Sound Transit and the Bellevue City Council will get together next week to try to come up with some answers on the alignment of light rail through downtown Bellevue. The joint meeting Feb. 11 is tentatively scheduled for Meydenbauer Center in downtown Bellevue at 1 p.m. 1:30 p.m. (Update: It will be open to the public, but no public testimony will be taken, since it is only a workshop. However, the Sound Transit board could take action during the meeting.)

The main issue on the agenda is light rail's route through downtown Bellevue. But Sound Transit staffers also will give the board a thumbnail analysis of issues they'll have to keep in mind if they give the go-ahead to study a new rail alignment through the middle of Mercer Slough.

A week ago, the Bellevue City Council asked the agency to study the "B7 modified" route, as it's called -- a route that tracks north to the South Bellevue Park and Ride lot, then jogs east and crosses Mercer Slough.

Environmentalists and land-use experts questioned whether such a route could win key environmental permits. We also heard from some readers who pointed us to Section 4(f) of the National Transportation Act of 1966, which protects parklands, wetlands and historic structures.

Yes, Section 4(f) is something that Sound Transit will have to consider before it puts any effort into studying the route, said Bruce Gray, spokesman for Sound Transit.

According to the Federal Highway Administration's Web site, the act says "that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and other DOT agencies cannot approve the use of land from publicly owned parks, recreational areas, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, or public and private historical sites unless the following conditions apply: There is no feasible and prudent alternative to the use of land; The action includes all possible planning to minimize harm to the property resulting from use."

The council came up with the B7 modified route to try to avoid residential areas but still link light rail to the South Bellevue Park and Ride lot. However, reader Walter Casto, who is vice-president of the Mercer Slough Neighborhood Association, points out that both the B7 and the modified B7 routes won't avoid all residential areas -- either route takes the train very close to the Brookshire Condominiums, on 118th Avenue Southeast, just south of Southeast Eighth Street.

About that council letter to Sound Transit. The council is asking for the modified B7 alternative to be evaluated and included in an update to the East Link Environmental Impact Statement.

Here's what the council's letter says:

The council "has agreed that the route should meet the following principles:

"- Serve the significant transit market at the South Bellevue Park and Ride lot;

"- Preserve city street capacity;

"- Connect to downtown Bellevue as quickly and efficiently as reasonably possible;

"- Protect the character and livability of existing neighborhoods by minimizing noise, vibrations, visual impacts and ensuring light rail design is consistent with Bellevue's local land use plan; and

"- Take a long-term perspective towards Phase Three of Sound Transit.

"With these principles in mind and the goal of achieving alignment with Sound Transit's and the City's objectives, the Council unanimously believes there is value in conducting an evaluation of a modified B7 alternative. The new alternative would expand the South Bellevue Park-and-Ride lot to the south, with the new light rail station, then cross the Mercer Slough Nature Park, before heading north on the BNSF railroad right of way, along 118th and 114th Avenues Southeast to downtown.

"This modified alternative appears to offer significant opportunties to achieve the guiding principles discussed above. Consequently, we request this modified B7 alternative to be evaluated and included in an update to the East Link Environmental Impact Statement."