West Seattle residents can forget about a streetcar as a means of getting in and out of the neighborhood to downtown Seattle - at least for now.

A West Seattle-downtown route was one of nine potential routes the Seattle Department of Transportation considered to be part of a citywide streetcar network, but operating and constructability issues on the West Seattle Bridge proved too expensive to work around.

It would also be difficult and costly to build tracks on the bridge without the addition of stop signals for other traffic to allow the streetcar to successfully merge onto and off exits, the Seattle City Council Transportation Committee was told last week.

Building a separate elevated structure, much like what was planned for the Seattle Monorail, would cost an additional $600 million, so it's not being considered as an option at this time, said Shaunie Cochran, senior construction engineer for Seattle Public Utilities.

"It didn't turn out to be one of the most promising routes," Cochran said. "I wouldn't say it's impossible, but the costs are pretty high. We are still looking for ways to make it work."

But a streetcar shouldn't be built for streetcars' sake. It has to make sense economically, while improving, not impeding traffic, and allow for freight mobility, she said.

There were similar technical problems with building tracks on the Lower Spokane Street swing bridge. It didn't meet the required turning radius of 60 feet.

Because the bridge opens to allow ships through several times a month during peak commuting hours, surface traffic, including any streetcar or bus, can be delayed between 5 and 43 minutes per opening, creating unreliable service time, said Cochran.

The city has requested the Coast Guard restrict bridge openings during rush hours to alleviate some of the delay time, but that matter has not yet been decided.

In the meantime, the city is banking on King County Metro's Rapid Ride bus to help meet some of the transit needs for West Seattle. The bus rapid transit program is part of the voter-approved "Transit Now" initiative and scheduled for implementation here by 2011.

Council member Tom Rasmussen, said he felt the West Seattle community was being shortchanged and would continue to be an underserved part of the city, as far as transit service.

Rasmussen, a West Seattle resident, has been skeptical about the streetcar network concept since the council began seriously discussing it earlier this year. He requested the transportation department compare the streetcar with benefits of other modes, such as enhancing Metro bus service or electric trolley buses.

Transportation committee chair, Jan Drago, said the city has tried to get more service hours from Metro without luck. She said she was ready to try something else to meet the city's intra-transit needs.

Seattle, Shoreline and Lake Forest Park receive 64 percent of Metro bus service and east and south King County share the rest.

While West Seattle will remain trackless, the department of transportation has unveiled four routes it believes are the most "promising" to build off the South Lake Union Streetcar, a 2.6-mile line that began operating in December from Westlake Center to the South Lake Union neighborhoods.

The routes include a 4-mile center city line that would serve the First Avenue corridor, the Seattle Center, Pike Place Market, other attractions and major "traffic generators." The 2.75-mile First Hill line would connect to LINK Light Rail stations in Capitol Hill and the International District.

The Ballard/Fremont streetcar would journey 4.5-miles down the center of Westlake, cross the Fremont Bridge and travel up either Leary Avenue Northwest or Ballard Avenue before it crossed Market Street on 22nd Avenue Northwest and ended in front of the Ballard Library.

From the northern point of the South Lake Union streetcar, the 3.5-mile U-line would drive up Eastlake Avenue, across the University Bridge to about Northeast 52nd Street.

The U-line would also have to cross the Fairview Timber Bridge and there are some constructability issues with that structure as well as the University Bridge, but department of transportation director Grace Crunican said it's still cost feasible, even though both bridges would have to be either retrofitted or reconstructed.

Recent modifications to the Fremont Bridge, such as the replacement of existing approaches and mechanical and electrical systems, make it the easiest overpass to add streetcar infrastructure, said Crunican.

The lines would cost between $29 million and $50 million to construct and $4 million to $9 million annually to operate.

Next steps include public meetings in each neighborhood, council action toward moving forward with the proposed routes and securing potential funding sources.

Much like how the $52 million South Lake Union line was paid for, a Local Improvement District will likely be a major funding source. That's when property owners tax themselves to share in the cost of transportation infrastructure improvements.

There are also opportunities for federal and state matching fund grants, said transportation officials.

To learn more and read full reports, go to http://www.seattlestreetcar.org/future.asp.

Rebekah Schilperoort may be reached at 783.1244 or rebekahs@robinsonnews.com