Should light rail run though Bellevue's Mercer Slough Nature Park? Not so fast

COYOTES tiptoe through tall grasses. Brightly colored Wood Ducks splash-land beneath the arch of a footbridge. Canoes navigate a waterway sparkling with yellow iris and cattails. Joggers navigate miles of footpaths. Walkers enjoy the sounds and smells of an urban oasis.

This is the Mercer Slough — the 320-acre nature park nestled between Interstate 90 and the skyscrapers of downtown Bellevue.

Located in the heart of Bellevue, the Mercer Slough Nature Park offers a unique setting for recreation and the simple tranquillity of a morning stroll. Lake Washington's largest remaining wetland, the slough is home to hundreds of plant species and provides diverse habitat for more than 170 animal species. Its meandering creeks provide habitat for fish, frogs and a host of waterfowl.

Over time, the city of Bellevue has constructed a network of elevated boardwalks and soft surface trails that allow visitors to navigate this urban wetland without disturbing its wild residents.

The city recently spent $11 million to upgrade the slough's nature observatory and education center, which hosts tens of thousands of visitors each year, mostly schoolchildren and summer campers. The city's commitment to the nature preserve has long been an outstanding example of how Eastside communities can balance suburban growth with parks that enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors.

Now a proposal has surfaced to run the region's light-rail line across the slough, connecting to 118th Avenue Southeast, and running all the way up its eastern border. While Sound Transit's so-called B7 option has been portrayed as a "Not In My Back Yard" conflict between the Mercer Slough and Surrey Downs neighborhoods, the threat to the slough should actually be framed in a wider context.

The slough is enjoyed by hikers, cyclists and dog walkers who have mailing addresses in King County and beyond. It exists as a regional resource and a wildlife magnet that creates benefits beyond its physical boundaries for residents of Bellevue and thousands of others. Watching a family of hooded mergansers paddle between the banks of its waterways, it's hard not to marvel at the beauty and fragility of our natural world.

Sound Transit and the city of Bellevue need to sit down and ponder a series of tough choices regarding the light-rail route.

Should it directly connect passengers to downtown Bellevue, where it can bring people directly to the shopping hub of Bellevue Square? Should it serve more as a corridor line paralleling Interstate 405, bringing it closer to Overlake Hospital Medical Center? How can noise be most effectively mitigated for the streets that it will run through?

The time is ripe for creative ideas to be brought to the fore in the workshops and meetings sponsored by the City Council and Sound Transit. These conversations should take into account the fact that residential patterns are fluid and will change over time to take advantage of transit opportunities, attracting more people who will relish the opportunity to use light rail to commute, while minimizing the time spent in their cars and trucks.

Our lifestyles have been built around the convenience of the automobile, yet other options are about to be brought into the mix.

Inevitably, some group of people will be unhappy with a decision to place a train line in close proximity to their neighborhood, despite the benefits of having a transit line within walking distance. Residents who purchased homes decades ago will feel a sense of disruption and even betrayal.

The art of politics is to balance competing interests, preserve minority rights and craft solutions that advance "the greater good." Citizens of our region have identified mass transit as a necessary element to reduce congestion and enhance quality of life for all of us.

Preserving the Mercer Slough — a unique space where humans and wildlife can commune in peace — is also an element of the great good of our region.