By Exildah Smith
University of Washington communication intern

During the two decades he served as Edmonds Fire Chief, Tom Tomberg always worried about the ability of public safety officials to respond to emergencies on the Edmonds waterfront, which is separated from the rest of town by the frequent passage of passenger and freight trains along the water. Now, with the prospect of train traffic more than doubling — thanks to a proposed Bellingham terminal to ship U.S.-mined coal to China — the situation could be “catastrophic,” he said.

So on Wednesday morning, the recently-retired Tomberg joined a lineup of elected officials — from Edmonds Mayor Dave Earling to Washington State Representative (and House Transportation Committee Vice Chair) Marko Liias to Assistant Washington State Ferries Secretary David Moseley — calling for a way to mitigate the increased train traffic, which is expected to peak by the year 2030. One possible solution? An under-the-tracks tunnel that would allow both ferry traffic and emergency vehicles to pass quickly and safely, regardless of how many trains come by.

“Public safety should be really our focus,” Earling told the crowd of more than 100 people gathered in the grassy area along Railroad Avenue, just south of the ferry terminal. The emergency underpass concept, unveiled in a drawing developed during the past few weeks by architectural and engineering firm David Evans and Associates, is a “cut and cover” tunnel for ferry and emergency traffic that would run along the same road now followed by the ferry holding lanes, go under the tracks, and resurface at Railroad Avenue.

The cost is likely to be between $60 million and $80 million and while there is no currently identified source of funding, leaders present at the “Don’t Block Our Beach” rally pledged to explore ways to pay for the project.

Also among those supporting the idea — and attending the rally — were members of local environmental groups Sustainable Edmonds and the Sierra Club. Sustainable Edmonds will continue its separate effort to fight the increase in coal train traffic, but members agree with public safety officials that maintaining waterfront access is also a critical issue, organizer Todd Cloutier noted recently.

Others co-sponsors of the event included the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce, the Port of Edmonds and Edmonds Senior Center.

“In an emergency, minutes and seconds count,” Tomberg said. The area west of the railroad tracks includes a popular beach, the dog and scuba-diving parks, the restaurants, the marina and Port of Edmonds-related businesses — “all the things that make Edmonds, Edmonds,” he noted. “West of the tracks is a people-intensive place, one that public safety needs to be able to get to quickly and expeditiously.”

Fortunately, Tomberg said, train blockages have not yet caused any catastrophic incidents, but it’s only a matter of time, especially as train traffic increases. With a projection of 100 trains traveling the waterfront daily, including coal trains that are reportedly nearly a mile long, “what are the odds that we will escape serious life and property loss, due to trains blocking?” he asked.

“Going from 40 to 100 [trains] each day is simply unacceptable from a public safety standpoint without serious mitigation measures,” Tomberg said. “It is time for people of good will from the public and private sectors to sit down and work this thing out. Our public safety — and your safety — depends on it.”