Light Rail Disruption Jan. 13 – Feb. 4

Those of you who use the light rail out of the U District or UW stations to travel north or south should prepare for a month of disruptions and curtailed service. Didn’t this just happen last summer? some might ask. Why yes, a disembodied digital voice might answer. But now, according to the Times, Sound Transit workers will be correcting a 1/8” gap between light rail wheels and track width along a 500’ span of track in the heart of the currently modest system (Seattle has a long tradition of poor transit track planning, as some will recall that the downtown transit tunnel was closed for an extended period of time so that the pre-installed rail tracks could be ripped up to correctly accommodate the light rail that was eventually realized).

Wallingford, of course, does not have a light rail stop or station in our ‘hood, nor are there plans to build one in Wallyhood’s foreseeable lifespan. But I’ve found that a short walk to the U District station directly east off NE 45^th on Brooklyn is a nice choice for getting to Cap Hill, downtown locations, or the stadium district. Some might choose the Burke-Gilman to get a walk in from Wallingford or Fremont to board at the UW station.

Light rail service will be reduced beginning Saturday, January 13^th, through Sunday, February 4^th. While trains will continue to run, some planning will be necessary to reach certain locations and additional time should be built in to your itinerary. Details of the service changes can be found here.