Commissioners revisiting right of way for light rail

Even if the public supports a future light rail system, an upcoming Spokane County Commission decision may throw the project off-track.

Commissioners are revisiting a 2004 decision to transfer ownership of former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad property to the city of Spokane Valley.

The narrow band of land from University Road to the Spokane Valley city limits is being considered for extension of the Appleway portion of the Sprague-Appleway couplet. It has also been viewed as part of the most logical corridor for any light rail system between downtown Spokane and Liberty Lake.

Commissioners Phil Harris and Mark Richard both oppose a provision, approved by two previous commissioners, requiring Spokane Valley to give any future mass transit system free passage along the corridor.

“We’re giving Spokane Valley control over their own destiny,” said Richard, who added that the city shouldn’t be forced to provide a path for light rail.

Loss of the right of way would make the push for light rail more difficult, but not impossible, advocates say.

“It doesn’t preclude our project, but it doesn’t make it any easier,” said K.C. Traver, Spokane Transit Authority’s light rail project manager.

Traver said the right of way could be purchased or acquired through eminent domain if federal funds were used to build it.

“But that’s a route we would prefer not to take and would not be desirable,” he said. He said eminent domain could be more costly and create hard feelings and opposition to the project.

STA has been examining several mass transit options for about four years, so far spending $7.6 million on studies; the bulk of the money came from federal grants. STA has spent about $1.5 million of its own money on the studies and public meetings.

Once a federally mandated environmental impact study is completed, STA will put the options up for public review, Traver said.

Some have already made up their minds.

Harris has spoken out against light rail.

When county commissioners approved the first version of the transfer agreement, Harris voted against it, citing, in part, his “mindset against light rail.”

Former Commissioners John Roskelley and Kate McCaslin both supported the caveat requiring Spokane Valley to allow light rail.

“My intent in advocating for that language is so that the city of Spokane Valley would be required to provide free of charge, at whatever point in the future, an easement over that property for high-capacity transit,” McCaslin said at the time, adding that Spokane Valley shouldn’t be able to block light rail or charge STA to use the corridor.

Richard Munson, Spokane Valley councilman and an STA board member, said he was unaware of the possible change.

“What we asked them to do was allow us to have an interim use of the right of way if we weren’t to extend Appleway right away,” he said.But Munson, who is undecided on whether a mass transit system should be built, said he isn’t too worried about the change.

“Light rail has some other hurdles to overcome before there are any worries about right of way,” he said.

Chief among those is funding.

Cost estimates to build a mass transit system range from $65 million for a bus rapid transit system given priority access along existing streets to $657 million for a dual-track, electric light-rail system. Prices for other options fall between the two extremes.

“You can have the greatest thing in the world for people that fills a significant need,” said Munson, “but if they don’t want to pay for it, why would you want to build it?”