Planning a Future Around Light Rail..or Not

In an October 26th Seattle P-I article, speculation, or just good planning, has many developers looking at property around proposed light rail stations, even before they are being planned. Mostly evident in East King County, developers in Bellevue and Redmond along what may become a light rail line (if funding is appropriated through the upcoming vote on Proposition 1) are buying up land and planning new communities. One essentially felt they had a good spot and that rail service was secondary "icing."

I can't help but to think about what we lost here when the Interurban Railway went out of business in 1939; had it stayed in place we would be over 60 years ahead of the game right now, and there would probably be rail already headed towards the Eastside. There are plenty of theories why the Interurban is gone, the biggest of which being the "Great Bus Conspiracy" brought on be vehicle manufacturers and oil companies. Doesn't matter what happened now, because the tracks are gone. So we have to move forward and rebuild.

Maybe this time the lines will stick around a while.