SEATTLE — The words "displacement is destruction" were splashed across the T-shirts of several in the audience Thursday at the highly-anticipated Sound Transit meeting at Union Station.
Tensions flared at previous meetings as officials worked to decide from a handful of options for where-- and how-- they will build the new CID station as a result of a West Seattle to Ballard light rail expansion approved by voters in 2016.
Those working and living in the Chinatown International District (CID) have been outspoken for months about the impacts a 4th or 5th Avenue station could have in the heart of their home. So just a couple of months ago, transit officials shifted their focus to a third option: a station north of the CID and one south of it, rather than a sole station in the heart of the CID.
"We believe the North-South alternative will offer regional connectivity and meet the vital transit needs of our communities, without the devastation that a decade of construction on 4th Ave. would bring," said one woman who publicly testified Thursday.
To the north, this option would put a new station just to the east of 4th Avenue, between Jefferson and Terrace Streets. To the south, a new station would run underneath 6th Avenue South, just north of the Stadium Station and Greyhound Bus Station.
Officials said Thursday the benefit of that plan would avoid construction disruption and traffic detours-- something the businesses like.
"People want to go to the stadium, that'd be more convenient,” said Tim Zhou, restaurant manager of Chengdu Taste on 5th Avenue in the CID.
However, there is a trade-off that some pointed out at the meeting: it would mean less-centralized access to the historic neighborhood's central hub.
"We have to make a decision. No matter what we decide, somebody’s gonna be unhappy," said Sound Transit spokesperson Rachelle Cunningham, echoing sentiments from committee members receiving public testimony.
The decision, ultimately, was this: no decision at all.
"I hear great testimony supporting North and South of the CID, and opposing testimony of both options," said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell. "So I think my preference would be, again, to talk about 'to be determined.' I just think that’s a wise approach.”
Zhou was among the many fiercely pushing back against 5th Avenue as the location for a new light rail station.
"When we first heard of this news, we were kind of like, 'Um, oh my gosh, don’t-- just don’t," said Zhou. "Otherwise we’re probably gonna move our restaurant.”
He added, "We have a lot of concern about the water problems, the noise problems, and um, since the pandemic, people have not been coming to the International District. And so we are worried about if they start doing the construction, it’s going to get worse.”
He worries that construction impacts will mean his business will fail before he gets the chance to benefit from that new station, still years away.
"We need to survive first, and then we can see the future," said Zhou.
Some at Thursday's meeting maintained that a station on 4th Avenue is the answer.
“A 4th Avenue station clearly delivers the greatest benefit to the community," said one resident of the neighborhood.
Others, of course, disagreed. That is why the committee decided to table the decision for a later date. But all recommendations should be nailed down by their March 23 meeting, said Cunningham.
"Today is not the end of it. The 23rd is when the board will identify the preferred alternative-- hopefully-- for this, and then we'll go into the final EIS stage. And then it'll be more than a year for the project to be built to be selected," said Cunningham.