Comment: How to make Link light rail work in downtown Everett

Published 1:30 am Saturday, December 13, 2025

By John Stewart and Paul Byron Crane / For The Herald

The Sound Transit board needs to step back and consider what a successful extension of light rail to Everett would look like.

The point of providing light rail directly to downtown Everett is to make its downtown a regional transit destination, improving economic vitality, housing and the pedestrian environment. This has been the policy of the past mayors of Everett for the last four administrations, from Ed Hansen to Cassie Franklin.

Everett and Sound Transit should not miss the opportunity to provide regional access to downtown Everett, while connecting downtown with Everett Station, the feeder buses serving it, and the new Station District development expected nearby, and current and future sports facilities. Sound Transit should evaluate alternatives and budgets based on whether they promote Everett as a regional destination that benefits from the billions we’ve invested in the system.

The City of Redmond provides an excellent example of how to use light rail to create such a regional transit destination. Feet First has conducted walking audits of station areas along the new Link 2 Line through Bellevue and Redmond. We were particularly impressed seeing how the new station in downtown Redmond had catalyzed a happy convergence of new housing and retail and fostered integration between downtown and Redmond Town Center.

Some things we liked:

• Redmond has upgraded streets and trails to create a walking-centric environment.

• Dense downtown housing and retail has flourished in the station area.

• Station parking is accommodated outside the downtown area at Marymoor Park.

• The rail line that was once a physical barrier is now a focus and connection between the shopping center and downtown.

All these factors make the station area a great place to walk, live and work. We were excited to see such a positive outcome, which only occurred due to thoughtful planning and a shared vision between all the constituencies that needed to collaborate to get it done.

Feet First has also surveyed the areas proposed for stations in downtown Everett, where we saw similar opportunities to improve the pedestrian environment and integrate the traditional downtown with areas near Everett Station where development is expected.

The current direction for the Everett Link Extension project would end the Link line near Everett Station, separated from the traditional downtown by steep grades and heavy traffic. Although the original vision for Link light rail was to connect Seattle, Bellevue, Everett and Tacoma, in practice Sound Transit has treated Everett and Tacoma as park-and-ride lots serving commute trips to Seattle rather than as key destinations in and of themselves.

Feet First believes downtown Everett needs to be a destination, not a park-and-ride on the way to Seattle. Link should help connect the older and newer parts of Everett to function as a single growing downtown.

How could that happen?

• Include stations in Downtown Everett, Everett Station and the new baseball and soccer stadium.

• Lower costs by transitioning from the separated rail line to running at grade on east-west street rights-of-way. There is no need for full grade separation at the end of the line, and streetcar operation would enhance the downtown street environment.

Unlike Redmond, which is a relatively short light rail extension in the best-funded Sound Transit subarea, Everett and Tacoma are much longer lines and money is tight. This may help explain why Sound Transit has only seen fit to locate a single station in the downtown Everett area, a constraint made more severe as Sound Transit unit costs have ballooned recently.

This opportunity is a onetime chance to get it right, it may not come again, Everett and Sound Transit should not miss the opportunity to make downtown Everett a walkable regional destination.

John Stewart is board president for Feet First. Byron Crane serve on Feet First’s policy committee Feet First is a statewide organization advocating for making Washington state walkable. Feet First strives to make walking safe, accessible, and enjoyable for all Washingtonians.