"Vision Line" Offers Solutions for Seattle's Eastside Rail Corridor

Mike Wussow

In case you missed it, the Bellevue Reporter newspaper, which covers the city of Bellevue on Seattle's Eastside, had a good article recently about an innovative proposal -- supported by Cascadia Center -- to make use of the BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) corridor in a way that protects homes and businesses in Bellevue's booming downtown core.

The proposal, "Vision Line," is the brainchild of Bellevue Council member Kevin Wallace. According to the article, he says it will match the ridership numbers projected by other ideas and do so "at a much lower cost."

The Vision Line aims to protect residential homes and downtown businesses. But it adds another option to a growing list of alternatives for Sound Transit's East Link light rail project.

Council member Wallace's "Vision Line" includes an artist's rendering (above) showing what a downtown Bellevue station that brings light rail along the abandoned BNSF line might look like. Cascadia Center, long an advocate of keeping the 42-mile BNSF corridor in public ownership, co-funded the "Vision Line" drawing, created by locally based and nationally known rail artist Craig Thorpe.