A new plan aims to address Sound Transit’s budget problems while moving forward with some — but not all — of the agency’s planned Link light rail expansions. It was introduced by Dave Somers, Sound Transit Board chair and Snohomish County executive.
The proposal, presented at a Sound Transit Board meeting Thursday, follows months of wrangling over the future of the light rail. Sound Transit has a projected $34.5 billion budget shortfall. But it also has a promise to keep: A decade ago, voters approved the agency’s plan to build out the region’s light rail system to reach Ballard, West Seattle, Issaquah, Everett and Tacoma.
Sound Transit’s budget shortfall — attributed to inflation, tariffs and other factors — put some of those planned connections on the chopping block. In recent months, transit advocates across the region have rallied to save their stations, and elected leaders have pledged to fight for the trains their constituents were promised.
Somers’ proposal won’t make everyone happy.
If approved, the plan would see the light rail connections to Everett and Tacoma completed, along with the new line to West Seattle. But it would defer the light rail connection to Ballard until more money is identified, cutting the light rail short at the Seattle Center instead of Ballard’s Market Street as originally planned.
The proposal would also defer planned infill stations at Boeing Access Road in Tukwila and Graham Street in Rainier Valley; push the light rail line between south Kirkland and Issaquah back nine years to 2050; and defer several smaller projects, such as parking lots at the light rail stations in Tacoma and Everett.
“There is no version of this plan that doesn’t involve trade offs,” Somers said during the Sound Transit board meeting Thursday. “But I want to be clear, nothing in this proposal represents a decision to permanently defer or eliminate what voters approved.”
Somers stressed that the Ballard connection isn’t being cancelled permanently, and that Sound Transit will keep working to find funding.
But the proposal is still bad news for Ballard.
Seattle Councilmember Dan Strauss, who represents Ballard and sits on the Sound Transit Board, said during the meeting that he was “very troubled.”
“This is the only metropolitan regional center in the entire Sound Transit district that will not be connected by link light rail in this plan,” Strauss said. “And that’s a loss.”
During a heated public comment period, transit advocates assailed the proposal, with some describing it as “a slap in the face” and a “generational failure.”
“Taking the bus to downtown is not reliable or fast enough,” said Jason Weil, a Ballard resident. “It’s not the service that we voted for, that we paid for, and that we expect to get during certainly our lifetimes, and the lifetimes of the people who matter most to us.”
Money problems
Throughout recent budget conversations, Somers and other Sound Transit board members from Snohomish County have pushed to prioritize completing the light rail’s north-south spine between Tacoma and Everett over other planned lines. Representatives from King County, however, have argued that Sound Transit can seek new sources of money and deliver all light rail lines as promised.
On Tuesday, King County leaders gathered for a town hall in Seattle and pledged to push back against any delays.
“The question is not whether we build the trains, the only question in front of us is how,” said King County Executive Girmay Zahilay. “We’re going to advance all of the projects, and we’re going to do it in a fiscally responsible way.”
Zahilay and other local leaders floated a number of ideas to find money and avoid delays, including a rental car tax, expanding the agency’s debt capacity, passing a bill to expand how long the agency can issue bonds and finding more state and federal grants.
The elected leaders also stressed the importance of working together with board members from other jurisdictions.
“All of this does not work if we are pitting our region against the other regions,” said Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson.
Robert Cruickshank was one of dozens transit advocates who attended the town hall wearing “Build Ballard Light Rail” T-shirts. He said Sound Transit has an obligation to deliver all connections as promised.
“I voted for ST3 ten years ago, I’ve been paying hundreds or thousands of dollars a year for car registration to build the system,” Cruickshank said. “I want to be able to ride throughout this community, throughout this region.”
Tight deadline
Somers’ proposal isn’t final. In coming weeks, board members plan to introduce amendments and negotiate changes. The board hopes to vote to finalize a plan at its May 28 meeting.
At Thursday’s meeting, Zahilay said Somers’ proposal was a “good start,” but that there’s more work to do, and that he wants to see more transparency and accountability around finding money for the Ballard light rail.
Seattle mayor Wilson said she thinks the plan can be improved, and that moving quickly is her top priority.
“I am impatient as anyone to build the damn trains,” Wilson said.
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