Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss is calling on Sound Transit to follow through on voter-approved plans to extend light rail to Ballard, following the agency’s announcement that it is considering scaling back the project.
Sound Transit recently presented three options to its board to address long-term financial challenges. All three options would not extend light rail to Ballard, despite the project being approved by voters as part of Sound Transit 3 (ST3).
“Sound Transit needs a plan to get to Ballard. Anything short of that is unacceptable,” Strauss said in a statement. “The Ballard Link Extension is projected to serve the most riders of any project in Sound Transit history and would do so at one of the lowest costs per rider gained of any expansion. Sound Transit needs to sharpen their pencils, do the analysis, and bring us a plan that gets to Ballard to keep the promise made to voters.”
The proposed Ballard extension is projected to attract between 132,000 and 173,000 daily riders once completed. That estimate is more than triple the number of daily riders expected for the East Link Extension, which is set to open March 28.
The options presented by Sound Transit are part of a broader effort known as the Enterprise Initiative, aimed at addressing long-term budget challenges. A recent cost-saving analysis for the West Seattle Light Rail Extension identified approximately $2 billion in potential savings compared to earlier estimates. A similar analysis has not yet been applied to other extensions, including Ballard.
Plans for the Ballard extension include connections to five regional and neighborhood centers not currently served by light rail: Downtown, South Lake Union, Uptown, including Seattle Center, Interbay, and Ballard. The City of Seattle has rezoned these areas to accommodate additional housing and jobs.
When ST3 was approved by voters in 2016, Ballard-area voters showed strong support. According to the release, the 36th legislative district has the highest density of registered voters in the state, with some precincts approving the measure by nearly 90%.
The Sound Transit Board of Directors is expected to consider options for addressing its long-term budget deficit in the coming months.
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