(Originally published Feb. 16)
What to do about the 42-mile Eastside rail corridor that the Port of Seattle recently purchased from Burlington Northern Sante Fe?
There was once strong disagreement over whether to run commuter trains along the line or use it for a regional walking and biking trail.
Now the two sides are considering a hybrid system similar to California’s 70-mile Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) system.
SMART, due to open in 2014, will include both passenger rail service and a pedestrian pathway paralleling U.S. Highway 101.
Calls for a similar hybrid system along the Eastside rail corridor are gaining traction, with Cascadia Center at Discovery Institute doing most of the trumpeting. The group last week organized a dinner meeting and bus tour of the corridor to discuss the possibilities.
Bellevue Mayor Don Davidson attended the event, along with city council members Kevin Wallace and Claudia Balducci – who is also a member of the Sound Transit board.
The idea of a rails-with-trails corridor looks to be a perfect compromise on the surface, but working out the details of such a plan is proving difficult.
First there’s the issue of acquiring the corridor from Burlington Northern. That part is done, with the Port of Seattle having inked an $81 million deal to buy the rail line last December.
But now there are five other entities negotiating to buy pieces of the land for rails, trails and utilities. They include King County, Sound Transit, the city of Redmond, Cascade Water Alliance and Puget Sound Energy.
Next comes the question of who pays for what. The general assumption is that King County would fund the multi-use trails while Sound Transit would fork over money to refurbish the tracks.
Where the county would get money for its end of the bargain is a mystery at this point, but the $17 billion voter-approved ST2 mass transit package includes a $50 million capital contribution toward a potential passenger rail partnership for the Eastside rail corridor.
The pressure is on to finalize an agreement, because the funds go toward HOV and bus rapid-transit along I-405 if a partnership is not in place by the end of next year.
The last issue is about fear. Rails and trails advocates are both paranoid that they’ll lose out on access to the corridor.
“I have little faith that if trains start running without a trail that we’ll ever get a trail on it,” said Chuck Ayers, Executive Director of Cascade Bicycle Club.
Likewise, rail advocates are worried about a potential outcry if a regional trail has to be removed – or even just moved – to make way for trains.
“The only way to do this is simultaneously,” said Cascadia Center fellow Tom Jones. “If one does it before the other, then there is going to be a fear of getting bumped out.”
That’s why Cascadia Center brought along some of the people who helped plan the SMART system to speak at the group’s recent bus tour and dinner. The idea was to show that it’s possible to do both rails and trails at once.
There are some who say a rails-and-trails corridor is not only possible, but could be done in a matter of years.
Doug Engle is chief financial officer for GNP, the company that the Port of Seattle tapped to operate the rail line. He says a private company could convert the corridor for hybrid use at a rate of one mile per day using a rail-renovating machine called the P811.
Engle also says the work can be done at one-tenth the cost of what a public agency would pay.
But some residents living beside the rail corridor aren’t so keen on the idea of trains running regularly near their homes. They prefer to see a quiet trail for pedestrians and cyclists only.
The state Legislature in 2008 directed Sound Transit and the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) to study the potential for commuter rail service along Eastside rail corridor.
That analysis, dealing with both rails and trails, showed that passenger trains along the corridor could accommodate up to 6,000 passengers per day, but would require significant capital improvements.
The study also indicated that a pedestrian/bike trail would fit on the right-of-way, although property acquisitions would be needed in some areas.
The estimated capital cost for implementing passenger rail along the corridor are estimated at between $1 billion and $1.3 billion, while estimates for a companion pedestrian/bicycle trail range from $297 million to $432 million.
Operating costs are estimated at $24 million to $32 million per year based on two-way service with trains operating every 30 minutes in each direction.
The Sound Transit/PSRC study did not identify a most cost-effective option.
For now, GNP is set to begin running excursion trains and limited freight along the corridor later this year.
