Mercer Island Light Rail Opening - Part 2
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 Two of her three part series, she looks at potential economic benefits of the coming rail including low stress, no parking needed trips to the airport.
Image source: Sound Transit
Part Two:
What Do Businesses Think?
I became terrified when I read that the Mercer Island Light Rail Station Opening Event is expected to draw 35,000+ attendees. That’s more than the number in attendance at last year’s Watershed Festival—even more than a typical crowd size at a Sounders game. It would be as if every single Mercer Islander showed up, and almost half brought a friend. The Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce CEO, Jen Dean, quickly calmed my fears, “That’s the expected number of visitors at all of the Sound Transit Light Rails Station on opening day, March 28th, and spread out over the four-hour event. People from all over the region are really excited.” She said all the stations will be hosting events. “The Spring District Station (Bellevue) is having a petting zoo.”
I chatted with Jen to find out how Mercer Island businesses feel about our region’s ambitious transit expansion project. The Mercer Island Station is the missing piece to Sound Transit’s long-awaited Crosslake Connection. Jen said, “We’ll see a lot of Eastsiders. They’ve been waiting for that last mile to finally open.” From Mercer Island, once the train doors close, it will take about three to four minutes to cross Lake Washington—smooth as if one were gliding by zipline. Not only does the project boast speed and efficiency, but it is an engineering marvel; the world’s first-ever light rail to traverse a floating bridge.
Image Source: SounderBruce, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
I am reminded of Bertha: the world’s largest tunneling machine. From 2013 to 2017, Bertha bore beneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Like the Crosslake Connection, the tunnel project wasn’t without its hiccups, but since its completion, Seattle’s waterfront has opened up like a giant clam, with the newly glittering Park Promenade as its pearl. Yay, us, for continuing our winning streak of smashing world records, sweeping Super Bowls, and investing muscle and might in the place we love and call home.
Jen Dean reported that businesses are excited about the light rail’s arrival. “Everybody loves the quaint, small-town feel here.” On March 28, the Sound Transit opening festivities may feel more like Mardi Gras. The event will kick off with a 9 a.m. ribbon-cutting at Judkins Park (formerly Rainer Station), with the first train to Mercer Island expected to depart around 10 a.m. I asked Jen if she thought I could get a ticket. “Probably not. Likely city mayors and council members will ride the first train.”
Image source: Sound Transit
When the train pulls into the gleaming glass, steel, and orange-sided Mercer Island Station, expect a party in full swing with bands, booths, and The Bridge, MIHS’s radio station, broadcasting live. I aim to be there and collect one of Laser Luxe Studios’ commemorative tokens. The Chamber of Commerce reports there will be 80 vendor booths. Island Books is one of the sponsors. Owner Laurie Raisys said she thinks the light rail will be super important for events like Independent Bookstore Day (mark your calendars for April 25, 2026). Laurie said, “More than 32 bookstores participate, and many people like to do it without a car.” The indie bookstore event offers a 10-day passport challenge: participants who visit all locations earn a 25% discount card valid for one year. Laurie thought the light rail would also boost author events.
The Mercer Island Light Rail Station Opening Event is really exciting. Maybe there will be 35,000 on Mercer Island after all. Would it be so bad if, for one day, Mercer Island had the energy of, say, Lumen Field? There has been a surge of new businesses (Macrina Bakery, Crawlspace Gastropub, ASA, Alister, and Kitanda Coffee and Açaí) that are open and eager to serve. Some may disagree and argue that now, even the Farmer’s Market is too crowded. Surely, just like every Monday after a Farmer’s Market, the quaint, small-town feel will resume. Change and growth are hard, but look to the Seattle Waterfront to trust that it can work. Local shops seem teed up and thrilled to increase foot traffic. Jen Dean said people are worried about parking but increased crime has been the main concern. She countered, “I don’t think we’ll see an uptick. It hasn’t happened on the East Side, and MIPD has a strong presence here.”
The real win, as I see it, is that residents gain easy access, like what used to be called a FastPass and is now Disney’s Lighting Lane, to Mariners games, Sounders matches, and cheering on crowned football champions. One needn’t be a sports aficionado to appreciate public transit—remember Independent Bookstore Day. If travel is your hobby, travel by train: a fast, cheap, and easy ride to SeaTac is about to open. Residents who commute to Redmond, Seattle, or Lynwood will no longer stare down gridlock from behind the steering wheel. The coming of the Crosslake Connection is a watershed moment for Mercer Island businesses and residents. Bring a friend–I’ll see you in the crowd.
Next Week:
In Part Three Jenny tackles some big fears about the coming rail: will it bring crime and what about parking?
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.