KIRKLAND, Wash — Opposition is growing to a planned transfer station in northeast King County.
The Houghton transfer station in Kirkland is more than 50 years old and growing obsolete. The county is now considering where to put a new one.
One of the locations under consideration is a plot of land right next door to the current transfer station. But while the space may be convenient, it isn't necessarily popular.
Deepa Garg brings her kids to play on the grassy field across the street from her home in Kirkland's Bridle Trails neighborhood. People take strolls and walk their dogs there every day.
When word got around the field was being considered for a new transfer station, neighbors started pushing back.
"We went on the county's plat maps and found over 40 sites that seem to make more sense than these sites that are surrounded by hundreds of single-family homes," Garg said.
The Houghton facility processes 150,000 tons of garbage every year, and that number is expected to rise as the county continues to grow.
Pat Jovag has lived in the Bridle Trails community for more than 50 years. When she first moved in, she said people were promised that once Houghton had outlived its usefulness, it would shut down forever.
"We were told it was eventually going to be a park," Jovag said. "The transfer station was just for now, and it was going to go away."
Complicating matters is the fact the field is actually a landfill that was capped decades ago. No one is quite sure what's in it and what might happen if a transfer station is built on top of it.
People are also worried about more garbage trucks rumbling through their neighborhood streets.
Betsy Lewis is another longtime neighbor who believes King County isn't keeping its word.
"Myself and many others feel betrayed by the county," Lewis said.
The landfill is one of three locations under consideration. Among them is a piece of private property right in the heart of Woodinville wine county that is already generating pushback from wine and tourism officials.
The third is an underused Kirkland park and ride on 116th Street Northeast.
The park and ride is in the same area as the current transfer station and the old landfill. That location isn't popular with the Bridle Trails neighbors, either.
"Given our transportation issues, I don't know why we'd want to get rid of a park and ride," Lewis said.
Right now, no one appears eager to welcome this new neighbor.
"It's disappointing," Jovag said. "I don't feel the county or city is following through on its promises."
In a statement to KING 5 News, King County Solid Waste Director Pat McLaughlin said there will be plenty of opportunities for people to voice their concerns and the department will listen to neighbors in all three locations.
An environmental impact study will begin this summer. A decision on where the facility will be built is expected in early 2023. The new transfer station is scheduled to open in 2027.