Sound Transit's Northgate Link Could Kill University District Farmer's Market

By David Gould

The University District Farmer's Market may close if Sound Transit chooses a cheap route to Northgate. Chris Curtis.

The decision won't be easy. "It is a political choice," said Mary Jo Porter, deputy light rail director of Sound Transit. "They (the routes) have different impacts."

The proposed extension will cost from $355 to $440 million depending on the route selected.

That price tag is in addition to the nearly $2 billion cost of the planned 21 mile Central Link light-rail line, which will run from SeaTac Airport to Northeast 45th Street in the University District.

The five proposed routes are the 12th Avenue tunnel, the Roosevelt Way tunnel, and three 8th Avenue elevated alignments.

Chris Curtis, director of the University District Farmer's Market at University Heights Center, supports the 12th Avenue tunnel route. The Roosevelt Way tunnel and the three 8th Avenue alignments could close the farmer's market for several years in order to permit Sound Transit to use the University Heights Center parking lot as a construction staging area, which would include the excavation of a big hole in the parking lot to remove tunnel spoils. The 12th Avenue tunnel route would use the QFC on Roosevelt for construction staging and spoils removal.

Curtis admits she is afraid of how the other alternatives may affect the operation of the farmer's market, which Curtis said is essential to the livelihood of many local farmers. Curtis said closure of the University District Farmer's Market would also affect operation of two other farmer's markets in Seattle: the Columbia City and West Seattle markets. Curtis runs all three through a non-profit organization; the proceeds from the University District market support the other two newly established markets.

People should know, says Curtis, that the effect of closing this market trickles down to Columbia City and West Seattle.

Jeff Miller, the owner and operator of Willie Green's Organic Farm in Monroe, said the University District Farmer's Market represents 20 percent of his business. Miller and other market farmers are collecting signatures for a petition supporting an alignment that does not close the University Heights parking lot.

And Sound Transit's introduction of a third 8th Avenue alternative, a shallow ditch that parallels I-5, may challenge the loyalty of Roosevelt neighbors to the farmer's market. The ditch, which is the cheapest alternative, may spare the market but would cost Roosevelt neighbors their homes.

Opponents of the elevated alternatives say they would block views and would not serve the Roosevelt district, though they would provide better access for the Green Lake neighborhood.

Others say the 12th Avenue tunnel route is necessary for the survival of the Roosevelt business district and because it will cause the least environmental and property impacts.

"I like the 12th Avenue alignment assuming we can find the financing," said Greg Nickels, member of the King County Council and vice-chair of the Sound Transit board. The 8th Avenue alternatives have significant impacts, said Nickels, "about a block of homes (would be removed) near the Ravenna exit."

Nickels hopes the other Sound Transit board members will visit the Roosevelt business district to see what a positive impact the 12th Avenue tunnel route would have on the area.

Sound Transit estimates that more than 20,000 riders per day would be added with the extension. By 2020, total ridership would be more than 156,000 per day.

And that would cut back on the need for single-occupancy cars, said Penny Eckert, president of the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association and supporter of the 12th Avenue route.

The 8th Avenue route, said Eckert, "is a drive-to station; it would increase vehicle density and decrease the pedestrian-friendly areas we are trying to develop."

Sound Transit's 18-member board will vote on a route on July 27.

Sound Transit's Five Routes from the U-District to Northgate

The 12th Avenue tunnel is the most popular alignment among members of the Roosevelt Neighbors Alliance, the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association and the U-District community as well as patrons of the farmer's market. The tunnel would run under 12th Avenue Northeast and the Lake City ramps and surface at Northeast 76th Street. The station would be underground at Northeast 65th Street and 12th Avenue Northeast. This route may have the most community support, but it would require the purchase of a QFC property for construction staging. At $420 million, this is the second most expensive route.

The Roosevelt Way tunnel would run under Roosevelt Way Northeast and surface at Northeast 76th Street. The station would be underground at Northeast 65th Street and Roosevelt Way. This route would require use of the University Heights Center parking lot for construction staging, closing the farmer's market for at least two years. At $440 million, this is the most expensive route.

All three 8th Avenue alternatives would follow the same route underground to a portal just south of Ravenna Boulevard. Each of the routes would then rise to an elevated track near Ravenna Boulevard and travel to an elevated station near I-5 and Northeast 65th Street. All routes return to at-grade travel at about Northeast 76th Street. Each of the 8th Avenue routes could close the University Heights Center farmer's market and would require acquisition and demolition of homes near the Ravenna portal.

* 8th Avenue Elevated, under Lake City ramps: This route would drop and tunnel under the Lake City ramps to Northeast 76th Street. Cost is $370 million.

* 8th Avenue Elevated, over Lake City ramps: This route would travel on an elevated track over the Lake City ramps to Northeast 76th Street. Cost is $360 million.

* 8th Avenue Elevated, retained cut (a shallow ditch) along I-5: This route would drop into a retained cut along the I-5 freeway and 8th Avenue Northeast from Northeast 67th Avenue to Northeast 77th Avenue. At $355 million, this is the cheapest route.

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