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As Sound Transit prepares to open its Lynnwood Link light rail extension with great fanfare next month, the agency quietly announced a change in the “preferred” route of its next northern-bound expansion of light rail that had previously threatened to displace a 100-year-old Lynnwood church.
Sound Transit’s initial renderings of the Everett Link expansion of light rail through Lynnwood showed its preferred route running through a portion of the five acres of property that Alderwood Community Church calls home along Alderwood Mall Parkway. But last month, Sound Transit announced a new plan for its light rail line in the area.
“Based primarily on feedback from the Alderwood Community Church, Sound Transit was able to work with WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation) and the City of Lynnwood to propose a different path for the guideway to minimize impacts to church property,” said Sound Transit spokesperson John Gallagher.
The new “preferred option” puts the elevated line above Interstate 5 right-of-way along the southeast side of Alderwood Mall Boulevard as opposed to previous plans to run the line above church property on the northwest side of the arterial.
Church leadership had expressed concern in January 2023 when they were told that Sound Transit had their eyes on the church grounds for light rail use, and that the church may have to sell their property and relocate elsewhere in the city. Now a sense of relief is being shared among those same church leaders.
“We are very relieved and excited to see Sound Transit working hard to avoid our campus,” said Josh Bishop, Alderwood Community Church executive administrator.
While Bishop said he has had “several meetings” with Sound Transit staff members over the past 18 months about the proposed design of a light rail line in Lynnwood, he credited the latest change in the planned route to church members, attendees and others in the community who pushed the transit agency to reconsider its initial design option.
“We believe the community response on our behalf played a significant role in getting new alternative routes drawn up,” Bishop said.
More than 1,600 people attended a February 2023 public meeting held by Sound Transit seeking comment on the planning of a light rail line through Lynnwood. Many were there to express their opposition to the possible use of Alderwood Community Church property for the Everett Link.
Bishop stressed that the church doesn’t oppose Sound Transit running light rail through the West Alderwood area of Lynnwood, but wanted the transit agency to consider options that won’t force the church to pull up its long-standing roots in the neighborhood.
“Sound Transit has been proactive in their conversations with us and I believe wants the best for this community,” Bishop said. “We look forward to the positive impact light rail will have on our region.”
“For today, we are hopeful that Sound Transit will continue to do the right thing and work hard to avoid displacing our 100-year-old church and the Alderwood Compassion Center,” he added.
(The Alderwood Compassion Center is a three-story building on the campus of Alderwood Community Church that provides services to individuals and families in the area who are in need, in addition to housing church offices.)
Sound Transit was able to reline the “preferred option” for light rail in the West Alderwood area because design work for the route is still in its early stages, Gallagher explained. “The ability to revise the design at this early stage is why we engage the public through project scoping,” he said.
Gallagher also noted that the route change wasn’t solely because of protests from Alderwood Community Church leadership and members, but was also made to “improve the track alignment geometry for operations.”
“The new alignment is straighter and removes the double curve so it’s a bit faster and improves the passenger experience,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher did caution that Sound Transit staff and engineers are still very early in the process of determining where and how the Everett Link will operate. “The team will continue to try to work through engineering and station concept design issues and will continue working with partners to resolve issues that are identified in the analysis,” he concluded.
A draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the latest Everett Link plans is expected to be completed and released in early 2026 with the final EIS published in 2027. The Everett Link Final Design is scheduled to be completed by 2029.
Sound Transit hopes to have the Everett Link of light rail running from Lynnwood to Everett sometime between 2037 and 2041.
— By Doug Petrowski
Just another example of the upper middle class pushing problems down to the lower class.
One church was spared but now an entire neighborhood hub of Casino Road is on the chopping block.
Once again we see the pocketbooks of a church outweigh the needs of the actual low incoming and needing community who don’t have a million dollar church to back their voices to pocketed politicians.
Casino road is miles away. The decision on the church has no effect on what route it takes so far north.
I am sorry you don’t really understand Alderwood. It has a food pantry that donates lots of food to the underserved in our community. And they do a back pack drive for the underpriveleged kids in the fall. I could go on about how much Alderwood and its people support the underprivileged folks in our area. I would strongly suggest you look further into all the good Alderwood does before you point fingers at things that you don’t really understand. In fact I would like to invite you to come to a service if you feel so lead. The people here are loving and gracious, caring wonderful people. You will be blessed.