A fair deal for Northgate is within reach

Members of the community pack the June 4 open house

A month ago it didn’t seem possible, but this week a fair deal for Northgate’s 92 percent is within reach.

This didn’t happen by accident.  Over the past month the community has made it perfectly clear that they want their neighborhood transformed into a walkable, bikeable, and transit-rich community where everyone has the freedom to choose how to get where they need to go.

They sent hundreds of emails to the Sound Transit board, packed an open house on June 4, and continued talking with their neighbors about what kind of Northgate they want for themselves and their families.  The community spoke and Sound Transit listened.

On Thursday, June 28, the Sound Transit Board will consider a motion that funds a package of investments for Northgate.  If approved, this package will spend as much making it safe and convenient for the 92 percent of people who will access the future light rail station at Northgate on bike, foot or transit as it does for the 8 percent who will arrive through other means.

But there’s no guarantee the Sound Transit Board will vote to approve this motion.  They need to hear from you one last time that Northgate’s 92 percent deserve a fair deal.

At the June 14 meeting of Sound Transit’s capital committee, Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin proposed a strategy to make access to the Northgate light rail station safe and convenient for everyone, whether they arrive on transit, foot, bike, or in a car.  Over the past two weeks Councilmember Conlin has worked with Mayor McGinn and staff from Sound Transit and the City of Seattle to refine the details of this proposal.  The Sound Transit Board will consider this proposal and the package of investments it contains on Thursday, June 28.

Through this package of investments Sound Transit would do three things:

  1. Contribute 25 percent (up to $5 million) of the cost of a bike/pedestrian bridge over I-5 to North Seattle Community College and Licton Springs, which the City of Seattle will match with an additional $5 million;
  2. Match up to $5 million in City bike and pedestrian investments around the station; and
  3. Fund a new 450-stall parking garage, costing approximately $12 million.

That’s a combined $20 million in new investments for biking and walking from Sound Transit and the City of Seattle for Northgate.

On Monday, June 25, the Seattle City Council unanimously approved a Resolution endorsing this access strategy and the City's intention to fulfill it's obligations in this package of investments.

Again this didn’t happen by accident.  It happened because hundreds of people like you spoke up.

Now, the Sound Transit Board needs to hear from you one more time to make sure that Northgate’s 92 percent get the fair deal they deserve.

Together we are creating a better future for Northgate.

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