The confirmed monorail lover in us makes us wonder at this latest idea to float out of the city wonderland, a 4.4 mile streetcar that would connect the Ballard Library with downtown, via Fremont.

The idea wafted into reporter Rebekah Schilperoort's view when a Seattle Public Utilities senior construction engineer, Shaunie Cochran, came before the Ballard Avenue Landmark District Board. Cochran made it clear, "We are really just coming to you with concepts."

Why the Ballard Avenue Landmark board? Cochran said, "Streetcars are meant to be integrated into pedestrian-oriented areas" like Ballard Avenue, and noted that, "Everyplace they've gone into the businesses have boomed." (See story, Page One.)

Some will wonder if business can boom much more than it will when all those condos are full of people nearby and all of those bars and restaurants are serving them. One wag said that maybe some of the Ballard Avenue crowd, when they good too full of food and liquid refreshment, could hop on the trolley and mosey off to downtown for more exuberation.

All that aside, the idea of a streetcar connecting Ballard Commons, the library, thence either along some of Ballard Avenue or Leary Way and on to Fremont and South Lake Union and to downtown Seattle seems to have some allure. But second thinking can conjure up some problems and concerns.

One is would a trolley actually be any faster than a bus - nevermind the above grade monorail, it is as dead as the idea that Republicans will take over Seattle next year.

Streetcars have to stop at red lights and get behind cars slowing in traffic or making ready to turn. The city can help that by putting the tracks in the middle of the street and by giving both buses and trolleys a jump at lights, but it remains they are on the street with cars and pedestrians and that means slowdowns at times.

Streetcars also mean accidents, as the South Lake Union Trolley (we don't use acronyms here) has proven. But time will educate car drivers that streetcars are around and tracks should be avoided or negotiated carefully by bicycles.

The real issue is who gets the bill and how big will it be.

Ms. Cochran said such a line would cost $29 million to $32 million per miles, or an estimated $128 million to $141 million - and that is the estimate in 2008, who knows the cost in 10 years.

Who would pay whatever the cost? The city thinks it would be done with a Local Improvement District, which simply means the businesses along he line would vote to tax themselves to pay for such a streetcar line. That apparently would depend on how much new business owners figure the streetcar would bring them.

That also would depend on how much negative heat would be generated by the people of downtown Ballard over yet more construction and higher prices at local businesses to pay for the new connection downtown.

This newspaper cautiously favors the streetcar idea, but we worry that what sounds like a good idea might cost more than it is worth - and we still pine for the only good transit idea to come along in a generation, alas, the monorail.

- Jack Mayne