SDOT Recommends Tunneling under Queen Anne but not including a Queen Anne station

[pnwguy2]

While these ideas are fun to talk about, they are well into the future. Right now, I am happy that construction of the Northgate line is well underway, but even that is years from completion.

Deep bore tunnels connecting to a station on upper QA are just not realistic. And way too expensive. If, and when, the route is connected to Ballard, I would expect a lower QA station and next stop Ballard. That makes the most sense, IMO.

[CrazyDonkey]

Have they done a feasibility study on an Upper QA LR station? Not all areas on the hill are equally as high. Yes, the cost would be high, but so would the benefits. You can't just look at Upper QA in isolation, but have to include that a Fremont Station would also be included. Both stations would be destinations, not just points of origination, for travel. So far, ST has gone where the riders are - it would have been much cheaper to just go out Eastlake, for instance.

On the other hand, to appease Upper QA residents, they could rebuild the Counter Balance (or suitable vintage cable car replacement), reconnecting Lower and Upper QA (restoring why there is a Lower and Upper in the first place). Hopefully they wouldn't need the bales of hay at the foot of QA Ave, like in the old days, in case a streetcar lost its grip...

[pnwguy2]

That is funny, CrazyDonkey.

It is interesting to watch light rail develop in the Seattle area. The first huge connection was downtown to Sea-Tac, now we can get ready for downtown to Northgate, via University District and Roosevelt. If someone had told me 40 years ago we would have this type of mass-transit in the northend I would have scoffed. But it is becoming reality, sure as sh_t.

Wait, 40 years? I guess I would have expected that afterall! Time does indeed compress as one gets older.

[CrazyDonkey]

Hay bales not shown...