What had been billed as a "small community event" turned into a major party Wednesday as hundreds of transit fans converged on Sound Transit's newest light rail station in North Seattle to celebrate its grand opening. Pinehurst Station, perched over I-5 near NE 130th Street, is the agency's first infill station, a stop added along an existing line.
"It was a joyous occasion with people walking, biking, and rolling to check out their new mobility option, including many arriving on King County Metro's new Route 77, which provides a direct and convenient connection to the station," Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine said the following day at a board committee meeting.
Sound Transit had undeniably treated the opening of Pinehurst Station as a subdued affair, in the wake of full line openings where the agency pulled out all the stops. Unlike past major light rail openings, the start of service happened on a weekday, meeting the agency's promise of getting the station open in the third quarter of the year. A ribbon cutting occurred the night before, separating the elected officials celebrating the station from the throngs of riders checking it out.
Just one food truck was on hand to provide sustenance for hundreds, at a station that is fairly isolated from other restaurants, and the Sound Transit pop-up shop on hand selling custom Pinehurst merch started running out of inventory fairly quickly.
But none of that seemed to faze transit lovers who converged on the station plaza by the hundreds, with many standing in an epic line that stretched back to 130th Street for a chance to win a Boop collectible. (Don't know Boop? You've been missing out.)
Other attendees listened to live music or participated in art making activities with Romson Bustillo, the very same artist who created the artwork adorning Pinehurst Station – porcelain enamel paintings that wrap around the side of the building into its main entrance from 130th. Bustillo's booth was popular with kids who could make their own art projects to take home as souvenirs.
But most who stopped by were there to check out the station itself, which had originally not been set to open until 2031, moved up in order to take advantage of the ability to do work concurrently with the broader Lynnwood Link extension. While that line ultimately beat Pinehurst to a ribbon-cutting by more than two years, the ability to do work before that happened ultimately saved riders headaches in addition to being cheaper for Sound Transit.
As Sound Transit's festival wrapped up, a group of around 50 joined for The Urbanist's walking tour of the neighborhood. The tour used the Jackson Park Perimeter Trail to explore the fenced edge of the golf course, before turning south on 15th Avenue NE to visit the fledgling business district. The tour turned back toward the station via NE 125th Street to take in the new protected bike lane and roundabout intersection with Roosevelt Way.
Along the way, James Wu and Shirley Leung of EcoCity Action told tour participants about their group's campaign to reimagine Jackson Park Golf Course. One core idea: making it possible for people to walk through the 160-acre park and get more use out it, such as by adding picnic areas or soccer pitches or basketball courts. Some have even proposed housing, although that's not part of the current campaign given obstacles like zoning and restrictions on reusing park land.
Pinehurst organizer Renee Staton recounted the history of local grassroots advocacy that forced the station into agency plans and accelerated its timeline. Staton said most of her neighbors support the City's plan to upzone Pinehurst's single family areas to allow more housing, and she's pushing to move up the timeline ahead of delayed Comprehensive Plan changes.
Pinehurst has attracted attention for its price tag – $240 million, up from an initial 2020 estimate of $144 million – and its adjacent land use, primarily single-family homes, I-5, and a large, city-owned golf course. One-term Sammamish councilmember (and talk radio host) John Curley called the station a "a total waste of money" and asserted its construction was "criminal."
On the low end, Pinehurst is expected to see around 1,100 daily riders, increasing to as many as 4,200 as Sound Transit fully builds out its light rail network, and the City of Seattle hopefully brings in some additional residential density onto the surrounding blocks.
While Seattle urbanists would certainly love to see Pinehurst embedded into a highrise district, that's not what exists between Northgate and South Shoreline today. When so often the argument around adding density comes up, a lack of infrastructure is cited as a reason to back away, and yet when the infrastructure comes first, it becomes a waste of money.
As far as costs go, it's undeniable that the station is pricey. But as an infill station along an elevated line, $240 million is a steal relative to other Sound Transit projects, only a little more than the at-grade Graham Street infill station in the Rainier Valley at $214 million. The elevated Boeing Access Road Station in Tukwila, so expensive that it was not able to fit into Sound Transit's newly aligned ST3 plan after adjustments were made to account for a $34.5 billion shortfall, is expected to cost as much as $475 million.
One of the biggest value adds right now from Pinehurst come from its ability to act as a bus transfer spot, easier for Metro to access from neighborhoods like Lake City and Bitter Lake than either Shoreline South or Northgate. NE 130th Street, being remade right now by the Seattle Department of Transportation to feature protected bike lanes connecting right with the station, is much improved from its state just a few years ago.
Haters going to hate, but ultimately allowing riders in 2026 to access Pinehurst Station, years ahead of schedule, is a major win for transit in Puget Sound. And the crowds that turned out Wednesday to celebrate the day are a testament to that fact.
Doug Trumm
