Sound Transit plans to elevate or bury future light rail routes rather than run them along the street. This design choice comes 20 years after the transit agency laid down track in the middle of 4.5 miles of Martin Luther King Jr. Way, making that segment the most dangerous in the system.
“In general, future projects are to be designed as aerial or tunnel guideways,” said John Gallagher, a spokesperson for Sound Transit, in an email. “For projects not currently under construction or in planning, Link light rail crossings will be grade separated moving forward.”
A Central District mural of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that was crudely defaced over MLK Day weekend is expected to be restored in coming weeks with the help of the community, the mural’s original artist said on Wednesday, Jan. 19.
The iconic mural of Martin Luther King Jr. was first put up in 1995 at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr Way and East Cherry Street, on the exterior wall of the building that’s now home to Fat’s Chicken and Waffles. The artwork has since become a landmark and source of inspiration to many in the historical heart of Seattle’s Black community.
