In a blow to supporters of a new Chinatown International District (CID) light rail station on 4th Avenue, Sound Transit shared results of studies that cast doubt on the feasibility of building a new CID light rail station there, during its November 14 board meeting.
Further confusing and dismaying CID advocates, the agency also shared study results for a potential 5th Avenue station – an option that was unanimously rejected by the neighborhood in the last few years due to projected significant impacts on the neighborhood, and an option many believed Sound Transit was no longer considering.
“We were somewhat surprised to see the 5th Avenue Diagonal Alternative subject to referral studies, as this board has concluded during the initial DEIS [Draft Environmental Impact Statement] discussion, any 5th Avenue alternative poses significant unmitigable risks to a low income immigrant BIPOC community,” said Kathleen Barry Johnson, Executive Director of Historic South Downtown, during public comment at Sound Transit’s November 21 meeting.
The conclusions Sound Transit shared at the November 14 meeting were the results of further studies of the CID station options that the Sound Transit board requested in 2023. The studies looked at how to reduce construction times and impact on the community for the new stations.
In March 2023, the Board selected “preferred alternatives” including a “South of CID” station, now named the Dearborn Street Preferred Alternative, and “North of CID” station, known as the Midtown Station. At the same time, the Board called for further study of a 4th Avenue station, and did not officially rule out a 5th Avenue station, although King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci, chair of the Sound Transit Expansion Committee, called 5th Avenue “culturally infeasible” at the time. “We all agree, every one of the board members here has agreed that that is not an option we’re going to choose,” Balducci said in 2023.
“I’m ashamed, frustrated, angry about the seeming indifference of Sound Transit, the King County Council, to the needs of the Chinatown International District,” said Connie So, president of OCA Asian Pacific Advocates of Greater Seattle, and a teaching professor at the University of Washington, during public comment at a November 21 meeting. “We seem to have an understanding, and then you do something underhanded.”
“The institution that a lot of Chinese have contributed to in America, the railroads, is the same institution trying to kick out our neighborhood,” So continued. “Wasn’t it already decided that it’s not going to be 5th Avenue? Why make us go through a whole choice between North, South and 4th Avenue that could have divided our neighborhood?”
Sound Transit had consultants and an expert panel look at construction methods, and new ideas for how to construct the 4th Avenue station with shorter construction time and impacts on the neighborhood. They also reviewed the Dearborn Street Preferred Alternative, which would have station entrances at Dearborn and 6th Avenue and at Seattle Boulevard and 6th Avenue, south of Uwajimaya and close to the Inscape building, as well as a 5th Avenue Shallow Diagonal Alternative
The studies found that 4th Avenue would take between 10 and 12 years to construct, but would face complex challenges, including limited construction access, poor soil conditions, and proximity to the BNSF Railway.
An expert panel found that fully closing 4th Avenue for four years could reduce construction times by 3 and a half years, but “would likely result in substantially greater traffic and transit detours into CID and Pioneer Square neighborhoods,” according to Sound Transit.
The process would include demolishing and rebuilding the 4th Avenue viaduct while excavating the tunnel, in stages. The expert panel suggested the “pipe box” method of constructing the tunnel could largely avoid the need to rebuild the viaduct, and reduce construction duration. However, building a tunnel of this length has never been achieved using this method, thus “posing substantial risk.”
David A. Peters, a consultant for Sound Transit, said during the November 14 meeting that he initially saw “much merit” for a 4th Avenue station because it could serve as a regional transport hub.
But the greatest challenge, he said, comes with building so close to the busy BNSF Railroad, which would require Sound Transit to follow strict requirements from BNSF about when they can build, and what methods they can use to protect the tracks. BNSF could also shut down work at any time. While the agency suggested ways to address BNSF’s requirements, substantial risks could jeopardize the project, and could prolong construction beyond the 10 to 12 years estimated.
“I’ve concluded that the railroad-related risks here are huge, and they cannot be managed and mitigated without excessive cost and schedule impacts,” said Peters. “In essence, I believe that this alternative is not reasonably constructable.”
By contrast, Sound Transit found that the Dearborn Street Preferred Alternative would take 6 to 7 years to construct, and the 5th Avenue Shallow Diagonal Alternative would take 5 to 6 years to construct, “including prioritizing minimizing business displacements, minimizing effects to historic buildings and avoiding effects to the Historic Chinatown Gate.” The 5th Avenue station would be located across the street from the existing light rail station, beneath 5th Ave and 6th. Sound Transit would protect the Historic Chinatown Gate, demolish buildings within the construction area, and spend three to four years digging the tunnel and building the station.
Sound Transit board members did not make a decision during the meeting. Sound Transit will publish the Ballard Link Extension Draft Environmental Impact Statement in 2025. This will be followed by a public comment period, after which the Board may take action to confirm or modify the preferred alternative.
Board members acknowledged that the CID station location is deeply important for the community.
“We are hearing almost religiously from community members that have a lot of concerns about the preferred alternative, and I think everyone in the room is trying to do right by a gem of our city which is the Chinatown International District,” said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell during the meeting.
Board member Balducci said the studies provided valuable information for the board and the public. She favored building on 4th Avenue if possible, while acknowledging the risks Sound Transit found. “I think if we at all can do it, we should build a hub right here in the CID,” she said during the meeting. “We should build a hub here where our three lines come together because it is our only opportunity to put that into this regional system. And that would convey benefits to all the riders throughout the region, to have that hub. In addition, it’s beneficial to the neighborhood right here for people to be able to access the entire system.”
“My goal as we go forward with all of this information is to know that we have turned over all the rocks, and when we make a decision we can feel good that we know what we can and cannot do,” Balducci said. “And we are getting closer with all this information.”
Supporters of 4th Avenue and the CID spoke out at a Sound Transit meeting on November 21 the week after Sound Transit announced its study results, calling on the board to remove 5th Avenue as an option.
Building a 5th Avenue station “would take away one third of Chinatown, and also appropriate land from marginalized people of color,” said Amy Chen Lozano, a board member of OCA Asian Pacific Advocates of Greater Seattle. “Stop studying it – if it’s truly off the table, take it off the table.”
Betty Lau, co-founder of Transit Equity for All, said she spoke for some 1300 seniors who live in the neighborhood who would face significant challenges if 5th Avenue station was constructed, including “barriers to getting around the neighborhood, haul trucks, road blocks, ditches torn up, streetscapes, limited access Hing Hay park, planks in the way of wheelchair walkers and cane users….Longterm street closures, blocking emergency vehicles from coming in and transporting seniors to life saving emergency room care…cutting off access to and relocating health clinic shops and restaurants seniors depend on for culturally appropriate health care, goods and foods.”
Paul Wu, an architect and designer of the Historic Chinatown Gate, said a 4th Avenue station would create a transit hub in the neighborhood and would be vital for people who visit the neighborhood to visit family or for cultural reasons. “It was claimed that the Fourth Avenue option is difficult to build, but just remember, if we can send a man to the moon, we can do this,” Wu said.
