The Sound Transit board has set a new path for its planned light rail expansions by embracing a plan that would split a light rail station in the heart of the International District into two smaller stations north and south of Chinatown that proponents say would be less disruptive to the communities and small businesses of the area. But the split would have repercussions up and down the city including eliminating the planned Midtown Station near 4th and Madison that would serve as a relatively nearby access point for the neighborhoods of First Hill.

The governing board voted 15-1 Thursday to pursue the “North of C-ID” option hinging on a last minute proposal backed by King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell that will create one of the likely twin stations at 4th and James. Another south of the ID would also be required to manage the future light rail traffic flows as the system branches out to Ballard and West Seattle.

The Urbanist explained the maneuverings here:

Instead of a long-promised transit hub in the Chinatown-International District (CID) and a station in Midtown on the doorstep of First Hill, the official study will now include a brand new “North and South of CID” alignment. The change drops connectivity approved by voters in 2016, moves the hub station to Pioneer Square, and will add a station in the desolate SoDo industrial area, blocks south of Uwajimaya Asian Market.

A proposal that would create a large light rail facility at Union Station is also still possible but was not supported during Thursday’s session.

CHS reported here on efforts in the First Hill neighborhood to support planning that kept the Midtown Station alive. Thursday’s vote doesn’t kill that hope — but it does push it further from reality.

The shifting plans could mean Sound Transit will once again be on the hook for offering an alternative after falling short on promised service to First Hill.

First Hill was originally lined up for a station of its own in 1996 with the start of light rail planning in Seattle. According to the Seattle Times in 2005, Sound Transit staff told the board that a deep-underground First Hill Station posed potentially expensive construction and schedule risks and would hurt the light-rail line’s prospects for badly needed federal grants.

In lieu, Sound Transit paid for the 2.5-mile, ten station First Hill Streetcar route which cost approximately $134 million and still has city planners scratching their heads trying to find a way to speed up the service.

One solution to the Midtown cut could involve making late changes to the under construction RapidRide G bus rapid transit line.

In the meantime, the shifting plans means a fuzzier future for light rail service to reach the city’s edges. Sound Transit currently estimates a start of service for West Seattle in 2032 with Ballard coming online sometime between 2037 and 2039.

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