In September, Ray Delahanty of CityNerd made a visit to his hometown, Seattle, to ride Link light rail and share some takeaways from the Northgate station area. Delahanty found Link to be highly competitive travel time wise with driving to points south, but real challenges with its Northgate station, a station plopped next to a large mall complex and massive freeway. The station’s walkshed is complicated by the existence of these and all the accoutrements that go with them: wide streets oriented around cars, limited I-5 crossing opportunities, and low permeability through nearby blocks. But it does have good transit connections and Thornton Place as well as some big development plans, new projects going in, and some other things going for it. Delahanty offers an excellent open-eyed view of the good and bad of this station and what can be learned from freeway-adjacent rail. Delahanty also got a chance to meet up with fans for a bike ride along Lake Washington Boulevard and drinks in Hillman City at Machine House Brewery.
Stephen is a professional urban planner in Puget Sound with a passion for sustainable, livable, and diverse cities. He is especially interested in how policies, regulations, and programs can promote positive outcomes for communities. With stints in great cities like Bellingham and Cork, Stephen currently lives in Seattle. He primarily covers land use and transportation issues and has been with The Urbanist since 2014.