Port of Seattle is located by major transportation arteries and two major sports stadiums.
The railroad serving the Port of Seattle is echoing concerns raised by the Port and the Seattle Mariners about the effects of adding a third sports venue in SODO.
In a letter to Seattle City Council President Sally Clark, a top BNSF Railway official said a proposed NBA and NHL arena near CenturyLink and Safeco fields could make traffic worse for port operations.
“BNSF believes a much more focused look at traffic and parking impacts as well as the job and economic benefits of our industrial maritime area must be carefully weighed before the city takes any action toward approval of the current arena proposal,” wrote Terry Finn, BNSF’s executive director of government affairs.
On Thursday, Seattle and King County officials joined lead arena investor Chris Hansen to announce that steps will be taken to ease concerns about traffic in SODO should the arena proposal go forward. Hansen said he will spend up to $10 million in private funds to cover pre-development costs, including a comprehensive transportation study of the SODO area.
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