Post by awkwardpenguin on Aug 2, 2016 16:38:11 GMT -5
I mean I think it depends on your expectations. I've spent significant time in Seattle 100% reliant on public transportation and staying in Greenwood, and I think it's fine. It definitely takes longer to get places than if you had a car, but it's wheelchair friendly and inexpensive and totally adequate. A lot of what you'll want to do will be in just a few neighborhoods so I think if you plan your itinerary carefully you'll do fine.
Hilltop being Queen Anne? I would think you could get a bus from there to downtown/Seattle Center, less sure about up to the zoo. UW would be more difficult from there I think. You may need to go downtown and then up on the light rail or another bus or bus over to Green Lake-ish and then over. I'd try plotting your approximate routes and times here and then deciding.
This website is really helpful - I think we'll be OK mostly relying on public transport. I don't think we'll hit more than one attraction per day.
I hate driving downtown and we live on the other side of the sound, so we usually walk onto the ferry then rely on transit. It's not bad, but not perfect either. Downtown to anywhere else is pretty well connected, between the light rail, buses, and the trolley. But Seattle transit doesn't do a great job of connecting non-downtown points, so as PPs mentioned, you likely might have to bus into downtown, then change to whatever mode of transit to get to your final destination.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Seattle downtown is built on a big hill. It's sometimes a challenge to push a stroller up and down steep sidewalks, so I'd imagine a wheelchair might be difficult as well.
As far as accessibility, you can roll right onto the light rail -- there's no stairs. It connects the airport to downtown, and as of a few months ago, downtown to UW. I'm pretty sure the trolley from Westlake to Lake Union is the same way. Buses have lifts, so doable, but not as easy as rolling right on.