Among all the Link light rail extensions unleashed by Sound Transit 3 (ST3) lurks a weakest link: the Purple Line to Issaquah. But we can fix that.
It starts and ends at a parking lot.
If it were built as currently planned, its Issaquah terminus would be one mile away from its city center and almost 4.5 miles away from the Issaquah Highlands. With its current routing, the Purple Line is set to become yet another compromise in favor of the Eastside’s currently car-oriented landscape. That’s arguably because the Purple Line is public transport designed for now. Sound Transit spending a few billion dollars building a light rail to the low-rise “downtown” of Issaquah is simply not feasible at the present day. But to the park-and-rides with wide, glamorous parking spaces for hundreds of cars? Maybe.
Regardless, it’s important to first note that both Issaquah expects its population to grow by over 17,000 people by the time the Purple Line opens in 2041. Much of the growth is likely to be accommodated by dense mixed-use development, a stark contrast to existing land use patterns. The Purple Line designed for today simply will not fit the Issaquah from the tomorrow. It would have insufficient connections to central areas and is a missed opportunity to transit-centered living.
So instead of pouring billions into a Purple Line that’s only half-completed, let’s design one that accommodates future growth and the people that growth brings. It’s important to start planning early for this proposed extension so that the cities can grow into and around light rail.
First stop: Gilman at 7th Ave NW and NW Gilman Blvd. Gilman Station builds upon the City of Issaquah’s plans (Central Issaquah Plan) for the area around the station to be part of Issaquah Valley, the city’s new mixed-use urban core. The City is working to zone the surrounding area as higher-density, mixed-use development. Light rail works in perfect harmony with that dense development: residents can enjoy a more walkable immediate neighborhood while light rail connects them with destinations further afield so they can ditch cars altogether. The key here is access: optimally, transit should be located within a half mile of all residents; this holds especially true in a car-dominated suburb like Issaquah where easy access to transit needs to be seriously considered in order to get residents out of their cars. Hence, Gilman Station can work together with Central Issaquah Station (about a mile away) to improve accessibility and promote denser, transit-oriented development (TOD).
