01/23/2003

Associated Press

SEATTLE – Designers working on the Seattle monorail transit line have come up with a proposal to stack two tracks on top of each other.

That's in contrast to the side-by-side tracks the old monorail uses on the run between downtown and the Seattle Center.

Planners displayed the design last night at a neighborhood forum. They say the posts, which they call "steel tulips," would be lighter, easier to build and allow more light to reach the street below.

On the other hand they would be higher – 45 feet – and block more views.

KING The proposed 'steel tulips' design