By John Creighton

As a kid growing up on the Eastside, I lived just a short bicycle ride from the BNSF Eastside corridor rail tracks. In fact, every morning my school bus passed by the Wilburton Trestle.

So it was with a great deal of sentimentality last year that I voted to approve the purchase by the Port of Seattle of the corridor from BNSF.

However, my vote was about much more than sentimentality. The acquisition, which was unanimously approved by the Port of Seattle Commission, preserves an irreplaceable asset, placing it in public ownership and keeping it intact. Preserving the corridor also addresses growing transportation needs and provides the chance to expand our regional trail system.

In a great show of regional collaboration, the port was joined by several local agencies in maximizing the 42-mile corridor’s benefit for the entire region. King County, Sound Transit, the city of Redmond, Puget Sound Energy, and the Cascade Water Alliance all agreed to partner with the port, with each agency acquiring an interest in the rail corridor in order to maximize the corridor’s benefit for the region.

Now a lawsuit filed by three King County taxpayers threatens to undo the public acquisition of the Eastside Corridor. Although the suit, filed last July, only concerns the port’s purchase of the portion that lies in Snohomish County, it jeopardizes the entire transaction – including the recreational and other uses planned in King County.

The corridor stretches from Snohomish to Renton, with a short spur that goes through the city of Redmond.  For the port, it provides us the opportunity to preserve and protect a robust regional freight system by maintaining freight rail service between Snohomish and Woodinville, an important freight corridor and connection to the mainline. 

King County and Sound Transit will acquire rights in the southern section between Woodinville and Renton.  The southern portion of the track will be preserved for dual transportation and recreation uses under the federal rail banking program. State law grants Washington public ports the authority to “acquire, construct, purchase, lease, contract for, provide, and operate rail services, equipment, and facilities inside or outside the port district.” The sale was approved by the Federal Surface Transportation Board, a regulatory agency that oversees rail acquisitions.

In the three years the port was working with BNSF Railway to purchase the corridor, the port and others hosted many public meetings in King and Snohomish counties. We heard from citizens representing every aspect of the transaction: rail enthusiasts who hoped for increased passenger rail; business owners who stressed the need for ongoing freight service in Snohomish county; trail supporters who want to be able to hike and bike along a future recreational trail; residents with concerns about how their property would be affected when ownership changed hands.

Although the plans for the property varied, one theme was consistent: keep the corridor intact and put it in the public’s hands.

The port’s acquisition of the corridor places an irreplaceable asset into public ownership, one that will allow the Port of Seattle to preserve an important freight corridor and necessary link to an interstate railroad system, while simultaneously working with our partners to further many of the region’s most important goals.

From improving global competitiveness, creating jobs, securing new options for transit, freight mobility and recreation, and preserving an extensive greenbelt, the opportunities are there if we work together.

John Creighton has served on the Port Commission since 2005. He grew up on the Eastside and attended Interlake High School in Bellevue.