CITY COUNCIL MEMBER Nick Licata cast the lone vote last week against a council resolution encouraging Sound Transit to keep a proposed light-rail station on First Hill, noting that the full budget impact of the station could top $1 billion. The Sound Transit board will consider eliminating the station from its proposed line at its meeting this Thursday, July 28.
While the $350 million station would serve 9,500 riders daily, according to Sound Transit estimates, making it one of the most heavily used stops on the Sea-Tac–to–Husky Stadium line, Licata says that number includes just 200 riders who aren't currently using transit, which would "knock Seattle Transit out of qualifying" for $650 million in federal funding needed to complete the line. (On the other hand, new transit systems always poach riders from other forms of transit, such as Metro buses, opening up seats for new Metro users.) That $650 million, plus the $350 million it could cost to build the station, could bring the total fiscal ramifications of the station to $1 billion—more than Sound Transit can pay for without a new tax. Even if Sound Transit gets the federal dollars, Licata says, building the First Hill station would require a sales-tax increase of 0.2 percent.
Even Licata acknowledges, however, that there are legitimate reasons to build a station in the First Hill area. According to the First Hill Improvement Association, the community includes 21,000 university and hospital staff and 15,000 students, and has a car-ownership rate of just 50 percent. The neighborhood is also one of the densest along the line.
