Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle said the city is disappointed in the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program’s decision to have only one stop on the extended light rail system, a stop on the new bridge along the waterfront, with no extension to Library Square near Evergreen Boulevard

Paul Valencia
Clark County Today

The mayor of Vancouver said Monday that the city is disappointed with the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program’s latest proposal to bring light rail to Vancouver but only to a stop on the new bridge.

It goes against what the city has planned for years.

On Monday, the city officially made its argument through a resolution.

Members of the Vancouver City Council voted in favor of a resolution, asking the IBR to return to the original plan of bringing light rail over the new bridge and continue to a station at Library Square, near Evergreen Boulevard.

There were no passionate speeches during Monday’s City council meeting. In fact, the resolution itself was one of 11 parts in the consent agenda. The council approved all 11 items with one aye vote.

After the meeting, Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle gave a brief summary of the city’s position.

“I think all of us are disappointed that the thinking would be to bring light rail to a 90-foot elevator,” McEnerny-Ogle said. “That doesn’t work for our transition. We need it to a hub, a station, not to a stop.”

For years, the city has worked with partners on the idea that light rail would have two stops in Vancouver. One near the waterfront, high on the bridge, but the other at a station at the ground level near Evergreen Boulevard.

Last month, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson and others held a victory celebration in downtown Vancouver, claiming that construction of the new bridge would begin in 2028. On the same day, IBR officials quietly noted that for now, light rail would end with the waterfront stop. Last week, the IBR confirmed that the new plan was to keep costs down, with the idea that sometime in the future, the rail would extend to Evergreen Boulevard.

On Monday, the mayor noted that the final stop at Evergreen Boulevard has been in the works years. The resolution itself notes that the Modified Locally Preferred Alternative is also based on a station at Library Square.

“Bring light rail and drop it in the Library Square at Evergreen Boulevard,” McEnerny-Ogle said. “That is where C-TRAN and light rail transition together, so people can come right in off their buses, transition right to light rail and head to wherever they want to go. Or reverse. Come on in (on light rail) and then catch a bus to east Vancouver.”

The resolution also notes that the city and the Washington State Department of Transportation worked together to receive a $30 million federal grant to construct a lid over Interstate 5. That would reconnect communities around Evergreen Boulevard, with the idea that the hub would be a centerpiece of the new area.

Also included in the resolution is the city noting it would be a willing partner in seeking more funds for the project to ensure light rail extends to Library Square.

Light rail to Vancouver is a contentious issue in the region. Perhaps there is more support for light rail from those who live in the urban, downtown area of Vancouver, but it does not have a lot of support outside of that area. And certainly, it has very little support throughout the rest of Clark County.

But even the biggest opponents of light rail would likely agree that if light rail is coming, it makes even less sense for the lone stop in Vancouver to be on the new bridge. Such a stop would require an elevator and/or a long, spiral walkway for riders to reach the train.

Here is the resolution that the Vancouver City Council approved on Monday:

A RESOLUTION relating to the light rail transit (LRT) component of the Interstate 5

Bridge Replacement (IBR) ProgramWHEREAS, the City of Vancouver (“the City”) remains a committed supporter of the IBR

Program; and

WHEREAS, extensive analysis of high capacity transit modes and alignment has been conducted in collaboration with the IBR Program and partners; and

WHEREAS, in 2022, the City and IBR Program partners approved a Modified Locally

Preferred Alternative transit system that extended LRT from Oregon to a station at Evergreen

Boulevard near Library Square; and

WHEREAS, the City of Vancouver has invested staff and consultant resources to develop concept plans for the area near the planned LRT station; and

WHEREAS, the City led, with WSDOT as a co-applicant, a successful application for $30

Million in federal Reconnecting Communities grant funding to construct a lid over I-5 and connecting with the station at Evergreen Boulevard near Library Square; and

WHEREAS, the Evergreen Boulevard near Library Square station is a planned multimodal hub that connects LRT with C-TRAN’s local and Bus Rapid Transit system; and

WHEREAS, non-transit vehicular analysis conducted for IBR Supplemental

Environmental Impact Statement accounts for dispersion of traffic to and from the station at Evergreen Boulevard near Library Square in a manner that does not cause the City’s Downtown local street system to fail; and

WHEREAS, recent IBR Program analysis proposes that LRT terminate at the Vancouver

Waterfront station area rather than near the planned station at Evergreen Boulevard near Library Square; and

WHEREAS, the IBR Program’s Modified Locally Preferred Alternative consists, in part, of new LRT service with an interim Minimum Operating Segment northern terminus immediately south of E. Evergreen Boulevard near Library Square in Vancouver, WA.

WHEREAS, the City is a willing and able partner in seeking additional funding to support a light rail alignment that includes a station at Evergreen Boulevard near Library Square;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF VANCOUVER:

The Vancouver City Council strongly recommends that LRT extend beyond the planned

Waterfront Station and connect with C-TRAN’s existing and planned bus system at a multimodal hub by Evergreen Boulevard near Library Square to achieve the stated purpose and needs of the IBR Program.