This post originally appeared on Orphan Road.

Via my inbox, a meeting coming up on the design of the Capitol Hill light rail station. The station will be a major, major change for the neighborhood. So all you hipsters who plan to still be living there in 2016 or so — make sure your voice is heard!

Between the streetcar down Broadway and this, expect the neighborhood to resemble a war zone for the next few years. (Though residents of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way will no doubt tell you that yer gettin’ off easy.)

COMMUNITY MEETING

Tuesday, June 12, 2007
6:00 – 8:00 PM

Seattle Central Community College Room 1110

SOUND TRANSIT CAPITOL HILL STATION UPDATE

The Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce and the Capitol Hill Neighborhood
Plan Stewardship Council are hosting a meeting regarding the planned
Capitol Hill station for Sound Transit’s regional light rail. Sound
Transit will present its current plans for the station entrances,
property acquisition and relocation, and construction timeline. The
Chamber and Stewardship Council will outline community driven
principles for the station, related construction impacts, and
subsequent redevelopment.

In late 2006, the Sound Transit Board authorized work to design and
construct the “University Link” which extends light rail from Downtown
to the University of Washington including a station in the heart of
Capitol Hill. This station, located on the east side of Broadway
between John and Denny, is projected to have 12,000 boardings a day.
Since the first of the year Sound Transit has been working on their
plans for the Capitol Hill station and has initiated land acquisition
and relocation. Their current timeframe calls for a seven year
construction period.

Sound Transit is now coming. The Chamber and the Stewardship Council
recognize the benefits to the neighborhood and Broadway of improving
connections to Downtown, the UW and the region as well as the
potential for regional light rail to improve transportation mobility.
However, it is also recognized that the station and subsequent
redevelopment on Sound Transit land is a “hundred year” decision for
the Capitol Hill community. From a neighborhood perspective it is
critical the station entrances are appropriately designed and located,
construction period impacts are addressed, and subsequent
redevelopment supports mixed use buildings with strong retail on
Broadway and housing that serves a mix of incomes. This is the
critical decision making period.

The meeting will have a short presentation, question and answer
period, and an open house component for your questions and comments.