Roosevelt station (Sound Transit)

(Redirected from Roosevelt (Link station))

Roosevelt station is a light rail station located in the Roosevelt neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is served by the 1 Line of Sound Transit's Link light rail system, which continues north to Northgate station and south to Downtown Seattle and SeaTac. The underground station consists of a single island platform connected to the surface via a mezzanine and two entrances along 12th Avenue Northeast at Northeast 65th and 67th streets.

 46  Roosevelt
Link light rail station
South entrance at Northeast 65th Street
General information
Location6501 12th Avenue Northeast
Seattle, Washington
United States
Coordinates47°40′36″N 122°18′56″W / 47.67667°N 122.31556°W / 47.67667; -122.31556
Owned bySound Transit
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Connections
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Bicycle facilitiesBicycle parking cage, lockers, and racks
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedOctober 2, 2021 (2021-10-02)
Passengers
4,252 daily weekday boardings (2023)[1]
1,416,395 total boardings (2023)[1]
Services
Preceding station Sound Transit Following station
Link
Northgate 1 Line U District
toward Angle Lake
Future service
Preceding station Sound Transit Following station
Link
Northgate 2 Line U District
Location
Map

Construction on the Northgate extension was approved by voters in a 2008 ballot measure and began in 2012. Two tunnel boring machines used to build the light rail tunnels arrived at Roosevelt station in 2015, on their way between Northgate and the University District. The station opened on October 2, 2021.

Location

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Roosevelt station is located on the west side of 12th Avenue Northeast between Northeast 65th Street and Northeast 67th Street, at the heart of the Roosevelt urban village in northern Seattle. It is adjacent to the Roosevelt Square shopping center and Roosevelt High School, with the immediate area constituting the commercial and retail core of the neighborhood. The station is also located near Ravenna Park and Green Lake, two of the largest parks in North Seattle.[2][3]

Northeast 66th Street, which lies between the station's two entrances, was rebuilt as a "green street" with traffic calming pedestrian-friendly features.[4] A southbound protected bike lane was installed on Roosevelt Way between NE 65th Street and the University Bridge in 2016,[5][6] while the northbound lane on 11th and 12th avenues was put on hold due to the truncation of the RapidRide J Line.[7] A set of east–west protected lanes were installed on NE 65th Street in 2019 between Ravenna Boulevard and 20th Avenue NE.[8]

Transit-oriented development

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The area surrounding the station consists of varied uses, including commercial and retail spaces along Roosevelt Way, 12th Avenue NE, and NE 65th Street. The largest land use is single-family homes, though multi-family residential buildings have been constructed in the 2010s in anticipation of light rail service.[9][10] Within a 12-mile (0.80 km) radius of the station, over 8,400 residents and 3,000 jobs were counted in 2013 by the Puget Sound Regional Council.[11] In 2016, residential real estate website Redfin named Roosevelt one of the nation's "hottest neighborhoods", citing recent growth in real estate prices and interest in local properties, and credited the future light rail station in that interest.[12][13] From 2016 to 2021, an estimated 1,626 housing units were constructed in the Roosevelt urban village and another 624 are permitted or under construction.[5]

In January 2012, the Seattle City Council approved a rezoning of the Roosevelt neighborhood to allow for residential buildings of up to 85 feet (26 m) adjacent to the station and 40 feet (12 m) in the surrounding 40-block area.[14][15] While the neighborhood was supportive of light rail construction and siting the station in the urban village, residents asked for a shorter 40 feet (12 m) height limit to preserve views of Roosevelt High School.[16]

Several parcels used for construction staging at Roosevelt station was opened up for transit-oriented development in 2020.[17] Sound Transit and the Seattle Office Housing offered $15 million in funds for affordable housing on the site to non-profit developers Bellwether Housing and Mercy Housing Northwest, who were selected in 2017.[18][19] The project, named Cedar Crossing, consists of 254 units reserved for low-income households (including multi-bedroom units), a child care center operated by El Centro de la Raza, and a care center for homeless families operated by Mary's Place. Construction began in 2020 and was completed in 2022.[20][21]

History

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Tunnel boring machine head at Roosevelt Station, 2015

Proposals for rapid transit service through the Roosevelt neighborhood date back to the early 20th century, when the area was near the northern city limits of Seattle. In 1911, Virgil Bogue proposed an extensive rapid transit system, including an underground subway following 10th Avenue Northeast from Northeast 85th Street south towards Latona (the present-day University District) and Downtown Seattle.[22] The proposal was rejected by voters the following year,[23] but an un-adopted 1926 plan from the Planning Commission included rapid transit service to Ravenna Park and the University District.[24] The Forward Thrust plan of the late 1960s proposed building a four-line rapid transit network using $385 million in local funding to augment a larger federal contribution. One of the proposed lines, traveling between Downtown Seattle and Lake City, included a station adjacent to Roosevelt High School at Brooklyn Avenue NE and NE 65th Street.[25] The plan was put before voters on two occasions, in February 1968 and May 1970, and failed to gain the needed supermajority to pass.[26]

In the 1990s, the formation of a regional transit authority (RTA) brought light rail planning to the Seattle region. In 1995, the transit authority proposed a regional light rail system to be built by 2010, including an at-grade or underground light rail line through Roosevelt with a station in the neighborhood.[27] The RTA proposal was rejected by voters in March 1995, citing its $6.7 billion price. A smaller, $3.9 billion plan was approved in November 1996,[28] only funding light rail from the University District to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport; an extension north to Northgate via Roosevelt was deferred until additional funding could be secured.[29] In 1997, the RTA (since re-branded as Sound Transit) began exploring alignment options for the Northgate segment, with residents voicing their opposition to at-grade or elevated alignments in favor of an underground route.[30] Following several rounds of public hearings in 2000, the Sound Transit Board narrowed down the routing options to a tunnel under 12th Avenue and an elevated alignment along Interstate 5 to the west of Roosevelt's commercial district, each with a station at Northeast 65th Street.[31] Community and business groups in Roosevelt favored an underground alignment, while then Seattle mayor Greg Nickels supported the elevated station, which was less costly and closer to the Green Lake neighborhood.[32] On January 28, 2005, the Sound Transit Board unanimously approved an underground alignment with a station along 12th Avenue NE between NE 65th and 67th streets, citing a smaller-than-expected difference in cost compared to the elevated option.[33]

Funding for the Northgate extension of Link light rail, then known as "North Link", was included in the 2007 Roads and Transit ballot measure, which was put before voters in November 2007. The combined $18 billion proposal was rejected, with environmentalist groups disavowing it over the roadworks portion that sought to expand regional freeways.[34] A second, transit-only measure known as "Sound Transit 2" was approved by voters in November 2008, securing funding for a light rail extension to Northgate and further north to Lynnwood.[35]

The North Link project was approved by the Sound Transit Board in June 2012, setting a $2.1 billion budget and expected completion date of 2021.[36] The contract for tunneling and station construction was awarded to JCM Northlink LLC (a joint venture of Jay Dee, Coluccio, and Michels) for $462 million in 2013.[37] Demolition of a QFC supermarket on the site began in May 2012,[38] while buildings on 12th Avenue NE, including the Standard Records building, and townhouses on NE 66th Street were also demolished later in the year.[2][39] Sound Transit broke ground on the Northgate Link Extension project on August 17, 2012, at a ceremony on the future site of Roosevelt station.[40] The majority of design work for Roosevelt station was completed in 2014 and 2015.[2][17]

 
Station construction in February 2018

Tunnel boring machines for the project were launched from the north end near Northgate station in July and November 2014. The two machines arrived at Roosevelt station in March and July 2015, respectively, completing the first 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of the 3.4-mile-long (5.5 km) tunnel between Northgate and University of Washington station.[41] Both machines continued south towards U District station, arriving in November 2015 and March 2016, respectively.[42] During construction of cross-passages for the two tunnels south of Roosevelt in May 2016, a small sinkhole formed in the front yard of a house.[43]

Hoffman Construction was awarded a $152 million contract in November 2016 to build the station's floor and supporting structures.[44] Construction on Roosevelt station's interior structures began in early 2017 and reached street level the following year.[45] The construction site's prominent 280-foot (85 m) tower crane, nicknamed "Big Red", was dismantled in March 2019.[46] Construction of the station was declared substantially complete in February 2021.[47] Roosevelt station opened on October 2, 2021, with a community festival featuring live performances and a food truck at the Northeast 66th Street plaza.[48][49]

Station layout

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Platform level view in December 2019, prior to opening
Street level Exits/Entrances, ticket vending machines
Mezzanine level
Platform level Northbound   1 Line toward Lynnwood City Center (Northgate)
Island platform, doors will open on the left
Southbound   1 Line toward Angle Lake (U District)

Roosevelt station is located on the west side of 12th Avenue Northeast on two blocks between NE 65th and 67th streets, with entrances at the two cross streets; they are labeled Exit A for the north entrance at Northeast 67th Street and Exit B for the south entrance at Northeast 65th Street.[50] Both entrances have ticket vending machines and each have a pair of emergency ventilation shafts.[2][51] The underground station has two lower levels, connected to the entrances by a series of stairs, escalators, and elevators: a mezzanine and the 380-foot-long (120 m) island platform, located at a depth of 80 feet (24 m).[5][51] The area between the entrances includes a public plaza on Northeast 66th Street and an enclosed bicycle parking cage with 74 spaces.[5] The station was designed by Hewitt Architects, which also worked on Northgate station.[52]

 
The station's former pictogram, which depicts a moose

Public art is integrated into the station's design under the "STart" program, which allocates a percentage of project construction funds to art projects to be used in stations.[53] Lead artist Christian French coordinated the project, while R & R Studios and Luca Buvoli created permanent art installations inside and outside the station.[2] The station's outdoor plaza at 12th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 66th Street includes Building Blocks, a 49-foot (15 m), three-tiered stepped pyramid by R & R Studios that is primarily painted gold.[54] Buvoli's Mo-Mo-Motion on the platform and mezzanine consists of several abstract depictions of cyclists and runners inspired by the works of the Italian Futurism movement.[55][56] The south entrance's ticketing area is home to the preserved façade of the Standard Records building, which was demolished for the station, including the restored neon sign.[57][58]

Services

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The station is served by the 1 Line, which runs between Lynnwood, the University of Washington campus, Downtown Seattle, the Rainier Valley, and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. Roosevelt station is the fifth southbound station from Lynnwood City Center and seventeenth northbound station from Angle Lake. It is situated between Northgate station to the north and U District station to the south. 1 Line trains serve Roosevelt station twenty hours a day on weekdays and Saturdays, from 5:00 am to 1:00 am, and eighteen hours on Sundays, from 6:00 am to 12:00 am; during regular weekday service, trains operate roughly every eight to ten minutes during rush hour and midday operation, respectively, with longer headways of twelve to fifteen minutes in the early morning and at night. During weekends, Link trains arrive at the station every ten minutes during midday hours and every twelve to fifteen minutes during mornings and evenings. The station is approximately 20 minutes from Lynnwood, 10 minutes from Westlake station in Downtown Seattle, and 46 minutes from SeaTac/Airport station.[59] Sound Transit estimates that there will be 8,000 daily boardings at the station in 2030.[60]

Roosevelt station is also served by several King County Metro and Sound Transit Express buses that provide onward connections to surrounding neighborhoods and regional destinations. The station has five bus bays, primarily on Roosevelt Way and Northeast 65th Street.[61] King County Metro operates six routes from Roosevelt station with connections to the University District, Greenwood, Fremont, Lake City, Sand Point, Northgate, South Lake Union, and Downtown Seattle.[61] Sound Transit Express route 522, serving the State Route 522 corridor through Kenmore, Bothell, and Woodinville, terminates at the station.[5] An additional bus bay on Roosevelt Way at Northeast 66th Street opened in March 2023 and replaced the temporary Bay 4.[61][62]

Metro had planned to operate the RapidRide J Line between the station and Downtown Seattle on Roosevelt Way and 12th Avenue Northeast until it was truncated to U District station.[7][63]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Link Ridership". Sound Transit. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Roosevelt Station". Sound Transit. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  3. ^ "Northgate Link Extension Project Folio" (PDF). Sound Transit. May 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 20, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  4. ^ "Light Rail Review Panel: Roosevelt Station" (PDF). Seattle Design Commission. February 19, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e Lindblom, Mike (September 28, 2021). "Roosevelt light-rail station fuels rapid growth in North Seattle neighborhood". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  6. ^ "Roosevelt Way NE Protected Bike Lane". Seattle Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  7. ^ a b "RapidRide J Line: Frequently Asked Questions about the Shortened Route" (PDF). Seattle Department of Transportation. May 17, 2021. p. 12. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  8. ^ "NE 65th St Vision Zero Project". Seattle Department of Transportation. July 9, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  9. ^ "Emerald Bay planning 250 units in Roosevelt". Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. December 8, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  10. ^ Miller, Brian (October 27, 2016). "On the Block: Cranes and MUPs pop up in Roosevelt". Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  11. ^ Growing Transit Communities Oversight Committee (October 2013). "Roosevelt: Future Light Rail/Bus" (PDF). The Growing Transit Communities Strategy. Puget Sound Regional Council. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  12. ^ Wynkoop, Gena (January 30, 2016). "Seattle's Roosevelt community makes Top 10 Hottest U.S. Neighborhoods list". Seattle Refined. KOMO 4 News. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  13. ^ Martin, Troy (January 28, 2016). "Redfin Predicts the Hottest Neighborhoods of 2016" (Press release). Redfin. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  14. ^ Thompson, Lynn (January 31, 2012). "6-story building heights OK'd near Seattle's Roosevelt High". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  15. ^ Beekman, Daniel (March 13, 2015). "Seattle plans park on notorious landlords' property". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  16. ^ Thompson, Lynn (September 18, 2011). "Roosevelt embraces change — but fights to save a view". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  17. ^ a b Silver, Jon (August 15, 2016). "Crews busy at Roosevelt station site". Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  18. ^ "City announces funding for equitable community, long-term affordable homes next to future Roosevelt light rail station" (Press release). Sound Transit. August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  19. ^ "Sound Transit selects Bellwether Housing, Mercy Housing Northwest to negotiate on major new affordable housing/retail transit-oriented development adjacent to Roosevelt light rail station" (Press release). Sound Transit. November 16, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  20. ^ Stiles, Marc (May 13, 2020). "Bellwether, Mercy Housing begin building $105M Roosevelt project". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  21. ^ Metzger, Katie (September 14, 2022). "New vibrant, affordable apartments open next to Roosevelt Station". The Platform. Sound Transit. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  22. ^ Bogue, Virgil (1911). "Appendix No. III—Proposed Rapid Transit System". Plan of Seattle: Report of the Municipal Plans Commission. Seattle, Washington: Lowman & Hanford. p. 182. OCLC 1440455. Retrieved August 15, 2016 – via Internet Archive.
  23. ^ McRoberts, Patrick (November 4, 1998). "Seattle defeats Bogue Improvement Plan on March 5, 1912". HistoryLink. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  24. ^ Trimble, William Pitt (1926). Seattle Rapid Transit Report to the City Planning Commission. Seattle Planning Commission. OCLC 14264109.
  25. ^ De Leuw, Cather & Company (February 19, 1970). "Chapter 2: Design and Development". The Rapid Transit Plan for the Metropolitan Seattle Area. Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle. p. 16. OCLC 120953.
  26. ^ "Voters reject rail transit plan and three other Forward Thrust bond proposals on May 19, 1970". HistoryLink. September 19, 2002. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  27. ^ "Regional Transit Service Proposal: Seattle & North King County" (PDF). Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority. March 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  28. ^ Schaefer, David (November 6, 1996). "Voters back transit plan on fourth try". The Seattle Times. p. A1. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  29. ^ "Regional transit history, 1996: Sound Move and the Regional Transit Long-Range Vision". Sound Transit. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  30. ^ Schaefer, David (December 10, 1997). "Residents debate light-rail route: Under or out of our neighborhood, some say". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  31. ^ "Sound Transit Board narrows light rail route options for Roosevelt and Northgate" (Press release). Sound Transit. August 23, 2000. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  32. ^ Pryne, Eric (April 23, 2004). "Consensus reached on new light-rail line—But Sound Transit board splits on plans for Northgate route". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  33. ^ Pryne, Eric (January 28, 2005). "Transit board OKs Roosevelt light-rail site". The Seattle Times. p. B2. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  34. ^ Lindblom, Mike (November 29, 2007). "Prop. 1 too big, costly to pass, survey finds". The Seattle Times. p. B3. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  35. ^ Lindblom, Mike (November 6, 2008). "How transit supporters closed deal with voters". The Seattle Times. p. A1. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  36. ^ Ervin, Kevin (June 28, 2012). "Light-rail plan moves ahead in Bellevue; UW-Northgate project OK'd". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  37. ^ "Sound Transit Motion No. M2013-50" (PDF). Sound Transit. July 25, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 27, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  38. ^ "Sunday Buzz: Big hole near Green Lake starts to fill up". The Seattle Times. June 3, 2012. p. D5. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  39. ^ Kreisman, Lawrence (January 21, 2012). "Seattle's old buildings: Opportunities, not obstacles". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  40. ^ "Sound Transit breaks ground on Northgate Link light rail extension" (Press release). Sound Transit. August 17, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  41. ^ "Sound Transit finishes second light rail tunnel from Northgate to Roosevelt" (Press release). Sound Transit. July 13, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  42. ^ "Second Sound Transit tunnel boring machine reaches U District Station site" (Press release). Sound Transit. March 24, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  43. ^ Lindblom, Mike (May 2, 2016). "Sinkhole forms above Sound Transit light-rail tunnel in Roosevelt area". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  44. ^ "Sound Transit awards contract to Hoffman Construction to build Roosevelt station for Northgate Link Extension" (Press release). Sound Transit. November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  45. ^ "Project update: Northgate Link Extension, June 2017". Sound Transit. June 1, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  46. ^ Lair, Alexis (April 12, 2019). ""Big Red" crane retirement marks another major step for trains to Northgate". The Platform. Sound Transit. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  47. ^ "Construction now substantially complete on all three Northgate Link stations" (Press release). Sound Transit. February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  48. ^ Lindblom, Mike; Baruchman, Michelle (October 2, 2021). "New light-rail stations now open at U District, Roosevelt and Northgate". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  49. ^ Bancroft, Ethan (September 28, 2021). "Join us this Saturday, October 2 at community events to celebrate the grand opening of the new John Lewis Memorial Bridge at Northgate and three new Link light rail stations!". SDOT Blog. Seattle Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  50. ^ "Stops and stations: Roosevelt Station". Sound Transit. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  51. ^ a b
  52. ^ "Roosevelt Station". Hewitt Architects. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  53. ^ "STart Public Art Program". Sound Transit. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  54. ^ Metzger, Katie (August 19, 2019). "Art that reflects and creates community". The Platform. Sound Transit. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  55. ^ Metzger, Katie (August 6, 2021). "Art brings new stations to life". The Platform. Sound Transit. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  56. ^ Davis, Brangien (September 30, 2021). "ArtSEA: Seattle's new light rail stations mean more public art". Crosscut.com. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  57. ^ McNerthney, Casey (October 22, 2012). "The Roosevelt neighborhood: Then and now". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  58. ^ Metzger, Katie (September 10, 2021). "Roosevelt history lives on at new light rail station". The Platform. Sound Transit. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  59. ^ "Line 1 Line: Lynnwood City Center — Angle Lake schedule" (PDF). Sound Transit. August 2024. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  60. ^ "Roosevelt Station" (PDF). Sound Transit. July 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 19, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  61. ^ a b c Buses from Here: Roosevelt Station (Map). King County Metro. September 2024. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  62. ^ Adams, Corrie (September 15, 2021). "Big changes coming Oct. 2: what to expect when Link extends to Northgate". The Platform. Sound Transit. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  63. ^ "RapidRide J Line - Formerly RapidRide Roosevelt". Seattle Department of Transportation. May 17, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
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