Northgate station is the current northern terminus of the Central Link light rail (named the 1 line at the opening of this extension). The station opened as part of a three stop, 4.3 mile light rail extension on October 2, 2021 and is the first stop north of downtown Seattle that isn’t in a deep-bore tunnel. Instead, the station is elevated. 1,000 feet before the station trains exit at a tunnel portal just east of I-5 and run onto a concrete elevated guideway. The station will be the northern terminus for about 3 years with an extension farther north to Lynwood projected to open on August 30, 2024. This extension is all on a concrete elevated guideway just east of Interstate 5.
Northgate is the location of a major Transit Center with lots of bus connections. Light rail service can be seen as the corridor reaching peak transit of establishing high-capacity transit service between Northgate and Downtown (all fully grade-separated). Transit service began with express bus Route 41 from the nearby Northgate Mall via the I-5 reversible express lanes in 1970. This bus route began operating via the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel after its opening in 1991 until buses was kicked out for Light Rail trains only in 2019. It was operated via dual-mode buses (direct electricity in the tunnel via trolley poles, diesel outside) between 1991 and 2005 before it was replaced by hybrid electric buses using battery power within the tunnel after the transit tunnel re-opened in 2007 after a two-year rebuilding of the platforms and original light rail train tracks. This bus route was discontinued on October 2, 2021 with the opening of the light rail. The station still services plenty of other bus routes (many of which used to operate down I-5 to Downtown Seattle).
The station is at the location of the Northgate Transit Center. The Northgate Transit Center opened in 1992 and consists of a single central island with buses running contraflow around a central bus stop island. This transit center was surrounded by parking lots with over 1,000 parking spaces (all normally filled before 9:00am on weekdays) surrounding the entire block (except the location of the transit center) bounded by 1st Avenue NE, 3rd Avenue NE, NE 103 Street and NE 100th Street. A white tentlike canopy structure is held up by red support columns (very early 90s-looking). Green bus shelters lined the sides of the canopies.
The opening of the light rail station removed the 1990s transit center from public use, although the center is still used by buses laying over. The simpler bus shelters that were in the Transit Center have been removed with new white on Green No Boarding Here signs and arrows pointing towards the Link 1 Line and Buses outside the station’s bus loop. Buses today stop parallel to the former transit center on at a new smaller bus loop outside of the southern rail station entrance, plus additional stops around the light rail station entrances (no bus connections require crossing any streets).
The current light rail station consists of a tall, elevated station with a single island platform for the two-track line. The station straddles NE 103 Street; just east and parallel with 1st Avenue NE. Orange LED screens tell passengers Next Train NB Platform or SB Platform (a little bit confusing in my opinion), there is no traditional next train arrow pointing towards the next train platform. The platform is canopied for most of its length with the extreme ends open to the elements.
The station has two distinctive mezzanine areas that are interrupted when the station crosses over NE 103 Street. The major mezzanine is located under the southern half of the platform. A staircase, a bank of two escalators and a platform elevator leads down to an airy, glass walled mezzanine area. This is where the station’s Orca TVMs are with lots of signs that the paid fare zones begin at the bottom of the staircases/escalators up to the platform.
From here there are three different ways to reach the street. The simple two is via another bank of escalators down to street level at the southern end, along with a staircase at the northern end lead down to the relocated Northgate Transit Center. There is also a seperate street elevator.
This transit center has two sections with 4 bus major bus bays circling the platform. Two of the bus stops are directly alongside 1st Avenue. At the southern end of this driveway (just south of the southern escalators and beyond the end of the station platform is a very small bus island. This island contains two modern glass shelters for its bus stops, with additional bus stops right outside the station exits. Next to the bus bays (passengers have to cross them) is a public kiss and ride passenger pick-up and drop-off driveway, this kiss and ride extends the block from NE 100th Street to NE 103rd Street.
A unique feature of this southern mezzanine is a long pedestrian footbridge that directly protrudes across 1st Avenue southwest from the station. This footbridge is named the John Lewis Memorial Bridge. The bridge first leads down a ramp to the end NE 100 Street, just across 1st Avenue from the station, this primarily provides access to some park & ride parking spaces tucked between 1st Avenue and I-5. This pedestrian bridge continues to serve its main purpose as a way to get across I-5, complete with somewhat decorative arch as it goes over the freeway leading to the North Seattle College (renamed in 2014 from North Seattle Community College) campus.
The northern end of the platform has a single escalator and staircase that leads down to a much smaller mezzanine area. There is also an elevator who’s landing is just beyond the end of the main canopied portion of the platform with a narrower section of canopy connecting it to the main canopied area. This small mezzanine area leads directly to the middle level (the third level is the roof) of a 3-deck 450 space parking garage that opened in November 2018. The opening of the parking garage was to start compensating for all the lost parking spaces required for the construction of the station entrance plazas and new closer to the light rail bus bays. This parking garage is partially built underground into a hillside. A staircase leads from this mezzanine area at the parking structure down to the NE corner of 103 Street and 1st Avenue NE just under the elevated rail line. Elevator access at this corner to the light rail mezzanine is via a bank of two elevators that stop on all 3 levels of the garage. The landings at the lowest level face the sidewalk. The elevators on the lowest landing are directly on the sidewalk and labeled Northgate Station Garage.
There is additional parking surrounding the station area. There is an additional 5 level parking garage, just east of and next to the main station’s parking garage. This garage was clearly built a longer time ago that is branded as a King County Metro Park & Ride. This garage is shared with the Northgate Station (the renamed Northgate Mall). A final large park & ride lot, the Northgate Transit Center East Park & Ride is located between the no longer in passenger service transit center and 3rd Avenue. There is finally some transit parking in the Thornton Place Garage with some transit spaces on particular floors. This garage is just across 3rd Avenue from the original transit center area. King County is currently evaluating adding lots of Transit Oriented Development to the station area so I expect all of these different parking lots to change.
Parking at the station is mostly free, although there are some signs for private parking lots that charged up to $10 a day pre-pandemic for transit passengers who have no choice but find the over 1,000 free parking spaces full. As of 2023 a portion of the original main parking lot of the Transit Center near the corner of 103 Street NE and 3 Avenue NE is under redevelopment for much better use than free car storage. A new apartment building being built by a nonprofit with 232 affordable housing units is under construction and additional transit-oriented development is planned around the station.
Photos 1-57 taken on October 11, 2022; 58 & 59: October 15, 2022;
Roosevelt
