The Battle for the Mud Flats

City Engineer R.H. Thomson filed a report with the board of public works regarding the proposed franchise for the extension of the Great Northern tracks from Railroad Avenue to the depot grounds on Jackson Street. Thomson warns that the construction of tracks as requested by the Seattle & Montana Railway would force steep, impractical grade changes on Jackson, Commercial, Second, Third, and Fourth streets. Such grades would effectively bar heavy traffic between the city and the 'mud flat' district. Furthermore, the plan threatens to place the terminal district at an elevation too low for gravity sewerage, forcing the city into expensive pumping operations. Thomson insists that the city must prioritize a unified terminal plan to ensure that the tide flats remain a viable manufacturing and commercial district rather than allowing individual railways to dictate street grades and block public access.