Port of Seattle joins County, others in preserving Eastside Rail Corridor
The Port of Seattle will be joined by several local agencies in preserving the Eastside Rail Corridor and placing it in public ownership. King County, Sound Transit, the City of Redmond, Puget Sound Energy, and the Cascade Water Alliance will partner with the port in maximizing the corridor’s benefit for the region. The six partners signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Thursday that outlines the components of the plan. The governing boards of each organization must also authorize the negotiations.
The port’s acquisition of the corridor is scheduled to close Dec. 15.
For a copy of the MOU and other details about the rail corridor, visit
Posted by Rob Butcher on Friday, November 6, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Filed under Headlines, Transportation · Tagged with BNSF Trail/Rail, Transportation
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At least there’s SOME movement here. All in order to save the rail from turning into backyards that would be impossible to ever get back for a public transit project.
I know that the MOU indicates “public ownership for recreational trail use, as well as for use as a public transportation and utility corridor”, and (even as a bicyclist) I dearly hope that we’ll be able to see future rail/mass transit on this stretch beautiful stretch of land.
Location of line is perfect since it cuts pretty much straight through major population/employment centers, allowing for easy access to rail line for pedestrians/bikers. I know this is controversial and people who live next to the line fear noise and “dangers”, but rail bound transit (we’re not talking Amtrak) is one of the safest transportation modes around, and if we learned something from countries that actually do this safely on a daily basis, we’d be able to have a very successful and economical transit solution for the east side, complementing a congested I-405. Even for the folks who’s property butts up to this corridor.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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The stretch between Bellevue and Woodinville clearly would make a great bike trail, giving us flat access through these areas for truly green commutes and recreation that will lead to healthier lives. And it will connect us hilly areas to our extended neighborhoods and to the Burke Gilman trail.
Trains are silly because they should follow I-405 rather than cross major intersections where traffic will be hurt even more than now. It also meanders through neighborhoods, schools, etc. that are not really the target of any mass transit commuters.
Trains will also take many years to even be proposed, much less built for the billions that it will take. I mean, we don’t even connect Seattle to the Eastside by train, so any other disconnected commuter line would be silly. I mean, it would die in Bellevue because that’s the end of the line since they tore down the bridge over I-405, and nobody wants commuter rail over the old trestle. And the train could never reach Sea-Tac because it also ended in Renton.
So, build electric trains (not diesel), but take them along I-405 where the real transportation corridor is, where traffic won’t be impacted waiting for trains to pass, or dealing with all the road crossing and school walkways that would endanger people daily. Turn the current tracks to a trail and the area will have a lasting benefit.
If they build it for trains instead, billions will be wasted, congestion won’t be relieved, and we’ll have trains that connect nothing to nothing.
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Will not keep this debate alive, but I think that building (good) electric trains along a freeway corrdidor is NOT the way to go. Electric trains (or trams/light rail) are such that they’ll fit in great in neighborhoods/downtowns, as successfully evidenced around the world – even when they share the roads with cars, or cross major thoroughfares.
Supposedly, the old Wilburton trestle is in great shape and no hindrance for traffic. I-405 needs a new bridge, since having the line stop in Bellevue would not make any sense (making the stretch” whole” again).
As a biker, I also think this is a great location for a trail, and will likely see a trail long before anything else, but I’d still vote heavily in favor to keep this corridor reserved for future railbound transportation (just as I’d like to see light rail across a new SR-520 bridge instead of a I-90 bridge not designed for it).
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Let’s not forgot the recently completed report by PSRC (with substantial funding from Sound Transit). There are tremendous barriers to overcome to even begin thinking about running rail on this corridor. Numerous safety issues need to be addressed, bridges, sidings needing to be re-built, etc. The cost is enormous……as long as we’re taking about building “hot” lanes on 405….let’s make rail a part of that as well.
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