The clubhouse at the Nile Shrine Golf Course was full of community members Wednesday night who wanted to see the updated design of the Sound Transit light rail station in Mountlake Terrace and also express their concerns.

The meeting Wednesday night was formatted as an open house, meaning representatives from Sound Transit gave an orientation style presentation and then community members were directed to experts in the back of the room to ask questions. A formal question and answer period or oral comments were not allowed.

However, a bulletin board in the back of the room was available for community members to stick post-it notes expressing their likes and dislikes for the project anonymously.

In the first hour of the open house, only positive note had been stuck to the board. The poster was glad to see more trees being planted in the area as a result of the project.

However, around 10 notes were left on the negative side, with an even split between concerns about parking and concerns about safety.

“Please address lack of parking. Don’t ignore,” one note reads. “Fix parking. More east-west bus service,” reads another. A third simply reads “220th.” A fourth states “Plan for parking/work w/ private development. Quit passing the buck, Sound Transit,” echoing sentiments recently shared by the Mountlake Terrace City Council during one of its meetings.

Other community members wrote that they want to see turnstiles or some other form of security in the station. Public restrooms available on the bottom floor are a specific point of concern.

“Because of the public bathrooms, there will need to be constant security presence,” one community member wrote. “No turnstiles allows anyone to walk onto trains and necessitates security,” another note reads.

Before the room opened up into the open house setting, a presentation was given to orient attendees and share the design progress of the station.

First, after reviewing 3,000 comments on what the name of the station should be, Sound Transit is considering Mountlake Terrace Station as the station name, Fred Wilhelm of Sound Transit said. The Sound Transit Board will make the final decision at a later date.

Architect Terry Bulfin reviewed plans for the design of the station itself. The station building will have two wings, north and south. The lower level in both areas will contain the lobby, where customers can find ticket vending machines. The larger north lobby will also contain bicycle storage and the public restroom.

Materials on the station will primarily be a brown “earth tone” metal panel and concrete. Blue and green were selected as accent colors.

“It seems to be a common request in this area,” Bulfin said, referring to the station’s accent colors.

For more detailed photos of the station design, click here to view the design slides presented at Wednesday’s meeting. Feedback on the project can also be left at that link.

Construction on the Lynnwood Link is expected to begin next year and open to the public in 2023.

–Story and photos by Natalie Covate