Senior Center is packed for forum on 185th St Station

Moderator Dale Lydin, with microphone, addresses the audience
at the community forum for the 185th Street Station
Photo by Brock Howell

The meeting hall of the Shoreline / Lake Forest Park Senior Center was packed Tuesday night, with close to 150 Shoreline citizens listening to leaders from three Seattle areas which are years ahead of Shoreline in welcoming a Sound Transit station to their neighborhoods.

Tony To, a business owner from the Rainier Valley, talked about the experience of being the first neighborhood to get rail lines and stations. He talked about how Sound Transit has changed from those first days. ST went into their neighborhood, telling people what they were going to do and providing little avenue for community input or influence. The community responded by digging in its heels and putting all its energy into fighting Sound Transit. The process was delayed and expensive. MLK Way was closed for three years and many businesses did not survive.

Ryl Anderson addresses a question to panelists
Cathy Hillenbrand, Craig Benjamin, and Tony To
while moderator Dale Lydin looks on
Photo by Brock Howell

Cathy Hillenbrand represented the Capitol Hill neighborhood whose station is just now being completed. They, with a great deal of time, energy, learning, and volunteers, were able to work collaboratively with Sound Transit, the Seattle City Council, and the neighborhood organizations.

They spent a long time deciding what their vision was for the station area, and a longer time trying to convince Sound Transit to change to their vision. They were only partly successful. They wanted their station inside a building, not an open plaza. But their compromise will give them space for a farmers' market and festivals.

Craig Benjamin represented the Cascade Bicycle Club which got involved in the Northgate station when they found out that Sound Transit planned to put more of its financial resources into a 900 car parking garage, instead of taking steps to help people who wanted to be able to bike or walk to the station. Cascade is a very successful political lobby, so they were able to use their members to advocate successfully for their view, including a new pedestrian bridge over I-5 which will link North Seattle Community College back to Northgate.

The room was close to capacity
Photo by Brock Howell

All panelists stressed that Sound Transit should be a community partner, but neighbors should understand ST's constraints, financial, legal, and regulatory. They praised the early start of the 185th Street Station committee, and said that getting a new station is exciting, energizing, and can be an economic boon to the community.

The audience included Sound Transit staff, Shoreline City staff, most of the Shoreline City Council,  Senior Center staff, and the program director of King County's Futurewise, which is a partner to the Committee.

The meeting was moderated by Dale Lydin, co-chair of the 185th Station Committee with Suzanne Wynne. Both are board members of the Echo Lake Neighborhood Association.