A Preview of King Street Station's New Plaza

Jackson Plaza illustration courtesy SDOT

"Oh look, mommy, flowers!"

One of the amazing things about redesigned public spaces is how rarely the homeless and transient people who may already congregate in the area are seen enjoying the new look.

Here, the new Jackson Plaza, replacing a parking lot that used to sit north of the King Street Station, gains a grove of trees fronting Jackson Street and--directly in the diagonal you'd expect people to walk to and from the station entrance--a planter area.

SDOT's Brian Henry, Associate Transportation Planner, graciously sent along these visualizations when I asked about the plaza's new look, but when I asked for a rationale for the design--("Can you tell me who is designing the plaza, and would they like to explain their ideas? I have to say at first glance it seems terribly unsuited as a place for people to walk through on the way to the train.")--we seemed to lose email contact. Three weeks later I still haven't heard back.

Jackson Plaza illustration courtesy SDOT

A station café, we can all agree, is a great addition to the station. I think currently there is a sandwich machine containing items of uncertain provenance, and one dispensing Coke products. King Street Station is not a place you'd spend time if you had a choice in the matter, and were walking past, and so it creates a fairly imposing dead space. A busy café drawing pedestrians could change that.

But when I look at the bird's-eye-view, the impression I get is that planners are trying to remove Jackson Street (and its unsavory denizens) from view, and create a little urban oasis. It's the kind of wishful urban planning, disconnected from usage patterns, that people tend to ignore. If you can't see the café from the street, or there appears to be a sense of remove, passersby will do just that. At night, they will likely speed up to get past by that shady grove of trees.

Jackson Plaza is to connect to the Grand Staircase at the station's northwest corner. That's in large part its function, to give this "important multimodal transportation hub" a Jackson-Street-facing entry, and "connect it to downtown’s pedestrian and bicycle networks," as well as bus lines, light rail, streetcars, and the Sounder. Does this plaza read as an entryway to anyone else (besides skateboarders, that is)?

I say back to the drawing board. Let's tie in Jackson Street, not pretend it isn't there. Give an unobstructed view of the station. Begin the station "anticipation" at the sidewalk. Let's assume it's the historic attraction it should be, and that far from needing an area of anesthetized urban tranquility out front, it'll be home to hustle and bustle.