SILVERDALE — After demolishing the old, Old Town Pub building last month, The Silverdale Port Commission (owner of that property) announces plans to develop the site as the newest hub for Sound Transit’s Link Light Rail, which has been voraciously adding new lines and stations this past year.
The Silverdale waterfront lot–which housed the old building that had been condemned and vacant for more than eight years following many decades of serving as a community hub, from town stable to town pub–is slated to become the main hub in Sound Transit’s new ‘3 Line’ which will connect the entire Kitsap Peninsula by rail while connecting old town Silverdale with downtown Seattle.
The line is set to terminate at three of the four Kitsap ferry docks (excluding Bremerton) as Silverdale once again one-ups downtown Bremerton, just as the downtown district had been gathering steam in supporting local businesses, art and local restaurants, while Silverdale traffic had been decreasing due to declining interest in corporate retailers and mall shopping.
In an abrupt turnaround from the growing popularity of ferry transportation to-and-from the Kitsap peninsula, the 3 Line Light Rail project will connect Silverdale to Seattle at the Pioneer Square station via an underwater tunnel spanning 15 nautical miles, traveling from the sea floor of Elliot Bay, veering between Rich Passage through Sinclair Inlet, then under the Manette and Warren Avenue bridges and on to the head of Dyes Inlet. The high-speed train is expected to transport travelers to-or-from Seattle-to-Silverdale in under 20 minutes.
Faster than the fast ferries.
The underwater connecting line is also planned to include portions of glass-ceilinged tunnel offering views of underwater wildlife, expecting to attract commuters and tourists alike, capitalizing on the similar tourism aspects of the state ferries while providing improved efficiency for commuters. Once at the Old Town Silverdale Station, the 3 Line will split into North and South routes. The South Route will travel, via Chico Way, with stops in Chico and Erlands Point, onto Kitsap Way and Navy Yard City where it will connect with another underwater tunnel across the bottom of Sinclair Inlet to downtown Port Orchard and on to Mill Hill and Manchester, terminating at the Southworth Ferry dock. The North Route will travel, via stops at the Kitsap Mall, Costco and The Trails, along Silverdale Way through Central Valley and on to Viking Way before heading east through Downtown Poulsbo to the casino and on to Bainbridge, terminating at the Bainbridge Ferry dock. A second north route is planned to split off from the Viking Way Station, traveling Bond Road to Port Gamble and back along highway 104 to the downtown Kingston ferry dock.
Construction of the underwater high-speed electric train project is expected to cost in the billions with funding initially provided by tech moguls to support an effort to bring workers back to the city offices, plus supplemental tax and tourism funding coming from local government and other transit and environmental organizations. Analysts say the investment is expected to be recouped (and provide dividends to investors) through fares, advertising and personal data collection, plus extra from city and county budgets via public transportation bonds and levies and tourism funding in addition to state transportation dollars which will be re-allocated by further minimizing sailings on the Bremerton to Seattle ferry routes.
In response, the City of Bremerton announced an abrupt turnaround in its transportation plans, with a directive to convert many of its roadways to prioritize protected bike lanes over vehicular traffic. The city also plans to build multiple new parking garages in and around its downtown corridor (which will be painted by out-of-state mural artists yet to be announced) in an attempt to boost foot traffic, tourism and alternative transportation proponents, in addition to boosting street festivals, hip vendors and social media opportunities in the downtown corridor. In an even more abrupt response, the Manette business district (on the other side of the bridge from downtown) announces plans to tear up main roads along the 11th Street corridor and put in grass, creating a vintage pedestrian-only promenade under its excess of overhead ropelight bulbs… <3smokestack
