By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

One notable achievement of Tuesday night’s Transit Town Hall: A few of the local business owners facing likely relocation because of light rail got a very public chance to put Sound Transit reps on the spot.

That happened during the live Q&A comprising almost half the two-hour event. As shown in our first report Tuesday night, the event – presented by the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and 34th District Democrats – began with an ST recap of project planning, from 2016’s ST3 vote to the current status, awaiting the Final Environmental Impact Statement “in the late third quarter,” which will be followed by a final vote on routing/station locations.

Then it was time for Q&A – both pre-submitted and asked live. We’ll start with the latter. First, video of the in-person Q&A:

The most pointed exchanges were with business owners facing relocation, including Erin Rubin of Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor) and nonprofit Mode Music and Performing Arts, which serve hundreds of students.

(WSB photo: Mode’s Erin Rubin, with moderator Jordan Crawley)

Rubin recounted waiting for a promised reply from ST real-property director Faith Roland – one of the panelists – that never came, and made a request that she’s made to ST before: Why can’t she get an evaluation from ST now rather than having to wait for the official vote on the Delridge station location that will almost certainly displace her business? Starting the resource-providing conversation now, she said, would “make us feel more secure.”

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We counted about 60 people at the peak of tonight’s “Transit Town Hall” with four Sound Transit reps answering West Seattle light-rail questions in a forum organized by the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and 34th District Democrats. We’re presenting our coverage in two reports, as the meeting served multiple purposes. First, Sound Transit made some news by offering an updated, narrower window estimating when the next milestone in the planning process, the Final Environmental Impact Statement, will arrive: “Toward the end of the third quarter,” said ST’s Leda Chahim. That suggests it’s about two months away. The FEIS is a necessary precursor to the Sound Transit Board finalizing a route and station locations. Meantime, the ST reps at the Town Hall began with a half-hour presentation recapping how the project got to its current point and what’s next – here’s our video:

The presentation was followed by moderator Jordan Crawley – active with both presenting organizations and with a business that may have to relocate, Alki Beach Academy – asking pre-submitted questions, and then opening the floor to attendees’ questions. We’ll cover all that in our second report tomorrow. But before we wrap up this short first report, we’re noting three rumors that were debunked during the Q&A period:

1) Will the early years of WS Link require a two- or three-seat for bus-to-light rail riders to get downtown? No, said Metro’s Chris Arkills, declaring that the West Seattle bus routes will NOT be restructured until the Ballard extension is complete too (currently projected for 2039, seven years after West Seattle), which will enable West Seattle light-rail riders to get downtown without transferring.

2) Will light-rail construction affect the West Seattle Bridge? One attendee asked this, saying he’d heard a rumor that the bridge could be closed for eight years by the project. Absolutely not, said the ST contingent; the project will build a separate light-rail-only bridge.

3) The same attendee said he’d also “heard” that Nucor is moving and if so, why isn’t light rail being routed through that site? The ST reps said that’s a false rumor too, that Nucor’s told them it’s staying put,

The most pointed moments of the Q&A came toward the end, when several owners of businesses likely to have to move confronted the ST reps about inadequate interaction regarding questions and requests, despite ST talking a good game about working with businesses. What they said, and how ST replied, will be part of our second report tomorrow. As for what’s next, besides the ST process continuing, Chamber board chair Lindsay Wolpa wrapped up the meeting by promising that her organization would coordinate more conversations about various aspects of the project.

(Sound Transit project map)

Two weeks ago, two local organizations – the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and 34th District Democrats – announced a Transit Town Hall for questions and answers about the Sound Transit light-rail project, as decision time draws near. Tomorrow’s the night – Tuesday (July 23), 7 pm, at the Center for Active Living (4217 SW Oregon). You can send a question in advance by using this form. That same form includes a short survey you’re invited to answer even if you don’t have a question. Meantime, next major step in the project is the release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement – no date yet but expected within the next few months.

4:55 PM: The Rally for Relocation is happening now, in support of businesses that are expected to have to move because they’re in the path of West Seattle light rail’s likely routing and station locations. Their message is not anti-light rail, but rather, they want better relocation compensation, and they want to ensure customers will keep coming even as all this results in a few years of uncertainty. They’re marching back and forth along Delridge, from Ounces to the Andover corner, intermittently – chanting “SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS” – with a rally/speeches planned at Ounces around 6 pm.

ADDED: We asked two of the business owners, Laurel Trujillo of Ounces and Jordan Crawley of Alki Beach Academy, about the message they hoped the demonstration would convey:

Crawley is also a member of the 34th District Democrats‘ board and is moderating the “Transit Town Hall” they’re co-presenting with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce on July 23.

Three notes about West Seattle’s planned light-rail extension:

MORE SOIL SAMPLING: Sound Transit continues work in various neighborhoods, and Debora sent that photo after the latest notice for geotechnical work on the south side of SW Genesee east of 35th SW, potentially lasting through the middle of next week.

RALLY FOR RELOCATION: Reminder that tomorrow is the day businesses in the project path are hoping to rally community support for better relocation compensation, as first announced last month. All this will be happening in the 3800 block of Delridge Way SW – home to Ounces, Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor), Mode Music and Performing Arts, and The Skylark, 4 pm to 7 pm Thursday. We mentioned it when it was first announced; here’s the reminder from organizers:

West Seattle Businesses and community members will rally together in support of the 60+ West Seattle Businesses that face relocation as a result of light rail extension to West Seattle.

A Rally for Relocation will take place on Thursday, July 11th from 4-7 pm at Ounces Taproom & Beer Garden in West Seattle. From 4:30-6 pm, supporters will walk on Delridge Way SW in front of the North Delridge Businesses Facing Relocation (from Skylark Cafe to Delridge Deli Mart, just off the ramp to the West Seattle Bridge), followed by a rally and community gathering at Ounces.

The rally aims to raise community awareness and advocate for adequate relocation support for affected businesses, ensuring their survival if the West Seattle light rail project is approved this summer.

Businesses and residents will urge the Sound Transit Board: Preserve West Seattle’s character and economy. Ensure local businesses have the resources to relocate and thrive alongside the new light rail.

The rally stems from a petition at displacedbylightrail.com, initiated by local businesses to highlight their precarious situation. With nearly 2,000 signatures and growing, it underscores concerns about insufficient relocation funding from Sound Transit. Many affected businesses fear closure without adequate financial support and assistance.

MEDIA BRIEFING: Organizers of the Rally for Relocation reiterate that they’re not trying to stop light rail. However, a different group that is – at least temporarily – plans a West Seattle media briefing earlier in the day. At 10:30 am at Jefferson Square, the organization Smarter Transit says it will discuss its demands for ST accountability:

-Present key data showing ST3 work will not solve our region’s transportation issues nor alleviate greenhouse gas emissions.
-Ask the Legislature to require Sound Transit to create a post-pandemic plan to increase ridership, decrease single car drivers and lower greenhouse gases.
-Discuss their petition local residents may sign demanding accountability and pausing ST3 planning until the agency shows voters transit alternatives that achieve less congestion, lower emissions and promote greater cost efficiency with taxpayer dollars.
-Promote passing legislation to make the ST Board directly elected by district via publicly funded campaigns to end the cost overruns and lack of oversight.

This group is not exclusively focused on West Seattle; its roots go back to the ’00s.

Sometime in the next few months, Sound Transit is expected to release the Final Environmental Impact Report on West Seattle light rail, followed by a board vote on routing and station locations. With that looming, the 34th District Democrats and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce have just announced a “Transit Town Hall” for 7 pm Tuesday, July 23:

Presented by the 34th District Democrats and the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, this forum with Sound Transit staff intends to educate West Seattle residents about the proposed Link extension project ahead of the vote to identify the project to be built.

As it stands, the project would include three light rail stations: Delridge (at Delridge and Andover), Avalon (at 35th and Avalon), and West Seattle Junction (at Alaska and 41st). The presentation and forum will provide background about ST3, review of the project plan and timeline, detail the alternatives proposed and the possible alignments, discuss the financial cost and community impacts, provide an overview of the entitlements for displaced residents and businesses, and end on a call to action.

The event will conclude with a question-and-answer segment. If you would like to submit your questions ahead of time, you may do so on this form. Pre-submitted questions will be asked at the beginning of the segment by our moderator.

Even if you don’t have a question, follow the form link to reply to a short survey. The venue is the Center for Active Living (ex-Senior Center), 4217 SW Oregon.

(Across from potential Delridge station location)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Today’s West Seattle light-rail “route walk” organized by Rethink the Link wasn’t a rally or protest.

What we heard and saw, walking along, was more like a collection of conversations. The three-dozen-plus participants included not just the light-rail skeptics of Rethink the Link and curious residents but also light-rail supporters, including at least one member of the Transportation Choices Coalition, and an advocate who toted this sign throughout the hour-and-a-half event:

Other transit advocates, including writers for the Seattle Transit Blog, were there too. So there were many perspectives in play as participants talked one-on-one along most of the round-trip mile-long walk from West Seattle Health Club to the middle of the low bridge and back, between multiple stops along a potential path for the train. At those stops, whoever was in earshot heard from RTL’s Alan McMurray, a route-area resident described as someone who walks to work in SODO and is therefore quite familiar with the route: “For the last four years, as I walk, I wonder how they’re going to do it.” The group gathered in the parking lot of the health club, whose management has expressed concern about a potential path that could take out its pool.

From there, walkers headed over Longfellow Creek via the SW Yancy footbridge – where environmental concerns were noted – then to Andover and into the office park that’s in a potential Delridge-station footprint, home to Alki Beach Academy and other businesses, alongside the Nucor steel plant, and looked upslope at the back of Delridge-fronting businesses also facing displacement – Ounces, The Skylark, Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor) and Mode Music and Performing Arts. Here’s the station rendering that’s been most recently shown:

Walking toward the low bridge, participants’ attention was directed toward Pigeon Point, along which the high bridge already runs, with West Seattle light rail requiring an additional new bridge to cross the Duwamish River.

The new bridge is expected to be at least as tall as the existing bridge, McMurray noted. How that’ll be built has yet to be finalized, but it’s expected to require some digging into Pigeon Point – “some kind of major cut” –
where herons nest. One took wing as walkers looked on, while birds’ coexistence with human-built infrastructure was on display too, as peregrine falcons’ nesting boxes on the underside of the high bridge were pointed out.

After trooping back along the path on the east side of Delridge, the group stopped for another perspective of the Skylark/Mode business building, when a person standing along the road shouted, “We don’t need no damn light rail!” A few participants responded “hear, hear”; he then said cheerfully, “OK, I’m done.”

Wrapping up shortly thereafter, McMurray explained the intent of the walk was “just meant to give you an idea of what it’s going to take” to build the West Seattle Link Extension through that area. A participant asked, “What can we do?” McMurray noted that the Final Environmental Impact Statement – precursor to a final vote on a route – is expected to be published this summer, and then there’s a “30-day window” before that final action can be taken. That’s the time to “be heard … make sure they hear you,” he said. Someone else pointed out that comments can be sent to Sound Transit now, too. (Contact info is on the project website.)

Whatever your view, McMurray concluded, “There is this common ground we all agree on – better transit.”

1:30 PM: “All opinions are welcome.” That declaration is part of the invitation on the flyer for Rethink the Link‘s “route walk” of the proposed Delridge light-rail station vicinity (and beyond) on Sunday. They’re looking ahead to a community forum requested by King County Executive and Sound Transit Board of Directors chair Dow Constantine (we checked with ST this week and there’s no date set for that yet). They’ll be gathering at the West Seattle Health Club (28th/Andover) at 10 am Sunday (June 9). The map is on the group’s website in case you can’t join the walk or prefer to explore on your own. The group in general contends there are better alternatives for moving more West Seattleites across the Duwamish River, such as improving existing transit service. The Sound Transit Board is on a track to finalize a light rail route later this year, but first the agency has to release the Final Environmental Impact Statement, expected in the next few months. This is the second major public “route walk” that Rethink the Link has offered since it formed last year.

3:04 PM: This afternoon, Sound Transit sent its email list a note reiterating what we noted above – no date yet for the West Seattle light-rail final EIS to be published. From that email:

… We expect to publish the Final EIS later this year, which will include responses to comments received on the Draft EIS. While we’re getting close, we do not have a date set for publication yet. We will share more information about specific timing for the availability of the Final EIS when we can.

After the Final EIS is published, the Sound Transit Board will select the project to be built. Their decision will consider the years of technical study and public engagement since 2018. In the past, we gathered your feedback through station planning and neighborhood forum events, scoping and Draft EIS comment periods, community briefings, and one-on-one meetings. Following the Board’s decision and the Record of Decision by the Federal Transit Administration, the project will move into the design phase.

What is the design phase? The design phase will focus on advancing detailed design of the guideway and stations and preparing for construction. This includes refining what the facilities will look like, how the stations fit within neighborhoods, and how people will move through the station. We look forward to engaging with you as the design advances. …

1:42 PM: Two weeks ago, we reported on West Seattle Health Club‘s request for member support in opposing a possible light-rail route that would among other things take out their pool, which in turn followed County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda‘s plea to the Sound Transit Board to consider alternatives that would spare area businesses. Today, WSHC has sent a followup with word that the concerns are gaining traction. Thanks to those who forwarded us the email, which tells members, in part:

… Your support has made a difference. The Executive’s office has responded positively to our request, and questions are being raised about modifying route options. The original plan to finalize this location in June has been delayed. A summary of all the public comments they received on the gym/pool was read out loud into the record at yesterday’s Sound Transit Board meeting and the turnout was impressive. Executive Dow Constantine has requested that Sound Transit host a community forum. We will keep you updated as we learn more.

Our petition will remain available at the front desk and online at https://chng.it/VH4L96c6Dn . Additionally, we invite you to join members of our community for a “Walk the Route” event on Sunday, June 9th at 10 am, starting in our parking lot and ending at the West Seattle lower bridge. …

The next step before the ST Board can finalize the West Seattle routing will be the release of the final Environmental Impact Statement; for months, ST has said only that it’s expected to be out “midyear” (we’re checking on whether they’ve refined that timeline yet). Environmental studies are continuing (as noted here last week).

2:44 PM: ST spokesperson Rachelle Cunningham says “summer” is the only current timeline for the final EIS. She also says that since Executive Constantine just made the community-forum request yesterday, there’s nothing official on that yet, but we might hear more next week.

Sound Transit is still working on its final Environmental Impact Statement for West Seattle light rail – that’s the next major milestone before final routing decisions. Environmental studies have included drilling for samples at various sites around the area, and two more rounds have been announced. Sound Transit sent us the notices:

*”As soon as” May 20 (next Monday), 41st SW south of Edmunds (here’s the notice with details)

*”As soon as May 29, 41st SW (here’s the notice with details) north of Edmunds

No date yet for the final EIS to go public – ST has most recently said “midyear.”

It’s been a month since we first reported on County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda standing before the Sound Transit Board and asking them to put West Seattle light rail on a Delridge route that could bypass and potentially save local businesses. Those local businesses also have been taking their case to the board, while making contingency plans; we talked with Erin Rubin of Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor) and Mode Music and Performing Arts in this report. Now another business in the project’s path, West Seattle Health Club, is asking its members for support. Several readers have forwarded us this message sent to WSHC members by club management today:

We have been informed of the recent decision by Sound Transit to alter its initial plan for the West Seattle Light Rail. Rather than running it around the West Seattle Health Club, the preferred route would require placing a pillar through our pool. We have been working diligently, alongside local businesses and King County Councilmember, Teresa Mosqueda, to ensure that our concerns are heard by the Sound Transit board. Specifically, we have requested a refinement of the plan to place the pillar 20 feet west of the club or over the top. The board has acknowledged our request, and a final decision will be made in June.

We are advocating for a change in the decision, which, while not immediately impacting the gym, would, over time, have significant ramifications. The removal of the West Seattle Health Club would not only result in the loss of a gym but also the displacement of a community. We believe that the decision-makers on the board may not fully appreciate the gym’s value to our community. Some of you have been members since the early 2000s when the gym was known as Allstar Fitness. You have shown remarkable loyalty and dedication to the club and its community, even during challenging times of poor management and financial struggles. We are aware that you have expressed concerns about the proposed changes because you do not wish to lose a community staple that has become so important to you. Some of you have made lifelong friends at the West Seattle Health Club, formerly known as Allstar Fitness, and have been members for over two decades. We are not merely a gym. We are an all-inclusive community that provides a sense of belonging and support. While there may be several other gym options in the area, none can match the feeling of walking through the doors of the West Seattle Health Club.

We support Sound Transit’s efforts to bring the Light Rail to the West Seattle community. However, the removal of our gym will have a profound impact, not only on our community of over 6200 members but also on over 100 employees who travel to West Seattle and support the businesses in the area. We implore you to support us in our efforts to communicate to the Sound Transit board that placing a pillar through the pool of the West Seattle Health Club is not merely a matter of relocating another business. It would have far-reaching consequences.

If you wish to voice your opinion, please contact Cali Knight at CKnight@kingcounty.gov and Shannon Braddock at Shannon.Braddock@kingcounty.gov.

Shannon Braddock, a West Seattleite, is deputy county executive for County Executive Dow Constantine, also a West Seattleite, who is on the Sound Transit Board. Calli Knight is also on the executive’s staff, as infrastructure initiatives director. The board has not yet made a decision about final routing but is expected to vote in the second half of this year, after the final Environmental Impact Statement is released (no date for that yet beyond “midyear”).

The Sound Transit System Expansion Committee‘s monthly meeting just wrapped up. The only formal mention of the West Seattle Link Extension was this brief update toward the end of the meeting:

While presenting that slide, ST’s Don Billen mentioned another possible stretch in the timeline, saying – without elaboration – that the time between the Final EIS and the Record of Decision (which follows the board’s final vote on the exact routing and station locations) might be “longer than we’re used to.” They’re also waiting for final federal signoff on the plan recently approved to start the process of “early acquisition” of some properties in North Delridge and SODO.

At the start of the meeting, during open public comment, the only person to speak about West Seattle light rail was King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda. She pleaded with the board members to consider slight “refinements” in the Delridge station location and route that she said could save money and businesses. Along Yancy, for example, a short distance west of the Delridge station, she said a 20-foot shift in pillar locations could prevent some demolition. Same for moving the station location about 100 feet. “Use surface streets and parking lots” rather than going over existing businesses on which a thriving community – including her family, North Delridge residents – relies. She told the board that, to be clear, she and the businesses are all very much in favor of light rail – “we WANT light rail” – they just think that “refinements” could make it more of a win-win. (Added: Here’s everything she told, and wanted to tell, the board members, in PDF.)

Meantime, two of the businesses in the current path of the station location, Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor) and The Skylark, both have sent open letters to their mailing lists in the past 18 hours, asking for community help. We’re working on a separate followup about that.

Only one member of the Sound Transit Board voted “no” this afternoon on the first proposed “early property acquisitions” for the West Seattle light-rail extension – 25 parcels, including three in WS, as previewed here. Board member Bruce Dammeier, the Pierce County Executive, said he was concerned about granting potential condemnation authority for some parcels before the board even took a final vote on the actual routing, which isn’t expected before midsummer. Board chair Dow Constantine, the King County Executive (and a West Seattle resident), said it’s important to work with affected businesses early, and this approval was needed before they could do that. ST staff said the routing vote would likely come long before they completed the process of buying (or, if necessary, condemning) these properties, a process they said usually takes about two years, with initial negotiations lasting at least several months, and if those negotiations don’t succeed, condemnation (taking the property by “eminent domain”) would be “further down the road.” As reported here Tuesday, these are the three West Seattle parcels (the others are mostly in SODO) that were included in today’s vote:

(WSB photo, Delridge/Andover building that’s part of Frye Commerce Center parcel)

-Parcel # 7666704005 at 2414 SW Andover, the Frye Commerce Center (home to multiple businesses, east of Nucor, including Alki Beach Academy, PNTA, Uptown Espresso, Delridge Deli Mart, among others) – 191,113 square feet, currently valued at $17.4 million per King County

-Parcel # 7666703290 at 3800 West Marginal Way SW, the Riverside Mill site, 269,452 square feet, currently valued at $14.5 million per King County

-Parcel # 9358000465 on the northwest corner of 28th/Yancy, described as “vacant” – 10,000 square feet, currently valued at $357,000 per King County

The presentation at the meeting did not elaborate on any specific properties or describe why they are needed (the Frye center, however, has been clearly shown recently as in the footprint for the “preferred alternative” Delridge station). Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell (one of the city’s two reps on the ST Board) asked what happens for businesses once authorization like this is given, saying he’s heard businesses’ concerns. They’ll get immediate notice of eligibility for relocation help, he was told. Then Dammeier voiced his concerns; staff attempted to reassure him that no tenants would be displaced before the “record of decision” (that follows the board’s final routing decision, expected to follow within a month of the Final Environmental Impact Statement release “later this spring”). Some businesses might decide they want to move sooner rather than later, he was told, but none would be forced out any time soon.

The board heard from one nearby business owner during the public-comment period at the start of today’s meeting – Erin Rubin of Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor), on property not part of today’s vote but adjacent to the Frye parcel. Saying she also was speaking for The Skylark next door, Rubin spoke of displacement concerns and the difficulty of finding a suitable location elsewhere in West Seattle. She pointed to Sound Transit policies that stipulated more consideration for businesses in those situations.

Also speaking during the comment period was Marilyn Kennell, a homeowner in the light-rail line’s potential path between the Delridge and Avalon stations. She asked for a “seat of the table” and further discussion of the impacts of the project, both financial – businesses and job losses – and environmental, citing “needless deforestation and destruction of natural habitat.”

WHAT’S NEXT: For the owners and tenants on the “early acquisition” sites, notification and negotiation. For the project overall, ST continues to proceed toward the aforementioned Final Environmental Impact Statement, which is supposed to include responses to concerns raised after the Draft EIS was released, and a final decision on “the project to be built” will follow. On the current timeline, construction is supposed to start in 2027, and West Seattle service in 2032.

The Sound Transit Board is still months away from a final routing decision for the West Seattle light-rail extension. But it’s scheduled to vote Thursday on 25 “early acquisitions” of property already considered necessary for the project. 22 of them are in SODO – including three that are deemed necessary for both the West Seattle and Ballard extensions – and the other three are in West Seattle. Sound Transit had said two years ago, as we reported here, that it might need “early property acquisitions,” likely for “a small subset of critical properties.” The three West Seattle parcels in the early-acquisition motion going to the board are:

-Parcel # 7666703290 at 3800 West Marginal Way SW, the Riverside Mill site (per King County, 269,452 square feet, currently valued at $14.5 million)

-Parcel # 7666704005 at 2414 SW Andover, the Frye Commerce Center (home to multiple businesses including Alki Beach Academy [added] plus PNTA, Uptown Espresso, Delridge Deli Mart, among others) – 191,113 square feet, currently valued at $17.4 million)

-Parcel # 9358000465 on the northwest corner of 28th/Yancy (described as “vacant” – 10,000 square feet, currently valued at $357,000)

The motion seeking authorization to acquire those properties notes, “The early acquisitions will not limit the Board’s final choice of alternatives for either project.” But it also says this authorization would include approval to acquire the 25 properties through “eminent domain” if necessary: “Condemnation will be initiated should negotiations between Sound Transit and the property owners reach an impasse.” We’ve noted the West Seattle parcels’ valuations above, but the ST document says they won’t be talking dollars in open session: “In accordance with Sound Transit policy, budgets for specific parcels will be discussed with the Board in the executive session.” According to the document, the owners have all been notified of the acquisition plan, including letters sent by certified mail three weeks ago. Thursday’s 1:30 pm meeting includes a public-comment period as usual, either in person downtown or remotely, as explained on the agenda.

5:49 PM: Just under way at Alki Masonic Center (40th/Edmunds, lower-level entrance off the parking lot), Sound Transit reps are back in West Seattle to talk about station planning again. This is the promised followup to last October’s open house, and another precursor to the next major milestone in the West Seattle light-rail project, publication of the final environmental-impact statement, currently projected for the “middle” of this year. This event is mostly open-house style, with easels and renderings around the room focusing on the extension’s four stations (Junction, Avalon, Delridge, SODO), and many Sound Transit staffers to listen to your comments and/or answer questions. They’re promising a “short presentation” around 6 pm, and then this continues until 7:30 pm. We’re checking to see what’s new, and will add more to this report later.

7:50 PM: We’re expecting to get all the renderings/info boards in PDF tomorrow, and will publish that separately. We circulated and photographed some of the most interesting ones we saw, such as a concept for the bridge that will be needed to get the light-rail line across the Duwamish River:

Station concepts like these two were a little more fully fleshed out than last meeting:

Also shown, a concept for redesigning SW Alaska when the Junction station is built underground in the 41st/42nd/Alaska vicinity:

The turnout was sizable – we were there for the first hour and it felt busier than the one in October:

Again, we hope to have all that and much more in digital format tomorrow. Remember that the routing is not finalized yet, but the stations are being planned in what ST considers to be the most likely locations per the “preferred alternative” currently on the books. Woven through the boards with renderings and concepts were results of last fall’s community survey – for example, one board listed what survey respondents had said was most important to them in station planning, and safety topped the list, followed by “easy to navigate” and “welcoming.” Another board listed results of a question about bicycle and scooter parking; top preference was to have lockers, followed by a “secure room,” and then racks. Some boards also listed preferences that had emerged from “in-language focus groups,” and a common theme there was “wider sidewalks.” And others had details of what’s ahead in the process – including Seattle Design Commission consideration of station plans this spring. But this year’s main event – no date yet – will be the release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement, followed by the Sound Transit Board finalizing the routing, aka “the project to be built.”

ADDED WEDNESDAY: Here are the renderings etc. shown last night. (And the city-produced boards are here.) We’ll publish separately as promised later, too.

The Sound Transit Board is still months away from finalizing the light-rail route into West Seattle – that will happen after the final Environmental Impact Statement is made public. In the meantime, the agency, working with the city, is continuing to plan the four stations (Junction, Avalon, Delridge, SODO) – based on the locations that are so far considered the “preferred alternative.” Tuesday night, the agency returns to West Seattle for an open-house-style meeting following up on the one held four months ago. They promise that the meeting will be “an opportunity to see how your feedback informs ongoing station area designs” – feedback from a survey last fall as well as from the October meeting. (Additional station-planning info was shown at a subsequent meeting of the West Seattle Transportation Coalition.) “Station area designs” is a reference to not only the stations themselves but also how other transportation – buses, bicycles, etc. – will be routed for arrivals and transfers, and also what will happen to station-adjacent sites that will be used for construction staging. Some are envisioned as “transit-oriented development.” The Tuesday meeting is set for 5:30-7:30 pm “with a short presentation at 6 pm,” at Alki Masonic Center (40th/Edmunds, lower-level entrance off the parking lot). The projected launch date for the $4 billion light-rail extension remains late 2032.

(Rendering from Sound Transit’s draft environmental impact statement on West Seattle extension)

Toward the end of last October’s West Seattle meeting about light-rail station planning, Sound Transit managers promised a followup event here in “early” 2024. Last night, they announced the date: March 5. They’re promising that what they bring will reflect what attendees said at the October event plus via other means of feedback – “a summary of community priorities for future light rail station design in West Seattle and SODO, based on feedback we heard from the public in fall 2023.” Currently three stations are planned on this side of the Duwamish River – Delridge, Avalon, and The Junction – and ST has presented relatively detailed layouts for the likely locations, though the exact routing hasn’t been finalized yet (that’s expected in the second half of this year). So set your calendar for 5:30-7:30 pm Tuesday, March 5, same place as the October meeting – the Alki Masonic Center at 40th/Edmunds. The $4 billion West Seattle light-rail extension is still projected to start service in 2032, after five years of construction starting in 2027.