Dogs will be allowed on Seattle’s light rail

Sound Transit will fetch more passengers soon, welcoming your four-legged buddy to Ride the Wave.”

The agency’s governing board voted Thursday to allow dogs on leashes aboard Link light rail, Sounder commuter trains and ST Express buses, after the transit staff writes new rules. Dogs will ride free.

In doing so, transit-board members followed the paw prints of King County Metro, which encourages dogs aboard the nation’s seventh-busiest public bus network, where that’s been allowed since at least 1997.

Sound Transit’s change was inspired by this spring’s opening of Marymoor Village Station, a half-mile walk from the county’s 40-acre off-leash area in Marymoor Park.

“It’s time for walkies,” Sound Transit board Chair Dave Somers, who is also Snohomish County executive, declared in a recent committee discussion.

Board members voted unanimously Thursday to create dog policies, and directed staff to consider policies for leashed cats. Questions remain, such as would some railcars be off-limits to animals.

Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine said he expects to finish public outreach and a policy by year’s end. The three-station Federal Way light rail extension opens in late 2025.

Until now, Sound Transit required pets to be in travel carriers, which tracks with most other light rail agencies in the country, a staff report said. Cleanliness and comfort of other passengers were two reasons for strict limits.

Supporters argue that allowing leashed dogs will improve regional mobility, especially for people who own dogs but don’t drive automobiles.

The metro Seattle area ranks No. 1 for young married couples who have no children but live with a cat or dog – a distinction that makes dogs on trains suitable here.

“Seattle is full of dogs and their people. This would give people the opportunity to go to the vet, dog parks, and other dog-friendly establishments,” testified McKenna Lux, deputy director at the nonprofit Transportation Choices Coalition. Her group organized a small demonstration of dogs and owners Thursday at Union Station, calling for them to “Bark at the Board.”

“The expectations of our society have changed, even in the last 20 years. Pets are much more with people in their daily travels throughout the region,” said Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine.

Barking in the park

On a hot morning this week, dog owners in the grasslands of Marymoor said dog-friendly trains would be a welcome change.

“My son lives at Northgate. As soon as it goes to Seattle, he’ll ride the train and take the dog,” said Dean DeAlteriis, of Sammamish, walking with his chow/shepherd mix Kingsley.

Dani Noll, of Redmond, and her 9-year-old twin daughters had just taken their Bernedoodle Toby for a dunk in the Sammamish River, and were delighted to hear the pet-friendly news. The farther that light rail extends, the more likely her family, including Toby, would be to ride trains and avoid big-time driving stress.

“We go to the Seattle waterfront all the time, and the ferry to Bainbridge. All of that would be super convenient,” she said. . “

Some dog owners said they’ll still drive dogs to Marymoor despite the new train station, especially if they don’t live near light rail.

Currently, the only dogs allowed on light rail are service dogs, mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Some pets ride it anyway. Officials say legalizing them will establish clear behavior expectations, or perhaps areas where dogs are or aren’t allowed.

“If a dog is leashed and generally under control, security will not engage with that passenger, unless there is an actual disturbance,” said Brian de Place, acting executive director of security and fare engagement said at a recent meeting. In the past year, there were eight complaints about dogs, de Place said.

Micah Glaz, of Seattle, said he sometimes takes his blue heeler, Trixie, on trains to Roosevelt Station to meet other Green Lake runners. They would certainly trek to Marymoor. “If they advertise that dogs are allowed, more would use it,” he predicts.

King County Metro Transit sometimes does just that. A 2015 marketing video celebrated Eclipse, a black Labrador who rode the D Line to a dog park by herself, while wearing an ORCA fare card. The story went viral nationwide.

Metro doesn’t collect data on dog ridership or security incidents. Like airline passengers, dogs are supposed to pay Metro fare unless they sit on an owner’s lap, but dog fares are rarely collected.

What other transit agencies do

Currently, King County Water Taxi, Community Transit, Everett Transit, and the Seattle Center Monorail welcome leashed dogs. Washington State Ferries allows them on outdoor decks. They’re banned at Kitsap Transit.

Portland MAX trains forbid dogs outside carriers, although back in 2019, a llama named Caesar took a well-documented transit excursion, flouting local rules.

Vancouver, B.C.’s SkyTrain rejected a 2018 request to allow uncaged dogs. Only six of 25 big North American agencies allowed leashed pets, staff reported. Surveys found Vancouverites worried about “aggression, allergies, fear of dogs, messes, and smells,” said spokesperson Dan Mountain.

“Leashes can get stuck in SkyTrain doors or can create a tripping hazard,” Mountain said. SkyTrain serves 450,000 daily riders, or four times Sound Transit’s volume, in railcars that are generally smaller, more frequent and more crowded.

Sound Transit board member Claudia Balducci of Bellevue doesn’t think the Eastside’s 2 Line will be too crowded for dogs anytime soon. However, transit staff should write reasonable standards, possibly limiting dogs after sports and concerts, she said.

Boston’s subway system already has such a policy, allowing leashed dogs except weekday peak hours, holidays or events such as the Boston Marathon.

Balducci said that like many others, she’s taken her corgi/shih tzu “Angel” on the train to “Paws & Pride, a group walk at Bellevue Downtown Park. She insists that leashed-dog standards be in place before Sound Transit’s long-delayed crossing of the I-90 floating bridge opens next year.