Phillips, a member of the Sound Transit Board, said the proposed light rail line will have a station just south of Husky Stadium. In the letter, he tells MacDonald it makes sense to provide commuters with easy access to both light rail and transit from 520 and that the time to create that access is in the design phase.

“Commuting shouldn’t be a chore—our job is to make it easy for commuters. Too often, timing, funding and agency coordination issues prevent the type of comprehensive planning necessary for true big-picture thinking in transportation designs,” said Phillips. “Whether by integrating the Montlake community’s design into project plans or developing an alternative design, I hope WSDOT will take advantage of this opportunity to design a seamless transportation system that makes sense to future generations of commuters.”