Sound Transit looks to improve deadly MLK route; future designs will be aerial or tunnel guideways

An advocacy group leader says an urban gondola system would be up sooner and cost less than a light-rail system.

A dangerous route has Sound Transit changing its design stance on future light-rail projects. Well, for the most part anyway.

The transit agency has decided that future projects will be aerial or tunnel guideways instead of running them at street level. Sound Transit, however, added under some circumstances with required studies at-grade systems would be allowed at the agency’s discretion.

At the center of the change is the Martin Luther King Jr. Way route, which is Sound Transit’s most dangerous line. On average, every 45 days light-rail trains and vehicles collide on the MLK corridor, and about 80% of collisions happen on the south end of the line. Most accidents are due to vehicles making unauthorized left turns across the tracks. Since the line became active in 2009, nine people along MLK have been killed, including a fatal accident involving a couple last July.

Seattle Councilmember Tammy Morales asked the agency to create a written plan on how the MLK route would be safer moving forward. Safety upgrades are currently being discussed. Sound Transit is considering separating the at-grade sections of track, lowering train speeds, and adding overpasses.

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