Beacon Hill Blog

Derailed train causing Link light rail delays

As Jason mentioned earlier, there was a derailment of a Link light rail train on the elevated section near the maintenance yard this afternoon. Sound Transit has been able to keep Link service running, though with notable delays, by using only the northbound track through Beacon Hill and Mount Baker stations. Trains are supposed to be running every 20 minutes for the rest of the day.

Reports from riders so far indicate that you should allow more than 20 minutes for the delay, though this may improve as the rush hour traffic dies down. Jesse Odam reports that his usual 15 minute Link trip from the International District to Beacon Hill just after 5:00 pm expanded to nearly an hour, including being passed by a jam-packed train, and then a half-hour wait at Stadium Station.

Sound Transit warns that Link service will be temporarily suspended later, during the removal of the disabled train, because both northbound and southbound tracks will be blocked. During that time there will be a shuttle bus (Route 97), which will operate between the Stadium and Mount Baker light rail stations. We aren’t sure yet when this will happen, but Sound Transit says they’ll update this rider alert page when they are ready to remove the disabled train.

Folks on Seattle Transit Blog are discussing the derailment, its possible causes, and Sound Transit’s handling of the situation, here.

Tags: light rail, link, service disruptions, transit service

Plan ahead: Metro on holiday schedule tomorrow

Do you have Veterans’ Day off tomorrow? Neither do we. Metro Transit, however, is operating on a “reduced weekday” schedule for tomorrow’s holiday, and most buses serving our area, including the 36 and 60 routes, are listed as “Routes operating a reduced weekday schedule with designated trips canceled.” Please note also that the 38 route is entirely canceled tomorrow.

The reduced weekday schedule will also be in effect on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), Christmas Eve, and from December 28 through 31; buses will run on a Sunday schedule on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

Check your schedule for trips identified with an “H” — those trips will be canceled tomorrow.

Link Light Rail will be running on the normal weekday schedule.

Thanks to Seattle Transit Blog.

Tags: bus, bus schedule changes, metro, transit service

Pedestrian injured in collision with bicyclist

From the SPD Blotter:

On 11/03/09, at approximately 4:45 p.m., a bicyclist was traveling [northbound] on Beacon Ave S. approaching S. College St. As the Bicyclist approached S. College St, a pedestrian going [westbound] across Beacon Ave S. stepped into the roadway.

The Bicyclist was unable to avoid the pedestrian and collided with him.

The pedestrian sustained a serious head injury and Seattle Fire Department Medic transported him to Harborview Medical Center (HMC).

During the investigation, HMC stated that the pedestrian’s medical condition improved to become non-life threatening.

An officer responded to the scene to screen the bicyclist for any signs of impairment due to drugs/alcohol. The officer determined that the bicyclist was not impaired.

More also from KOMO:
Bike Pedestrian Accident on Beacon Ave
Update: Pedestrian injured in head-on crash with bicycle

Tags: accident, bicycle, pedestrian

New pedestrian signage installed on Beacon Avenue

We’ve heard neighbors complaining lately that it is sometimes difficult to cross Beacon Avenue South in front of Beacon Hill Station–cars just don’t see pedestrians, or just don’t stop for them. Sometime in the last week or so, the city added new signs to Beacon Avenue in an attempt to make this crosswalk safer, along with warning lights. With the opening of the light rail station, this crosswalk is even more heavily used than it was before, so this new signage has been needed.


Tags: beacon avenue s, north beacon, pedestrian, pedestrians, signage

Seating experiment on the 36 today

Seattle Transit Blog mentions a Metro novelty running today on the 36 route: a bus with half a row of seats removed, allowing for easier circulation of passengers on routes with lots of people getting on and off. If you’re hopping a bus this evening, keep an eye out for bus number 4186 “leaving 3rd and Union Southbound at 4:45 and returning Northbound to 3rd and Pike at 6:15.”

Tags: bus, experiment, metro, seating, seattle transit blog

Festival Street construction to begin Monday

South Lander Street will be closed between 16th Avenue South and 17th Avenue South from Monday, October 12, through December 1 for construction of the new Lander Festival Street. The Festival Street will extend the plaza north from Beacon Hill Station, providing a space for neighborhood festivals and events.

The project will include construction of a new roadway with decorative pavers, at the same level as the sidewalks, making the street “curbless”; adding removable bollards that can be used to close the street during events; adding other side treatments to delineate the roadway surface; and installing pedestrian-scale lighting.

During construction, along with the road closure of South Lander Street, you can expect pedestrian detours and some moderate to high construction noise and dust for a short period of time. Typical work hours are planned to be 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

The Festival Street project is a community-generated project, requested by the North Beacon Hill Council, and funded through the Large Neighborhood Street Fund. The Seattle Department of Transportation project website is located at http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/btg_nsf_lander.htm.

View Lander Festival Street in a larger map

Tags: construction, festival street, lander street, north beacon

County Council Town Hall meeting in Columbia City tomorrow

As posted earlier, there is a Town Hall Meeting of the Metropolitan King County Council in Southeast Seattle tomorrow, September 30. The topics of the meeting are the impact light rail will have on the regional transit system, and the fiscal challenges facing Metro Transit, which is facing a deficit of $213 million for 2010-2011. Presenters will take questions from the audience and Councilmembers will take public testimony on any issue at the end of the program.

The meeting will be held at the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club, 4520 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South. The site is only one block north of Columbia City Station. The public is invited to meet with Councilmembers at an informal reception starting at 6:00 p.m. The Town Hall will begin at 6:30 p.m.

This is an opportunity to meet with both officials from Metro Transit and the members of the County Council, including Larry Gossett, the Councilmember who represents the Beacon Hill and Rainier Valley communities on the County Council.

Here’s a video invitation from Bob Ferguson and Larry Gossett with more information about the town hall meeting:

Unfortunately this does conflict with the Neighborhood Plan Update Open House which is scheduled from 6:00 – 8:00 pm, but the site of that open house is just up the street, at the Asian Counseling and Referral Service, 3639 Martin Luther King Jr Way South, so it may be possible to stop in at both if you need to.

Tags: king county council, light rail, metro

Trees being trimmed along Beacon Avenue

You may have noticed some red and white “no parking” signs on or near Beacon Avenue south of the library recently. City workers are trimming the trees along that stretch today and tomorrow, ensuring that they don’t interfere with electrical or other utility lines.

Tags: parking, sdot, trees, utilities

Walking with Tica: Working out on Beacon Hill stairs

I’m a foul-weather gym member. The Meredith Matthews YMCA  (just off 23rd in the Central District) has a great facility and low rates—and they allow me to join and cancel at will with no fees. This allows me to workout outside when I want, and inside when the weather shifts.  I prefer to spend as much time outside as possible in the summer, and to integrate my workouts into the rest of my life as much as possible.

If you’re looking for a great workout in our neighborhood, check out the stairs running east-west on the streets between 15th and 17th. I created a Google map to give an idea of stair locations and the route we take.  Be creative and explore the area—I usually incorporate a few hills in addition to the stairs.

Depending on how much time I have (and how Tica’s feeling) we’ll walk or jog the stairs while heading north, then slow down and head south towards home along a less steep route.

It’s a great workout with some breathtaking views. I put some of my shots from this area in the Beacon Hill Blog Flickr photo pool—share yours!

Much thanks for all the hard work neighbors and volunteers have been putting in to make these stairs usable!

Tags: bayview stairs, stairs, steep, walking, workout

Could electric trolley buses on Beacon Hill be endangered?

If you live along the northern part of the 36 bus route, you probably know that many of the buses on that route are electric trolley buses. The trolley buses are good neighbors to have around; they are quiet and don’t spew exhaust or contribute to global warming. Currently, Metro is facing a big budget gap, and there have been rumors that this may mean cutting back on electric trolleys or removing them entirely.

In an interview with Seattle Transit Blog, short-term County Executive Kurt Triplett said they have “3 years to make that decision” because the existing trolleys have that much service life remaining. Commenter “serial catowner” posted a skeptical reply:

Having seen some of this stuff go down in my previous life, I can tell you right now you’re in extreme danger of losing the electric trolleys–and getting them back wouldn’t be easy.

The process is disarmingly simple- first, when you ask, they tell you “Nobody’s thinking of that”. And then, suddenly, it’s all “Well, that decision was made long ago, there’s nothing to be done about it now”…

…If they weren’t quietly preparing to jettison the ETBs, Triplett’s answer would have been “No, of course not, we’re not going to lose the only buses we have that can keep running when oil prices go up”.

A follow-up comment from an anonymous “transit voter” struck home:

Serial Catowner has it correct. Just remember the George Benson Waterfront Streetcar Line, how it met its demise. The long knives were out, and they found their mark.

We don’t claim to have any inside knowledge on what Metro’s plans are for the trolleys, and anonymous commenters on a blog are not necessarily reliable, but it seems to us that if you like the electric trolleys that run on Beacon Hill and elsewhere in the city, it would certainly be a very good time to let someone know how you feel. You can email County Exec Triplett at kcexec@kingcounty.gov or use the mailing address and phone number on his website. You can also contact King County Council members Larry Gossett and Dow Constantine, who each serve part of Beacon Hill. Constantine is running for King County Executive, so contacting him with your concerns on this issue may be particularly important.

Tags: 36, bus, metro, rumors, trolleys

Not just good looks: station lights indicate elevator position

Apparently the new lights on the Beacon Hill station that we featured in a photo post the other day are not just for looks. We’re told they have a function, too. The lights are blue when the elevator reaches the street level, then change to purple as the elevator goes down to the platform. If this is true, it makes it easier to see which elevator to stand in front of while waiting for the door to open — as long as it’s dark enough to see them, and if you are not color-blind.

Edited to add: I watched them tonight and the colors constantly change, whether the elevators are moving or not. When an elevator opens, the light over that elevator does turn blue — but it also turns blue randomly when the elevator isn’t even moving. When the elevator closes and goes down again, it does seem to turn purple. But since the colors randomly change, and the blue color change does not come until the doors open, it doesn’t seem very functional. It’s awfully pretty, though!

Tags: beacon hill station, light rail

Night Market and other Saturday events to affect area traffic

If you are planning to leave the Hill on Saturday, you may want to be aware of some nearby events that will affect traffic.

Seattle’s Chinatown-International District Night Market will run from 6:00 pm until 11:00 pm at Hing Hay Park. The market features local vendors with food, gifts, art, and more. There will also be entertainment, games, and the Bruce Lee movie Enter The Dragon at dusk. It’s free and open to the public. Streets in the area will be closed from 3:00 pm until Midnight. Easiest way to get there? Take Link light rail from the Beacon Hill Station to the International District/Chinatown station, then walk two blocks East on South King Street.

The Central Area Community Festival will run from 11:00 am until 9:00 pm at the Garfield Community Playfield, 2223 E Cherry Street. There won’t be any street closures, but you should expect heavy traffic in the surrounding area.

And, lastly, there’s a pre-season football game. The Seahawks will take on the hated Denver Broncos in Qwest Field at 7:30 pm. 45,000 are expected to attend, so avoid the stadium area if you need to drive at that time. Going to the game? Take Link light rail from the Beacon Hill Station to the Stadium station, then walk west, then north, to Qwest Field. It’s hard to miss.

Tags: cd, festival, football, hing hay park, international district, market, traffic alerts

Give it Up: An open letter to my local and state representatives

by Willie Weir

(Editor’s note: this is a guest post by Willie Weir, cross-posted from his blog, Yellow Tent Adventures. Check it out!)

Mayor Nickels–give it up. Seattle City Council members. You too. As well as King County Council members, Governor Gregoire, State representatives and all candidates for the above offices.

I’m talking about your car. For a week. Just a week.

You see, my wife and I answered the call to help the region and the planet by giving up our car over four years ago. With climate change upon us, it was imperative that we transition out of our auto-centric society. Get on the bus. Get on our bikes. Get out and walk.

There were plenty of incentive programs offered by our city and county governments, including the Way to Go Seattle: One Less Car Challenge. We took advantage of the Washington State Vehicle Redistribution Program… our car was stolen. We opted not to replace it.

We were in a good position to give up our car. We don’t have kids. We live on Beacon Hill with frequent bus service (and now light rail). We have stores, restaurants, a library, and a park all within a ten minute walking distance of our house. We both do most of our work from home.

Easy.

OK. Walking up the hill from the grocery store with a 20lb Thanksgiving turkey in an excursion-size backpack wasn’t easy. Waiting outside in a 40 degree drizzle for a bus that never came wasn’t fun. And taking 4 buses and a ferry to get to Sequim wasn’t convenient.

It didn’t take long to understand that for someone who owns a private vehicle, our city and region’s public transportation, bike paths and pedestrian corridors are top notch. Because when it isn’t easy, fun or convenient… you take your car.

When I joined the ranks of the carless, I began an education in how auto-centric our green little region is, and how far we have to go to get to be a truly livable place … for everyone.

How many of my neighbors park their cars across the sidewalk. How cracked and poorly maintained those sidewalks are. How fast the cars fly by on our residential streets. How few cars yield to me in a cross walk. How few bike racks there are outside the businesses I frequent. How poorly signed (or not at all) the bike routes are throughout the city. How terrifying biking can be in downtown Seattle. How little park space we have downtown and how much space we devote to parking.

So many issues and problems invisible to me while driving in my own personal vehicle.

Now I’m asking you all to give up your car. Not for four years. Just seven days.

For seven days live the life that few have chosen and many have no choice but to live.

Believe me, no matter how long you have lived in or served this region, you’ll learn things that will surprise you.

I know I did. And I’ve lived here for 25 years.

The best decisions about transit and neighborhood planning will be made by government officials who have taken the time to live a life without a car as an option.

Give it up.

We’ll all be glad you did.

Sincerely,

Willie Weir
Beacon Hill, Seattle

Tags: bicycles, living carless, pedestrians

Going places on light rail: Mount Baker station

The Mount Baker Station is located just west of Rainier Avenue South, and just south of South McClellan Street. Had it been built 40-some years ago at that site, it might have been called Stadium Station; the former site of Sick’s Stadium, home of the American League Seattle Pilots in 1969 (not to mention the Seattle Rainiers for 40 years), is just across the street. It’s now Lowe’s, and there is a small historical display there. (Here’s a video on YouTube that shows the stadium in its heyday, and later in its decrepitude, before it was demolished in the 1970s. And here’s an old documentary about the Pilots, in two parts, with more footage of the stadium and 1960s Seattle.) Sick’s wasn’t just known for baseball, either — Elvis and Jimi Hendrix, among others, played concerts there.

Thirty years after the stadium’s demise, the area is a relatively automobile-focused district containing fast food and big stores like Lowe’s, Rite Aid, and QFC, mostly surrounded by large parking lots, with cars speeding by on Rainier Avenue. It’s not a pedestrian-friendly environment, but the intent is that the new station, and the potential transit-friendly development it will attract, will improve that.

East of the station rises the imposing neoclassical façade of Franklin High School, which opened in 1912 and was renovated in the late 1980s.

Northeast of Lowe’s on MLK, between South Walker and South Bayview streets, you’ll find the Martin Luther King Junior Memorial Park, a tiered, grassy amphitheatre-like space containing a reflecting pool and a 30-foot-tall granite sculpture by Robert Kelly, inspired by King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech.

There is good eating to be found near the station, even if you have to dodge a few cars to find it. Thai Recipe is located in the same strip mall as Domino’s on McClellan, and it is the only Thai restaurant we know of that even borders on North Beacon Hill. The very friendly staff serves good, reliable, and tasty Thai food, available for take out or to eat in the small dining room.

Perhaps your current craving is for a cheesesteak sandwich instead. If so, there’s The Original Philly’s, almost in the shadow of Mount Baker station at the intersection of Rainier and McClellan.

The art at this station includes chandeliers on the underside of the guideway, made from recycled “cobra head” street lights (Sky Within by Sheila Klein), and painted glass forming splashes of color on the glass face of the station (Rain, Steam and Speed and Seattle Sunrise, both by Guy Kemper);

If you continue on the train toward downtown from Mount Baker, you will then turn west and enter the Beacon Hill tunnel. Here’s a video taken by Oran Viriyincy to give you a taste of what it’s like to ride the train from Mount Baker into the tunnel.

Tags: light rail, light rail station, mount baker

Working into the night to be ready for Saturday

Tags: beacon hill station, light rail station, north beacon

Going places on light rail: Columbia City station

(As the big opening day for light rail is this Saturday, we want to post a bit about the stations that aren’t on Beacon Hill. Much of the coverage of the rail line focuses on using it for commuting to and from work, and many of us will be doing that. But even more than getting to work, Link is going to be useful for visiting places throughout Downtown and Southeast Seattle without a car. With this in mind, we’ve created a few posts about some of the station areas.)

The Columbia City Station is located on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South, just on the western edge of Columbia City. The station site itself is just south of a new development, Rainier Vista, a former public housing site originally built in the 1940s to house defense workers, and recently redeveloped as a multi-income community inspired by New Urbanist principles.

Walk from the south end of the station east on South Edmunds Street, and after about one-third of a mile you’ll emerge on the neighborhood’s main drag, Rainier Avenue South, just south of Southeast Seattle’s only full-time movie theater, the triple-screen Columbia City Cinema. Further north on Rainier is the recently-expanded Columbia Branch Library, a Georgian Revival-style Carnegie Library building from 1915. The library is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The wider Columbia City business district is itself a Seattle Landmark District (one of seven historic districts in the city) as well as a National Register Historic District, and includes a variety of interesting commercial buildings, houses, churches, and apartment buildings. The Seattle.gov website has a Historic Tour of Columbia City that you can print out and follow as you explore the neighborhood.

Restaurants in Columbia City are plentiful and you can choose from cuisines including Caribbean, barbecue, Neapolitan Italian, Ethiopian, Vietnamese, and more. There is also a brewpub, the Columbia City Ale House. (CC Ale House doesn’t actually brew, but they do have a fairly large selection of local and regional microbrews — Ed.)

If you feel the need to eat before walking to the heart of Columbia City, much nearer the station is the Japanese fast-food restaurant Maki & Yaki, serving teriyaki, sushi, bento boxes, and more just north of the MLK and South Alaska intersection.

Like the other light rail stations, Columbia City Station is surrounded by public art, including Victoria Fuller’s Global Garden Shovel, a giant bronze shovel molded with the shapes of fruit and vegetables. In Norie Sato’s Pride, the south plaza of the station is guarded by lions customized to reflect the diversity of the neighborhood. When you are riding the train north from Othello Station to Columbia City, look to your left between Dawson Street and Hudson Street to see Sound of Light, by artist Richard C. Elliott, made of hundreds — perhaps thousands — of reflectors arranged in overlapping, symmetrical patterns. (See this one in both day and night, if you can.)

Tags: columbia city, light rail, light rail station

Going places on light rail: Othello station

(As the big opening day for light rail is this Saturday, we want to post a bit about the stations that aren’t on Beacon Hill. Much of the coverage of the rail line focuses on using it for commuting to and from work, and many of us will be doing that. But even more than getting to work, Link is going to be useful for visiting places throughout Downtown and Southeast Seattle without a car. With this in mind, we’ve created a few posts about some of the station areas.)

The Othello Station is located in a neighborhood on the verge of great change. Though the area currently has a few empty lots and what the Seattle Times recently called “a weary row of shops,” the station is already spurring new transit-oriented development in the area: a 420,000 square foot mixed-use project is breaking ground right next to the new light rail station. The New Holly redevelopment of the former Holly Park public housing project is just up the hill, and the similar Othello Station planned community is next door. The station area bears the weight of heavy expectations, perhaps more than any of the other station locations.

Attractions and destinations nearby include the Chief Sealth Trail, which also comes close to the Rainier Beach Station, Othello Playground, the New Holly library, and the Bumblebee Boxing Club. And while certainly nothing to write home about, this stop brings the nearest Safeway to any of the stations although it’s also quite possibly not going to be a Safeway for terribly much longer. The Rainier Valley Post reports today that the store has a $3 million makeover coming in January.

The public art around the station includes Roger Shimomura’s Rainier Valley Haiku, an exploration of Asian identity and culture in 21st Century America; Brian Goldbloom’s Stormwater Project, granite catchbasins inspired by Japanese stonework; and Augusta Asberry’s Come Dance With Me, in which eight stylized women dance along the edge of MLK in colorful dress.

“Downtown” Othello has a fair number of restaurants to choose from, mostly ethnic food, including the much-loved Tacos El Asadero bus on MLK between South Othello Street and Renton Avenue South. Olympic Express has lamb curry, gyros, and halal meats, along with Asian fast food such as pho and teriyaki. Rose Petals serves up southern food: greens, ox tails, cornbread, and fried chicken, “like fife and drum music for my stomach,” according to one Yelp reviewer.

The Othello Station area will be particularly festive on Link’s opening day, July 18, when a free community festival to celebrate light rail’s arrival will be held at MLK and South Othello Street. There will be food, art, commemorative souvenirs, “Undriver’s Licenses” for everyone, and entertainment including Massive Monkees, the Lion dancers, Big World Breaks, Ruby Shuz, and more.

Updated with new information about the Othello Safeway remodel.

Tags: brighton, light rail, light rail station, othello, othello station, safeway, south beacon

Going places on light rail: Rainier Beach station

(As the big opening day for light rail is this Saturday, we want to post a bit about the stations that aren’t on Beacon Hill. Much of the coverage of the rail line focuses on using it for commuting to and from work, and many of us will be doing that. But even more than getting to work, Link is going to be useful for visiting places throughout Downtown and Southeast Seattle without a car. With this in mind, we’ve created a few posts about some of the station areas.)

The Rainier Beach Station location has an oddly rural appearance, due to its location near the Chief Sealth Trail and the large Thistle Street P-Patch. There is not yet any kind of high density development in this area, and the City Light power lines that rise over the trail and p-patch will prevent those areas from being developed in the future. This area was rural well-within living memory, and in fact, Seattle’s last working farm, Sferra Farm, is fairly close by.

Several blocks to the east is Rainier Avenue and Rainier Beach High School. Another few blocks get you to Beer Sheva Park on the shore of Lake Washington. Just over a mile’s walk south on the Chief Sealth Trail from the station will get you to the famous and lovely Kubota Garden.

Beaconians, still without any pizza restaurants on the hill (unless you count the Domino’s on the very lowest part of the hill on McClellan, but we don’t), might find the Link train to be their pizza express, since the Rainier Beach station is only one long block away from Vince’s, where they’ve been serving pizza and gnocchi and spaghetti for 52 years now. Dinner at Vince’s is like stepping back in time; dark, with Sinatra on the sound system and checkered cloths on the table, it’s a classic old-style Neapolitan-American restaurant, probably not much different from the way it was in 1957. Comfort food doesn’t get much more comfortable than this. (There’s a bar, too.) If Italian food isn’t your thing, there is a taco wagon about half a mile north of the station on MLK.

The station itself, like most of the other Rainier Valley stations, is a platform station. Metal panels by artist Eugene Parnell are embossed with hieroglyphics and other forms of writing and stand throughout the platform. An aluminum creature, “Dragonfly” by Darlene Nguyen-Ely, soars over the north entrance. Nearby is Buster Simpson’s “Parable,” meant to be pear halves that reflect the farming past of the Valley, with cables and rails to symbolize the encroachment by urban Seattle that changed the neighborhood. This, however, is one of the less-successful artworks at the stations, as at a glance, it just looks like a pile of rusty junk left over from the station’s construction. A better evocation of old farming Seattle is just across MLK, where the P-patch farmers continue an old South Seattle tradition.

Tags: chief sealth trail, kubota garden, light rail, light rail station, rainier beach, rainier beach station, rainier valley, vince's

Going places on light rail: Tukwila International Boulevard station

(As the big opening day for light rail is this Saturday, we want to post a bit about the stations that aren’t on Beacon Hill. Much of the coverage of the rail line focuses on using it for commuting to and from work, and many of us will be doing that. But even more than getting to work, Link is going to be useful for visiting places throughout Downtown and Southeast Seattle without a car. With this in mind, we’ve created a few posts about some of the station areas.)

Of all the stations on the Link light rail line, Tukwila International Boulevard Station is the most frustrating, at least, from the perspective of anyone who doesn’t live or work in the area. Of all the stations, it has the fewest neighborhood attractions to visit. What it does have that none of the other stations do is one thing: a 600-space park and ride.

Even Sound Transit’s own promotional materials struggle to find nearby attractions for this station. The Discover Link Neighborhoods Interactive Map gives as this station’s nearby attractions Southcenter Mall (about 1.75 miles away), the Interurban Railroad (historically interesting, but there really isn’t anything left of it to see), and the Museum of Flight, a whopping five miles away on East Marginal Way. (If you really want to see the Museum, and you’re willing to hoof it a bit, don’t take the train to Tukwila — get off at Rainier Beach and walk two and a half miles to the Museum, which is less than a mile away as the crow files, but is on the other side of I-5.) Other “points of interest” mentioned elsewhere by Sound Transit include Fort Dent Park (a couple of miles away) and Boeing Access Road (several miles away near the Museum of Flight, and not an “attraction” per se). In other words, there’s not much there there, near the station itself. We could all use a little more walking, but if you are willing to take the train to Tukwila only to walk 5 miles to get to the Museum of Flight, you’re a more intrepid walker than I.

What there is to see at this particular station is the station itself. Larger than most of the other stations, its design is big, glassy and modern. The roof soars above the station at an angle for takeoff, and the tracks elevated high in the sky make you think of a monorail instead of an earth-bound light rail.

Like the other Sound Transit stations, Tukwila has its share of art, including a giant milk drop caught in mid-splash, A Drop of Sustenance, and a huge brightly-colored molecule, Molecule of Tukwila, both by Tad Savinar. Outside the station grounds, though, there is not much art, but instead a suburban auto-oriented highway-strip neighborhood of the type that grows up around all old highways (in this case, it was formerly part of US 99, then SR 99): a gas station, McDonalds, KFC, a former casino, a Pancake Chef, bars and strip clubs populate the strip. There are nearby halal grocery shops, and a post office that stays open until late at night to accept your packages. Until the SeaTac Airport station opens in December, there will also be a shuttle bus waiting here to get you to the airport.

Ben Schiendelman commented recently on one of my photos of this station that “It’s a terrible place for a station this year, but not in 20 years. And it’ll be around for 150…” With luck we won’t need to wait that long for a reason to visit.

Tags: light rail, light rail station, tukwila

Rollover accident at Beacon & Spokane

Earlier this evening, around 8pm, there was a radio report of a blocking injury accident in the 3600 block of Beacon Ave S. We couldn’t make it out there to check it out ourselves, but Joel Lee did and sends in this report and photo:

As far as I can tell everyone is fine, but there was just a roll-over accident on the corner of Beacon and Spokane. They are still cleaning it up and traffic is moving through the area except for part of Spokane which is still shut down.

Thanks for the report, Joel!

Tags: accident