Eastside rail corridor
The 42-mile corridor that extends from Renton to Snohomish is now under public ownership. Last December, the Port of Seattle purchased the BNSF Eastside Rail Corridor, with King County purchasing a trail easement and becoming the trail sponsor. Concurrent with the purchase, the Port signaled that it is time for other regional partners to join the Port in a public-private partnership that will keep the parcel out of the reach of private developers.
The transaction continued the process that began in 2003 when BNSF announced its intention to sell the corridor. In partnership with the Port of Seattle, King County acted to prevent the corridor from being broken up and sold for private development. In 2007, the Port of Seattle agreed to purchase the rail corridor and lease the southern portion of the corridor to King County for both use as a trail and possibly an Eastside transportation corridor.
Now that the initial public purchase of the corridor is complete, the Port is working with the County and a group of regional stakeholders—Sound Transit, the city of Redmond, Puget Sound Energy and the Cascade Water Alliance—to connect ownership and use of the parcels with the appropriate agencies and jurisdictions.
On December 14, 2009, the Council agreed to give the County Executive up to $26.5 million in negotiating authority to assist in the purchase of the corridor. King County is considering the corridor for development as a “dual-use” corridor—with the potential to meet future public transportation needs while still providing connections to South, East and North King County through a series of biking, walking and hiking trails.
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