It is situated between the Othello and Mount Baker stations on the 1 Line, which runs from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport to Downtown Seattle and the University of Washington as part of the Link light rail system.

Columbia City station is also served by two King County Metro bus routes that connect it to Mount Baker, Renton and West Seattle.

[10] The Zion Preparatory Academy sold its campus to developers in 2009 for $5 million;[11] the 6-acre (2.4 ha) site was redeveloped into a six-building complex with 244 apartments by The Wolff Company in 2015.

[16] A modern light rail system was proposed by a newly formed regional transit authority (RTA) in 1995, including a line running on Rainier Avenue between Downtown Seattle and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport that stopped in Columbia City.

[17] After the $6.7 billion proposal was rejected by voters in March 1995, the RTA considered building a shorter elevated line on Rainier Avenue, including an option beginning at Columbia City and ending in the University District.

[22] In November 1999, the Sound Transit Board instead selected an at-grade alignment on Martin Luther King Jr. Way to the west of Rainier, with a station at South Edmunds Street.

[24] Construction began later that year, with early work on Martin Luther King Jr. Way primarily consisting of utility relocation, property condemnation and reconstruction of the roadway.

At both of the station's entrances are ticket vending machines and an ORCA card reader; beyond that lies the partially covered platform and waiting area, which includes seating and public art.

The shovel's surface is cast from molds of indigenous plants, fruits and vegetables from around the world; Fuller drew inspiration from the number of home gardens she saw in the Rainier Valley and sought to represent the neighborhood's cultural and racial diversity.

[43][44] Columbia City station is part of Sound Transit's 1 Line, which runs from between Lynnwood, the University of Washington campus, Downtown Seattle, the Rainier Valley, and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.

[47][48] Prior to March 2016, route 8 served the Martin Luther King Jr. Way corridor, connecting Columbia City station to the Central District, Capitol Hill, and Lower Queen Anne.

[51] During the annual Seafair, free shuttle buses are used between Columbia City station and hydroplane races on Lake Washington at Genesee Park.