority (now the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority), formed in 1933. The debt issues of these two authorities are exempt from federal, state and local governments taxes. The basic types of municipal bonds are: Depending on the jurisdiction and the basis for issuing
7260-642: The US are the NJ Transit River Line from Camden to Trenton and Austin's Capital MetroRail , which have received exemptions to the provision that light rail operations occur only during daytime hours and Conrail freight service only at night, with several hours separating one operation from the other. The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa also has freight service at certain hours. With its mix of right-of-way types and train control technologies, LRT offers
7381-455: The US as a whole, excluding Seattle, new light rail construction costs average about $ 35 million per mile. By comparison, a freeway lane expansion typically costs $ 1.0 million to $ 8.5 million per lane mile for two directions, with an average of $ 2.3 million. However, freeways are frequently built in suburbs or rural areas, whereas light rail tends to be concentrated in urban areas, where right of way and property acquisition
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#17330925046287502-634: The United States and in North America . In Britain, modern light rail systems began to appear in the 1980s, starting with the Tyne and Wear Metro from 1980 and followed by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London in 1987, continuing into the 1990s including the establishment of the Manchester Metrolink in 1992 and the Sheffield Supertram from 1994. Due to varying definitions, it
7623-583: The United States are limited by demand rather than capacity (by and large, most American LRT systems carry fewer than 4,000 persons per hour per direction), but Boston's and San Francisco's light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour per track during rush hour. Elsewhere in North America, the Calgary C-Train and Monterrey Metro have higher light rail ridership than Boston or San Francisco. Systems outside North America often have much higher passenger volumes. The Manila Light Rail Transit System
7744-472: The United States, "light rail" has become a catch-all term to describe a wide variety of passenger rail systems. Light rail corridors may constitute a fully segregated corridor, a dedicated right-of-way on a street, an on-street corridor shared with other traffic, a corridor shared with other public transport, or a corridor shared with pedestrians. The most difficult distinction to draw is that between low-floor light rail and streetcar or tram systems. There
7865-566: The Yesler Way line ceased in 1940. The flywheel was later restored and placed in the south mezzanine of Pioneer Square station. Bus service in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel began on September 15, 1990, with several Metro bus routes moved into the tunnel from surface streets. At the time of its opening, Pioneer Square station had the longest and steepest escalator west of the Mississippi River . All service on routes using
7986-415: The ability of buses to travel closer to each other than rail vehicles and their ability to overtake each other at designated locations allowing express services to bypass those that have stopped at stations. However, to achieve capacities this high, BRT station footprints need to be significantly larger than a typical LRT station. In terms of cost of operation, each bus vehicle requires a single driver, whereas
8107-449: The alternative minimum tax as an item of tax preference. Municipal bonds' coupon rates are generally lower than those of comparable corporate bonds, but higher than those of their FDIC-insured counterparts: CDs, savings accounts, money market accounts, and others. Historically, municipal bonds have been one of the least liquid assets on the market. One indicator of this is their infrequent trading. Municipal bonds are actively traded in
8228-511: The applicable state laws. Internal Revenue Code section 103(a) is the statutory provision that excludes interest on municipal bonds from federal income tax. As of 2004 , other rules, however, such as those pertaining to private activity bonds, are found in sections 141–150, 1394, 1400, 7871. The state and local exemption was the subject of litigation in Department of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis . Bonds issued for certain purposes are subject to
8349-444: The bond, voter approval may be required, especially if a property tax levy is involved. Some bonds, for minor projects or emergency situations, may be issued without voter pre-approval. But in all cases, public input (whether a vote, or the opportunity to speak for or against issuance at a public hearing) is required. Voter approval of the bond proposal does not automatically result in the bonds being issued. Frequently, bonds under
8470-511: The bonds in the sample traded at least once during a given month. A 2007 study concluded that the average investment grade tax exempt 1-10 year municipal bond traded 21 times over its 11-year sample and 5.65% of issues only traded once. Unlike corporate and Treasury bonds, which are more likely to be held by institutional investors, municipal bond owners are more diverse, and hence harder to locate, giving this market less liquidity. Compared to stocks, municipal bonds are much harder to maneuver. At
8591-862: The case of the Disney amusement parks , even a land train . (The usual British term for an aerial tramway is cable car , which in the US usually refers to a ground-level car pulled along by subterranean cables .) The word trolley is often used as a synonym for streetcar in the United States but is usually taken to mean a cart, particularly a shopping cart, in the UK and elsewhere. Many North American transportation planners reserve streetcar for traditional vehicles that operate exclusively in mixed traffic on city streets, while they use light rail to refer to more modern vehicles operating mostly in exclusive rights of way, since they may operate both side-by-side targeted at different passenger groups. The difference between British English and American English terminology arose in
8712-527: The center portion opened to the platform below; all levels are connected by a series of eight escalators, six elevators, and stairs. The north mezzanine under James Street has two entrances: a pair of escalators and a stairway to 3rd Avenue at the future site of Seattle Civic Square ; and a single escalator and stairway to 2nd Avenue in the Lyon Building . The south mezzanine has a single entrance to Prefontaine Park at Yesler Way between 2nd and 3rd avenues, under
8833-683: The city planned to build Seattle Civic Square , a mixed-use skyscraper, with a new entrance to the station. As of 2016, the project is on hold and a temporary entrance has been erected at street level. The downtown transit tunnel closed on September 23, 2005, for a two-year, $ 82.7 million renovation to accommodate light rail vehicles. The renovation included the installation of new rails, a lowered roadbed at stations for level boarding, new signalling systems and emergency ventilation. The tunnel reopened on September 24, 2007, and Link light rail service began on July 18, 2009, from Westlake station to Tukwila International Boulevard station . Bus service within
8954-403: The city's early history, including cobblestones, brick, and cast-iron pipes. Both clocks use various tools used during construction, including a handsaw and industrial-size tape measure , for the clock face 's numerals. The station's pictogram , a frigate sailing ship , pays homage to Seattle's roots as a timber supplier for shipbuilders. It was created in 2009 by Christian French as part of
9075-421: The closure of Glasgow Corporation Tramways (one of the largest in Europe) in 1962. Although some traditional trolley or tram systems continued to exist in San Francisco and elsewhere, the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system as modern light rail technology has primarily post-WWII West German origins. An attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce a new American light rail vehicle in
9196-520: The corporate and foreign markets. But conversely, the number of municipal bond issuers (state and local governments and other affiliated entities) far exceeds the number of corporate bond issuers. Local authorities in many other countries in the world issue similar bonds, sometimes called local authority bonds or other names. Municipal debt predates corporate debt by several centuries—the early Renaissance Italian city-states borrowed money from major banking families. Borrowing by American cities dates to
9317-399: The country was then under a Metro boycott for its Apartheid policies. In late 1987, Atkinson-Dillingham was forced to remove steel beams used for temporary shoring at the station box after unknowingly sourcing it from South Africa. Metro later acquired South African black granite to be used in the station's platform and mezzanine, which was discovered and returned; the incident resulted in
9438-415: The day. This combination of factors limits roads carrying only automobile commuters to a maximum observed capacity of about 3,000 passengers per hour per lane. The problem can be mitigated by introducing high-occupancy vehicle ( HOV ) lanes and ride-sharing programs, but in most cases, policymakers have chosen to add more lanes to the roads, despite a small risk that in unfavorable situations an extension of
9559-750: The direct translation, which is city rail (the Norwegian term, by bane , means the same). However, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. Light in this context is used in the sense of "intended for light loads and fast movement", rather than referring to physical weight. The infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), in its Glossary of Transit Terminology, defines light rail as: ...a mode of transit service (also called streetcar, tramway, or trolley) operating passenger rail cars singly (or in short, usually two-car or three-car, trains) on fixed rails in
9680-521: The downtown transit tunnel ended on March 23, 2019, due to the expansion of the Washington State Convention Center at the site of Convention Place station , which includes demolition of the north portal. The tunnel became exclusively served by light rail trains, while the remaining seven bus routes were relocated to surface streets and nearby bus stops on 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th avenues. As part of East Link Extension construction for
9801-413: The early 20th century. In 1911, civil engineer Virgil Bogue presented a comprehensive plan for the city of Seattle, including a rapid transit system centered around a "trunk" subway under 3rd Avenue, passing through Pioneer Square and the growing commercial and retail district to the north. The plan was rejected by voters on March 5, 1912, and the 3rd Avenue subway was unsuccessfully proposed twice in
9922-495: The form of rust stains on the station ceiling. In the early 1990s, a regional transit authority (RTA) was formed to plan and construct a light rail system for the Seattle area. After an unsuccessful attempt in 1995, regional voters passed a $ 3.9 billion plan to build light rail under the RTA in 1996. The downtown transit tunnel had already been planned for eventual light rail use and was built with tracks that would be incorporated into
10043-405: The highest tax brackets benefit from buying tax-exempt municipal bonds instead of taxable bonds. Taxable equivalent yield calculations are required to make fair comparisons between the two categories. The U.S. municipal debt market is relatively small compared to the corporate market: total municipal debt outstanding was $ 4 trillion as of the first quarter of 2021, compared to nearly $ 15 trillion in
10164-429: The initial system. The RTA, later renamed Sound Transit , approved the tunnel as part of the route of its initial light rail line in 1999. Ownership of the tunnel, including its stations, was transferred to Sound Transit in 2000 but returned two years later to King County Metro under a joint-operations agreement. The Public Safety Building, located at the station's northeast entrance, was demolished in 2005. In its place,
10285-410: The issuance of local debt. Several states wrote these restrictions into their constitutions. Railroad bonds and their legality were widely challenged, and this gave rise to the market-wide demand that an opinion of qualified bond counsel accompany each new issue. When the U.S. economy began to move forward once again, municipal debt continued its momentum, which was maintained well into the early part of
10406-478: The issuer does not do so. Projecting the yield to maturity on municipal bonds usually involves incorporating tax brackets. Comparing the yield on a municipal bond to that of a corporate or U.S. Treasury bond can be misleading, because of differing tax treatment of the income from the two types of securities. For that reason, investors use the concept of taxable equivalent yield to compare municipal and corporate or Treasury bonds. The taxable equivalent yield on
10527-453: The late 19th century when Americans adopted the term "street railway", rather than "tramway", with the vehicles being called "streetcars" rather than "trams". Some have suggested that the Americans' preference for the term "street railway" at that time was influenced by German emigrants to the United States (who were more numerous than British immigrants in the industrialized Northeast), as it is
10648-524: The latter is described as light rail. In those places, trams running on mixed rights-of-way are not regarded as a light rail but considered distinctly as streetcars or trams. However, the requirement for saying that a rail line is "separated" can be quite low—sometimes just with concrete "buttons" to discourage automobile drivers from getting onto the tracks. Some systems such as Seattle's Link had on-road mixed sections but were closed to regular road traffic, with light rail vehicles and buses both operating along
10769-455: The light rail concept was the "Shaker Heights Rapid Transit" which started in the 1920s, was renovated in 1980-81 and is now part of RTA Rapid Transit . Many original tram and streetcar systems in the United Kingdom , United States , and elsewhere were decommissioned starting in the 1950s as subsidies for the car increased. Britain abandoned its tram systems, except for Blackpool , with
10890-450: The market more responsive to investors, more financially transparent and ultimately easier for issuers and buyers. The emergence of small denomination municipal bonds makes the muni market more accessible to middle-income buyers. It is believed that these initiatives will reduce lower debt issuance costs. Default risk is a measure of the possibility that the issuer will fail to make all interest and principal payments, on time and in full. It
11011-507: The nineteenth century, and records of U.S. municipal bonds indicate use around the early 1800s. Officially the first recorded municipal bond was a general obligation bond issued by the City of New York for a canal in 1812. During the 1840s, many U.S. cities were in debt, and by 1843 cities had roughly $ 25 million in outstanding debt. In the ensuing decades, rapid urban development demonstrated a correspondingly explosive growth in municipal debt. The debt
11132-465: The old and new systems. Since the 1980s, Portland, Oregon , has built all three types of system: a high-capacity light rail system in dedicated lanes and rights-of-way, a low-capacity streetcar system integrated with street traffic, and an aerial tram system . The opposite phrase heavy rail , used for higher-capacity, higher-speed systems, also avoids some incompatibilities in terminology between British and American English, for instance in comparing
11253-407: The peak direction during rush hour. Municipal bond A municipal bond , commonly known as a muni , is a bond issued by state or local governments, or entities they create such as authorities and special districts. In the United States, interest income received by holders of municipal bonds is often, but not always, exempt from federal and state income taxation. Typically, only investors in
11374-540: The required clearance height can be reduced significantly compared to conventional light rail vehicles. Reference speed from major light rail systems, including station stop time, is shown below. However, low top speed is not always a differentiating characteristic between light rail and other systems. For example, the Siemens S70 LRVs used in the Houston METRORail and other North American LRT systems have
11495-480: The resignation of Metro's executive director, amid outcry from African American leaders. Tunnel construction was completed in June 1990, and was celebrated with a soft opening of Pioneer Square station and the re-opening of Prefontaine Park. During preparation for the resurfacing of 3rd Avenue above the new tunnel station, workers discovered an 11-foot (3.4 m) cable car flywheel that had been buried after service on
11616-432: The right-of-way that is often separated from other traffic for part or much of the way. Light rail vehicles are typically driven electrically with power being drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley [pole] or a pantograph ; driven by an operator onboard the vehicle; and may have either high platform loading or low-level boarding using steps." However, some diesel-powered transit is designated light rail, such as
11737-415: The road network might lead to increased travel times ( Downs–Thomson paradox , Braess's paradox ). By contrast, light rail vehicles can travel in multi-car trains carrying a theoretical ridership up to 20,000 passengers per hour in much narrower rights-of-way , not much more than two car lanes wide for a double track system. They can often be run through existing city streets and parks , or placed in
11858-401: The roads. Typically roadways have 1,900 passenger cars per lane per hour (pcplph). If only cars are allowed, the capacity will be less and will not increase when the traffic volume increases. When there is a bus driving on this route, the capacity of the lane will be higher and will increase when the traffic level increases. And because the capacity of a light rail system is higher than that of
11979-662: The same as the German term for the mode, Straßenbahn (meaning "street railway"). A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its trams after World War II except in Blackpool , eight major North American cities ( Toronto , Boston , Philadelphia , San Francisco , Pittsburgh , Newark , Cleveland , and New Orleans ) continued to operate large streetcar systems. When these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both
12100-450: The same time, the largest bank of the country of the time, which was owned by the same investor as that of Northern Pacific, collapsed. Smaller firms followed suit as well as the stock market. The 1873 panic and years of depression that followed put an abrupt but temporary halt to the rapid growth of municipal debt. Responding to widespread defaults that jolted the municipal bond market of the day, new state statutes were passed that restricted
12221-411: The same time, the minimum investment amounts for stocks are typically <$ 500 and about $ 1000 for CDs and money markets; in comparison, municipal bonds typically have minimum denomination buy-ins of $ 5000 but smaller issuers may have buy-ins of $ 1000 to incentivize local or regional investors. An investor's overall principal cost may be lower than the $ 5000 minimum denomination by purchasing the bonds at
12342-408: The standard gauge is that standard railway maintenance equipment can be used on it, rather than custom-built machinery. Using standard gauges also allows light rail vehicles to be conveniently moved around using the same tracks as freight railways. Additionally, wider gauges (e.g. standard gauge) provide more floor clearance on low-floor trams that have constricted pedestrian areas at the wheels, which
12463-566: The station from street level began in March 1987, and the project's twin tunnel boring machines reached James Street from Union Station in September. In June 1987, Atkinson-Dillingham and Metro were fined $ 80,000 after drilling at the station severed three electric power transmission lines, causing a day-long power outage in downtown Seattle, affecting the City Hall and Public Safety Building . Work in
12584-502: The station twenty hours a day on most days at a frequency of six minutes during peak periods and 12–20 minutes at other times. In early 2020, Pioneer Square station served as a transfer point between trains with a temporary center platform as part of construction for the 2 Line . Pioneer Square station is located under 3rd Avenue between Cherry Street and Yesler Way in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Downtown Seattle . The station
12705-551: The system was a success with the public, gaining up to 190,000 passengers per day. Automatic train operation is employed on light rail networks, tracking the position and speed of a train and hence adjusting its movement for safety and efficiency. One line of light rail (requires 7.6 m, 25' right of way) has a theoretical capacity of up to 8 times more than one 3.7 m (12 foot) lane on a freeway, excluding busses, during peak times. Roads have ultimate capacity limits that can be determined by traffic engineering , and usually experience
12826-512: The taxes. Investors in higher tax brackets may arbitrage municipal bonds against corporate bonds using a strategy called municipal bond arbitrage . The U.S. Supreme Court held in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895) that the federal government had no power under the U.S. Constitution to tax interest on municipal bonds, but in South Carolina v. Baker (1988), the Supreme Court held
12947-499: The trams, making it safe on city streets. Several systems in Europe and a few recently opened systems in North America use diesel -powered trains. When electric streetcars were introduced in the late 19th century, conduit current collection was one of the first ways of supplying power, but it proved to be much more expensive, complicated, and trouble-prone than overhead wires . When electric street railways became ubiquitous, conduit power
13068-541: The tunnel alongside Link light rail. The final set of bus routes in the tunnel were divided into three bays by their outbound direction: Bay A was served by three routes heading north toward Northgate and the University District and east towards Kirkland (routes 41 , 74, and 255); Bay C was served by three routes heading south through the SODO Busway toward Kent and Renton (routes 101, 102, and 150); and Bay D
13189-485: The tunnel station was also blamed for shaking in the City Hall and Public Safety Building, requiring monitoring equipment to be set up by Metro. By late 1988, the Pioneer Square station structure was 70 percent complete, and work had begun on the station's entrances and the vaulted ceiling. The station was the subject of two controversies during its construction over the use of South African materials in its construction, as
13310-409: The tunnel was operated by dual-mode buses , which operated as diesel buses outside the tunnel and electrically, as trolleybuses , when inside the tunnel. During its early months, Pioneer Square and other stations were affected by serious water leaks, which splashed water onto walkways during the tunnel's first winter in operation. The leaks were later fixed by Metro contractors, but remained visible in
13431-412: The tunnel's five stations near the King County Courthouse at 3rd Avenue and James Street. The station was to be completed by late 1989 and use brick, stone, and tile to complement the design of nearby Pioneer Square. Metro awarded a $ 44.1 million contract to a joint venture of Atkinson and Dillingham companies to build the tunnel's 3rd Avenue segment as well as Pioneer Square station. Excavation of
13552-439: The twentieth century. The Great Depression of the 1930s halted growth, although defaults were not as severe as in the 1870s. Leading up to World War II, many American resources were devoted to the military, and prewar municipal debt burst into a new period of rapid growth for an ever-increasing variety of uses. Today, in addition to the 50 states and their local governments (including cities, counties, villages and school districts),
13673-455: The vast majority of light rail systems. This avoids the danger potentially presented by an electrified third rail . The Docklands Light Railway uses an inverted third rail for its electrical power, which allows the electrified rail to be covered and the power drawn from the underside. Trams in Bordeaux , France, use a special third-rail configuration where the power is only switched on beneath
13794-434: The widest range of latitude of any rail system in the design, engineering, and operating practices. The challenge in designing light rail systems is to realize the potential of LRT to provide fast, comfortable service while avoiding the tendency to overdesign that results in excessive capital costs beyond what is necessary to meet the public's needs. The BART railcar in the following chart is not generally considered to be
13915-527: Was coined in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the Federal Transit Administration ) to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany, the term Stadtbahn (to be distinguished from S-Bahn , which stands for Stadtschnellbahn ) was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt
14036-502: Was coined in 1972 in the United States as an English equivalent for the German word Stadtbahn , meaning "city railway". Different definitions exist in some countries, but in the United States, light rail operates primarily along exclusive rights-of-way and uses either individual tramcars or multiple units coupled together, with a lower capacity and speed than a long heavy rail passenger train or rapid transit system. Narrowly defined, light rail transit uses rolling stock that
14157-662: Was introduced in North America in 1972 to describe this new concept of rail transportation. Prior to that time the abbreviation "LRT" was used for " Light Rapid Transit " and " Light Rail Rapid Transit ". The first of the new light rail systems in North America began operation in 1978 when the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta , adopted the German Siemens-Duewag U2 system, followed three years later by Calgary, Alberta , and San Diego, California . The concept proved popular, with there now being numerous light rail systems in
14278-500: Was served by one route heading east via Interstate 90 to Bellevue ( Sound Transit Express route 550). The bus routes were relocated in March 2019 to new stops on 2nd, 3rd, and 5th avenues to serve Pioneer Square and the surrounding area. Light rail Light rail (or light rail transit , abbreviated to LRT ) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology while also having some features from heavy rapid transit . The term
14399-610: Was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. It initially drew current from the rails, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. The first interurban to emerge in the United States was the Newark and Granville Street Railway in Ohio, which opened in 1889. An early example of
14520-517: Was used in those cities that did not permit overhead wires. In Europe, it was used in London, Paris, Berlin, Marseille, Budapest, and Prague. In the United States, it was used in parts of New York City and Washington, D.C. Third rail technology was investigated for use on the Gold Coast of Australia for the G:link light rail, though power from overhead lines was ultimately utilized for that system. In
14641-551: Was used to finance both urban improvements and a growing system of public education. Years after the American Civil War, significant local debt was issued to build railroads. Railroads were private corporations, and these bonds were very similar to today's industrial revenue bonds . Construction costs in 1873 for one of the largest transcontinental railroads, the Northern Pacific , closed down access to new capital. Around
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