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Sunday Video: One Way to Speed Up Light Rail South of the CID

Stephen Fesler - March 16, 2025

For years, transit proponents have pitched ideas to improve reliability and speed of Link light rail south of Chinatown-International District. The circuitous, slow, and often dangerous at-grade section through the Rainier Valley has consistently been the Achilles heel of the network. That’s led to groups like Seattle Subway to back the idea of building a speedy light rail bypass via the Duwamish Valley to the west and even yours truly suggesting a variation on the idea through the Rainier Valley. In this video, The House of Transit digs into what a bypass could look like.

The Case for Improved Light Rail in Rainier Valley
It almost seems like every other week these days you hear about another light rail-involved collision in Rainier Valley. And the reason for why is obvious: at-grade running trains cross more than a dozen intersections on Martin Luther King, Jr. Way S. Each of those crossings introduce risk for collisions with people walking, rolling, biking, … Continue reading The Case for Improved Light Rail in Rainier Valley