I don’t know if the city can use this argument for itself, but it seems the Ballard Railroad Company is opening itself up to a large number of lawsuits from residential and business landowners near the Cross Kirkland Corridor as they will suffer significant damages if freight trains return.

As Kirkland taxpayers, residential and business landowners pay significant taxes to enable the city of Kirkland to purchase the rail corridor rights for the purpose of a trail and the future Sound Transit East Link service.

Both the trail and the East Link service will benefit everyone in Kirkland as well as increase property values over the abandoned, rusty freight tracks that do not serve any interests of anybody in Kirkland. This is a real harm being inflicted by a company that has no ties to Kirkland or the existing railway.

David Wall, Kirkland