Last Monday, I reminisced with my friend Aileen about the days when the Madrona Ale House was a corner drugstore, the same corner drugstore that she and her neighborhood playmates frequented for candy fixes and that I passed every day on the 2 on my way to school. The Madrona of today bears almost no resemblance to the Madrona of our childhoods. So, in the custom of those who witness the transformation of a place they love, we spent the evening waxing poetic about the “good old days,” decrying the changes and all those associated with them.

As deeply as I’ve mourned the losses I’ve endured as my hometown has grown up (and, unfortunately, out), I understand that change is constant (just ask the Duwamish people). Sometimes, it is even necessary. I am certainly glad I don’t face the overt discrimination that my grandparents endured when they moved here in the ’30s. And while I sometimes miss the Seattle of my childhood, I know that stagnation is not an option. If we want to end our transportation nightmare, for example, we can’t cling to the past. We’ll have to make big changes to our current, car-centric infrastructure.

Light rail is one of those necessary changes. Not surprisingly, I absolutely believe that we should build the light rail in Seattle. I would even go so far as to say we don't have a choice. On a recent tour of Sound Transit’s construction of the Rainier Valley, I was able to see the progress up close, and for the most part, I liked what I saw. The heretofore neglected (and far too car-centric) south end stands to benefit greatly from the new train, which will reduce traffic and pollution and improve access to key destinations. Sound Transit is even repaving all of MLK, widening sidewalks and burying power lines while they’re at it.

Still, as someone who has fond memories of the “old” Rainier Valley, I am saddened by some of the changes brought about by the construction. Homes have been demolished to make room for tracks and the aforementioned sidewalks. Decades-old trees have been removed, to be replaced by new ones. And, in anticipation of its increased desirability, property values in the neighborhood — one of the few economically diverse neighborhoods left in the city — are rising.