Port of Seattle OKs Eastside trail deal

Agreement between Port of Seattle and BNSF has finally been signed for the Woodinville Subdivision. BNSF is choosing a short line operator for the customers still on the line, and advocacy groups are now jockeying for position as right-of-way uses by people and trains are proposed for the future. One group wants "further study" on the line's use; that group is made up of people who own property butting up against - or near to - the tracks in Kirkland. "Further Study" in advocacy speak means "We don't want trains in our back yard," or "I bought this property assuming the trains would no longer run someday."


We saw plenty of that when King County was struggling to put in a rail trail along the east shore of Lake Sammamish. Some of the property owners - once BNSF pulled the tracks - went so far as to fence across the right of way and keep the trail in court for years, under the assumption that the right of way would revert to private ownership once the line was no longer used. When that didn't happen, the fight got messy. Eventually King County won out and now the most level route between Redmond and Issaquah can be ridden by bicycle, in the shadow of the Northern Pacific.

As always, we're watching this situation closely. It's a pivotal event for the Eastside, and will have impact on the region's ability to move in, out, and around the east part of King County