Northgate — Attraction in Seattle

It's functional. Ticket kiosks are easy to use and you can get a ticket or an orca card very easily. However the use of the card is not very clear with signage. The 1st time i traveled on the link, I totally missed the tap machine, which charges you for your trip. I expected the card tap machines to be on the light rail coach or just outside on the platform but it is at the lower level before you enter the platform. Also, only escalators and elevators from the 2nd level to the 3rd level there the platform is. I did not find a regular staircase. So you have to ride the escalator waiting behind standing people and may miss your train.

Not much thought given to adding beauty and character. Also no manned counter/help desk. The station doesn't seem future proof. Escalators seem to be wearing down already.

I love public transport and i love trains and train stations. The place feels empty. There are no facilities or services outside or inside- no place to get a snack/drink. No water fountains/coffee shops. There is a mall nearby but if you are on your way to something you will not go 10 min walk away for a coffee etc. there is a clean bathroom available - you have to call through a buzzer and request it to be unlocked.

Can't wait for line 1 to be extended to Lynnwood!

I hope the ridership increases but the link doesn't provide much incentive to choose it over driving. It's significantly slower than driving. Takes 49 minutes from North gate to SeaTac airport! So unless you are enthusiastic about public transport or drinking, you are not likely to use it.

I have so far used it only to go to...

Not bad but not great.

good transit connections to bus during most of the day wide sidewalks adjacent and on platform with enough covered seating/standing area +near 24 hour security seems to keep crime to a minimum. yes, there will still be people loitering at road level, but they seem mostly harmless. eg so far i've not seen acts of vandalism or other crime with security present -great to have the Lewis Bridge over I-5 to go straight to the station from points west

long signals for cars from I-5 and adjacent streets for which bikes and peds must wait. need to employ ped/bike signals and change faster when bikes/peds are present -before 24 hour security was paid for by ST, bathrooms were ruined. according to several security guards, those bathrooms will not be reopened for foreseeable future. portapotties mostly used by the unhoused will remain. for related reason the bike room won't open -needs some kind of express service even if at reduced frequency 1+ hour from northgate to angle lake is not competitive with driving, sometimes even during rush hours -nobody seems to pay for link. i'm sure some percentage have employer sponsored cards which they don't care to tap on/off, but that can't be 100% of adult riders. and nearly every time i'm here, i see exactly 0 people tag their cards. i'm nearly floored when i do see...

More stark mediocrity from Sound Transit. Sure, it's a little shiny and new but, with ST's severe lack of ongoing cleaning and maintenance, in a few months or years, it'll be dirty with broken elevators and/or escalators.

Speaking of elevators, as is true with most all of the (ill-planned) stations on Line 1, one is forced to ride two separate elevators to get off the platform, except at the most northern shaft.

The station feels sterile, soul-less and art-less, has ZERO services (no vendors, food or otherwise, no restrooms, no water fountains, no truly reliable real time traveler updates and there's a general total lack of sense of place, and minimal way-finding communications, signage).

Some planner or planners at Sound Transit need to be replaced with someone who a) has actually used the better public transport systems of the world b) actually uses the system regularly for schedule-dictated transport like most riders do.

PS- more color, more art, some music and at least one food vendor at each future station, please, Sound Transit. Because, right now, your stations are beyond underwhelming. And, as I'm sure you know, they are getting trashed with little in the way of real...