In 2009, King County finally received the backbone of a mature transit system: Sound Transit's Link Light Rail. Right now most people know it as the "downtown to airport train." But it's more than that. What does Link Light Rail mean for you?
No More Cabs to the Airport
Until 2009, the options for getting to SeaTac airport from Seattle were either bumming a car ride from a friend, $32 cab fare, or hauling your luggage onto a bumpy and crowded bus. Now there’s a sleek, frequent, and smooth transportation option in the Link Light Rail. Westlake to the Airport takes barely half an hour and costs a mere $2.50. If you live anywhere close to a Light Rail station, this is a no-brainer.
The Old Ballgame
Getting to Qwest and Safeco Fields has always been fraught with jam-packed roadways and highway-robbery parking rates. Now coming from the south is made much easier by Light Rail’s frequency, high capacity, and avoiding street traffic altogether. Indeed, before the opening of the airport station, Sounders and Seahawks games were the most popular use of the new system. And by summer 2010, a beautiful new walkway will let you walk right over the traffic from the Stadium station to Safeco. Now you can re-direct that $30 parking fee towards some outrageously priced hot dogs.
Re-Discovering Columbia City
Of all of Seattle’s great neighborhoods, Columbia City flies lowest under the radar. No longer. Once a miserably long bus ride (usually multiple connections) or a slog on the freeway if there was any significant traffic, Columbia City is now reconnected to the cultural life of the city. Its restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries, and theatres, once pretty much the exclusive domain of its residents, are now only a 15-minute train ride away. The New York Times recently profiled the neighborhood for out-of-towners, let the Light Rail help you discover it before the tourists do.
Time to Get an ORCA Card
By the beginning 2010 all Puget Sound area transit agencies will be incorporated into one sleek payment system with the ORCA Card. You can still, of course, pay for a single-shot bus or ferry ride with cash, but the ORCA card will make your life infinitely simpler. One card can act as an “e-purse,” letting you add and use cash through the card as well as a unlimited-use pass. So attractive is the unified system that more transit agencies are joining, including Everett and Bellingham, and there are even discussions of Eastern Washington and Idaho participating.
Next Steps
Okay, the airport and the stadiums. That's swell, you say. But what about Northgate? West Seattle? The Eastside? Connecting Tacoma to the airport? The good news is that light rail is coming to all of these. The bad news is that it’s going to take a while. The “University Link” will extend the line through Capitol Hill to the University District, and will open in 2016. The “North Link” will extend through Northgate and Lynnwood all the way to Everett, and will open in 2023. There are also “South” and “East” Links planned and budgeted for connecting to Tacoma, Bellevue, and Redmond, but dates on construction are not set. There has been no public authorization of funds for an extension to West Seattle, but it is a stated priority for both the incoming mayor and the city council.
In short, there’s a lot that Link Light Rail can do for you right now. But the best is yet to come.
Now we just need someone to come up with a great nickname.