Don’t grab the dog and your running shoes just yet.  It’s a new week and a new wrinkle for the BNSF tracks that run by our neighborhood.  Just shortly after we were told the tracks between Renton and Woodinville would be ripped out and a trail would be built to connect with the Sammamish River Trail and the Burke Gilman Trail, there are a few new issues with the plan.  So here is the latest:

If the rails stay, then King county is not interested in developing an interim trail.  Accordingly to an article in Seattle PI on the 30th of November, Ron Sims wants the tracks gone.  Some of the Port of Seattle commissioners have a different view.  Commissioner Fisken wants to see the tracks remain, other commissioners feel the issue is not resolved as of yet. 

For Ron Sims, the issue is resolved.  He is ready to pull the county out of the deal if the tracks remain.  His goal is to build a trail over the existing tracks, since the projected cost is $44 million.  If trails are built alongside the tracks, the cost quadruples, going up to $160-230 million dollars.  The county is not interested in either the cost or the liability of running the trail alongside an active rail line. Sims has given the Port of Seattle a deadline of December 7th to determine whether the tracks will be removed.  If the tracks are not to be removed, the deal between the port and the county will be off.

Some commissioners feel it may still be viable to build the trail even if the county pulls out.

 Various community members have weighed in with their opinions about the trail vs. rail.  The bicycle enthusiasts have one view and others have differing thoughts.  I share similar views with the trail boosters.  I would love to see the trail. It would be such a fabulous addition to our already wonderful location.  What a terrific thing to be able to walk for miles along a paved trail which would take you either north or south.   I, too, wonder about the cost for stations, bridges, and parking facilities.  The costs quoted in some other blogs seems to leave some of the other costs out of their analysis.

 What are your thoughts on the latest wrinkles to the plan?  Here’s hoping we have something definitive on December 7th!  Let me see, how many years has this been going on….?