The streetcar that runs through our neighborhood and ends downtown will have a new plaza built around it at its downtown terminus over the next few months. We don't ride the streetcar often, but we walk around the area, and that part of downtown will benefit from having a plaza.

The plaza is part of an effort to create more vibrant, urban spaces for people to gather and enjoy, said Charles Bookman, SDOT's director of traffic management. The plaza surface will consist of granite pavers, illuminated at night with inlaid LED lights. The plaza will feature a kiosk for food vendors, covered parking stalls for bicyclists, new street lighting and a rain garden to drain stormwater runoff.

A second boarding platform will be installed for streetcar riders. The South Lake Union Streetcar hit 2,193 weekday boardings last month, it's highest ridership ever.