Mercer Island Light Rail Opening
COMMUNITYFEATUREDOPINION
Local author Jenny Harrington Lill is getting ready for the "at last" or "I'll believe it when I see it" or "we can still stop it if we try hard enough" (depending on who you ask) opening of Mercer Island's light rail station. In Part One of her three part series, she explores the virtues of public transit and what she's looking forward to when the station opens.
Image source: Sound Transit
Part One:
Opening Tracks to a Better Way
Soon, Islanders, we will be getting back our beloved HOV lane in the form of Sound Transit Light Rail’s Crosslake Connection. The long-awaited Mercer Island Station opens March 28, 2026. Though the HOV lanes swallowed by the project are no longer an exclusive privilege, my family and I are amenable to the rideshare it provides because the light rail will allow us to get to SeaTac with more ease. We’ve been the family standing on Island Crest Way, roller bags in tow, waiting to catch the King County Metro 204 bus so we could transfer at the Park & Ride to the 550. We would get off at the International District stop and walk to the Chinatown Station to hop on the light rail. From there, it was a breezy 38-minute ride to the airport. We could relax and turn our attention to other things, like keeping our roller bags from toppling into the aisle.
Sometimes, we’d laugh and poke fun at the backup on Airport Express as we looked down from our high car on the track. “That could have been us,” we’d say gleefully, knowing we’d saved time and about $65 for a ride-hailing service. But this scenario rarely played out because due to my procrastination with packing, we’d miss the green and yellow 204 which runs only every hour. In reality, we were the grumpy ones, stuck in departure lane traffic, looking up at the light rail and doubting we’d make it to our gate in time. At the end of this month, the light rail will run every eight minutes. If I am running behind, another train will soon arrive. I am more optimistic than ever that we will be able to bypass airport congestion and reach SeaTac in under one hour for $3.00.
Has the project been costly? Yes.
Has the project been over budget? Yes.
Has the project been over deadline? Yes.
Will we have better transportation options? Yes.
Are we excited? YES!
Why? Because when our kids were little, we lived west of Chicago, in Oak Park, Illinois. On the weekends, we would parade to the EL, the ‘elevated line’, and wait on the platform to take the Green Line downtown. Through the turnstile and up the stairs. The kids knew to stay away from the yellow edge, or mom would yell, “Get back! Stay behind the line!” In the summer, we’d go to Millennium Park, and the kids would run across the splash pad between towers with mouths spouting water, as if playing tag with the faces at Crown Fountain. They’d smudge fingerprints and nose prints on The Bean. Wet and sticky from ice cream, they’d fall asleep on the train home. We’d carry one, push another asleep in a stroller, and the older two would run ahead, down the oak tree-lined sidewalks, back to the house. On weekdays, my husband would ride the train to his office inside the loop. The train cars with their silver carriage doors that slid open and closed were fixtures in our lives. They jostled on the tracks like a cradle, full of familiar urban sounds and unfamiliar smells. Taking the train was a given.
I stocked up on raincoats (I’d read Seattleites scoffed at umbrellas) and a Happy Lamp when we relocated to Seattle for my husband’s job at Amazon; I thought we were ready. Quickly, I learned that no amount of book smarts could have prepared my feet for the changes. The hilliness shocked me (Chicago is pancake flat). I am still not used to the way downed pine needles make the ground slick when it rains. My family and I missed sidewalks and curbs that delineated streets. Everything felt recognizable but off kilter. We missed the warm glow of street lamps and the trill of cicadas. Sure, the move came with tradeoffs. On our unlit cul-de-sac, we gained the ability to stargaze from the driveway. Most nights, we hear an owl “woot-woot” in the backyard. We love the secluded feel of Mercer Island, but it was different in unexpected ways.
In Chicago, we were walkers. In Seattle, we’ve become hikers. For most everything lost, something else has been gained, but nothing has replaced public transportation.
As island newbies, we initially walked our kids to Island Park Elementary. I noticed we were outliers. Most families preferred driving students to and from school. The drop-off lanes spilled into the main thoroughfare blocking traffic at the beginning and end of every school day. That was fifteen years ago, and even now, I avoid driving down Island Crest Way at the start and end of the school day because of the traffic. Truth be told, it's also because I am bitter. Once, going 32 miles per hour, I got a speeding ticket in front of Island Park Elementary. I was in my pajamas and out of milk. I said to the officer, “But I wasn’t even speeding.” He pointed out that I was in a school zone. I pointed out that it was 7:29 a.m., nearly an hour before the school’s first bell. He pointed to the flashing yellow lights. After he handed me the ticket, he said I could be on my way and reminded me to slow down.
Not everyone drives to and from school; for the majority of residents with K through 8th graders, the district provides robust, safe, and friendly transportation. Before long, our kids begged to take the bus network so they could be with their friends. Mass transit has a socializing side–it teaches us etiquette, how to wait, and how to be in the company of strangers and friends.
Our kids have been looking forward to riding the light rail since the 2016 ballot passed. My husband and I enthusiastically voted yes because we've lived in cities where access to affordable, clean, fast transit has improved the quality of our lives. Like many of our friends and neighbors, I share concerns over safety and costs (a sunk cost at this point) and wonder, will the rail actually open? I will believe it when I see it. Weeks away from Mercer Island Station’s Opening Day, and it feels like, for my family, the train has already left the station. My kids are mostly grown – they are away at college and live out of state. But the light rail isn’t just for us – it’s for everyone. Many island residents have students studying at UW and SU. Those students will be able to come home via light rail and do laundry every weekend.
As empty nesters, my husband and I finally have time to do things we enjoy. Last week, we attended the First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square. The scene felt more like Brooklyn than Seattle, with queues to get into galleries and jazz clubs. It took us fifteen minutes to find a parking spot. Next First Thursday (April 2), fingers crossed, we can take the light rail straight to Pioneer Square.
Next Week:
In Part Two, Jenny will explore what MI Businesses think about the coming of the rail station and other implications for Island life.
About the Author:
Jenny Harrington Lill is a writer, researcher, and Mercer Island resident. She is an MFA candidate in nonfiction and literature at Bennington Writing Seminars and a 2025 Jack Straw Writers Fellow. Jenny is currently working on her debut collection of essays.
Learn more about Jenny and her writing here.