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In a room full of residents of Seattle’s Chinatown-International District, the Sound Transit Board agreed to include two stations north and south of the district in its study for the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions Project.
Along with potential stations north and south of the Chinatown District, the alternative routes on Fourth Avenue are still being considered.
Sound Transit had found that all Chinatown-International District Segment alternatives would have an adverse effect on the historic district during construction. The Center Square previously reported on the district’s residents and business owners speaking out against construction on a proposed 5th Avenue alternative route, saying that it would close nearby streets that are key to commercial and cultural activity.
Construction noise and visual impacts were also mentioned as hindrances to small communal gatherings within the area.
The Seattle Chinatown-International District Preservation and Development Authority wrote a letter urging the Sound Transit board of directors to select the 4th Avenue Shallow alignment as the preferred alternative for the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions.
The estimated $14.1 billion project is still in the planning stages of development, with a delivery target year of 2037. The project seeks to provide fast, reliable light rail connections to dense residential and job centers throughout the region, according to the Sound Transit website. In addition, the transit authority anticipates a new downtown Seattle light rail tunnel to provide capacity for the entire regional system to operate efficiently.
Seattle Mayor and Sound Transit Board Member Bruce Harrell proposed a substitute motion that would advance the North of Chinatown and South of Chinatown stations to serve the Chinatown-International District and Pioneer Square.
“This neighborhood should not once again bear the brunt of disproportionate construction impacts,” Harrell said in a statement prior to the Sound Transit board meeting. “With viable alternatives in the North and South of CID stations to provide local and regional mobility needs to thousands of daily transit riders while creating new opportunities for equitable transit-oriented development, we can make a better choice today.”
The board is set to reconvene on May 25 to potentially reach a decision.