That's really sad since the tracks already exist on the Eastside (it's the "Eastside Rail Corridor") which Sound Transit is bound and determined to pretend does not exist.

> which Sound Transit is bound and determined to pretend does not exist

I think you mean "which Kirkland is bound and determined to ensure never carries trains ever again."

There's a reason why "South Kirkland Station" is actually in Bellevue and the Kirkland City Council is it.

Yet all the candidates for Kirkland City Council talk about their dedication to transit.

They never specify what type of transit. Amazing that.

The line extends from Renton to Bothell. Kirkland is only part of it.

In all the articles in the Seattle Times about light rail, the Sound Transit public relations materials, etc., the Eastside Rail Corridor is never, ever, mentioned. How is it that Kirkland has managed a conspiracy of silence about it?

Kirkland is in favor of what the other cities are doing, which is ripping out the rails and replacing with park amenities (so-called "rails to trails"). They even managed to help defeat an effort by the Ballard Spur Railroad to keep rail service on the corridor.

The city council there has been opposed to rail on the ERC ever since Sound Transit 3 was a gleam in the eye. They've wanted BRT, over Sound Transit's objections, because they deem it more compatible with trail uses and not taking up as much space in the corridor. (And able to be located on the eastern edge of the corridor, preserving views to the west. So, yet again, needed infrastructure takes a back seat to scenery.)

Some links:

https://seattletransitblog.com/2015/11/16/kirklands-brt-desi...

https://seattletransitblog.com/2016/03/12/kirkland-st-strugg...

https://seattletransitblog.com/2016/11/28/kirkland-in-st3/

The North Lake Washington communities all blow chunks. Asshole bored cops ready to pull you over at a whim, shitty politicians that fight reasonable proposals, and severely crippled infrastructure (No sidewalks, unreliable power, bad internet (due to unenforced franchise agreements), poor sewer availability, etc), every time I head up there it bemuses me that people pay a premium for such poor living conditions.

There isn't even a consistent scheme to the roads up there, they just deadend, with SR-522 being the only arterial (which is totally wrecked 7 hours a day!). Nevermind the shit many of the people that went to school up there had to deal with, makes Seattle Public Schools look reasonable when compared to the shenanigans administrators at those north end schools would play on many of the students they were supposed to be helping.

I hope for those trapped in that area that things get better, but it seems like so many of the newer neighbors in my area are flooding out of the communities on the north end of the lake.

Thanks for the links. I didn't know about them. Reading them, it's a sad story.

As for ridership, all you have to do is drive that route on 405 during rush hour, which is all day. Downtown Kirkland is gridlocked during rush hour.