Sound Transit seeks public input on ST3 Draft Plan

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
image description
Sound Transit

Sound Transit has launched a month-long effort to hear from residents on the Sound Transit 3 (ST3) Draft Plan and launched a series of seven public meetings around the region starting April 19.

 

“Sound Transit 3 delivers on the promise of a truly regional mass transit system for generations to come,” said Sound Transit Board Chair and King County Executive Dow Constantine. “The public input we receive will help us shape the best final plan that will be on the November ballot.”

The ST3 Draft Plan responds to region-wide support for additional mass transit expansions as the region’s population grows by an estimated million residents by 2040. The projected growth is equivalent to adding the current combined populations of Seattle, Tacoma and Everett. By adding 58 miles of light rail and 39 stations, ST3 would establish 108-mile system providing 525,000 riders congestion-free service each day.

Over a 25-year period, the draft plan would complete the long-envisioned regional transit spine to Everett, Tacoma and downtown Redmond, while also adding new lines to the system reaching West Seattle, South Lake Union, Ballard and a new Eastside line linking downtown Bellevue, Eastgate and Issaquah.

Comments received during the public comment period, which runs through April 29, will help the Sound Transit Board adopt a final plan in the June timeframe for voter consideration November 8.

The ST3 Draft Plan’s $50 billion in investments would be funded in part by $28 billion in new voter-approved sales, MVET and property taxes. The estimated additional costs of the new taxes for a typical adult in the Sound Transit District are approximately $200 annually or $17 a month.

The projects would be delivered in steady succession over the plan’s 25-year period. The timeline reflects the significant time requirements for building major infrastructure projects and the scale of the light-rail extensions and capital investments, which are more than double Sound Transit’s first two phases. The major investments require revenues collected over the full 25-year period, as well as bond sales and federal funding.

 

 

Tags: