Trapped by the SLUT

Yes, that's what I said.

Those of us who live in Seattle lovingly call the South Lake Union Streetcar by its original, inconvenient acronym, the SLUT (South Lake Union Trolley).

This "trolley," or "streetcar," has rail tracks that run along a few of the major routes to and through downtown. Most of the roads that house the tracks have two lanes of auto traffic running in each direction, with the tracks running through the middle(ish) of the right lane (each way).


So the cyclist riding on these roads is faced with the decision of exactly where to ride. The way I see it, there are three choices:

1) Ride to the right of the tracks. This seems like the default place to ride, but it's really a horrible little surprise, because as you approach a SLUT pickup location, the sidewalk juts out to meet the tracks, as well as gains approximately 8" in height (for ease and safety of SLUT passenger loading). So now, not only are you riding gingerly alongside the tracks of death, but you are also centimeters from clipping your right pedal on the bus stop. Not really a good option at all.

2) Ride between the tracks. This option appears to be the best - at first. You can ride along, happily contained within the confines of the two rails, avoiding most car traffic, and riding fast enough to outrun the SLUT itself. But then - the tracks turn a corner! What? You didn't want to turn the corner? Too bad! If you decide you want to go straight instead, you risk having your wheels eaten alive by the tracks as you try to cross them at an angle restricted by the distance of the two rails from each other. Not a good choice.

3) Ride to the left of the tracks. This option can actually be broken down into two sub-options.

3(a) Ride to the left of the tracks, but in the right lane. This causes you to hold up traffic in the right lane, while forcing the cars in the left lane to (if they make any attempt at considering your safety) slow down, and sometimes move slightly into the lane of oncoming traffic. Not so great.

3(b) Ride in the left hand lane. This causes you to hold up traffic on the right lane, and forces cars to pass you on the right if they feel they must. It also creates uncertainty among all drivers, because, well, why would there be a cyclist in the left lane if they weren't turning left at the next intersection?? Are they going to return to the right lane without notice??

I've decided that option 3(b) really is the best choice. Sometimes I get faked out, because the tracks make like they're going to create a nice big opening in the right lane, making 3(a) the best choice, but then they come right back out again, and confusion ensues. So now you can take my evaluation into consideration the next time you're commuting through South Lake Union. Or, if you don't live in Seattle, you can mock those of us who have to deal with the SLUT.