Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss is hosting a community meeting with Sound Transit on May 11 to discuss the future of light rail service to Ballard.
The meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 11 at 6 p.m. at the National Nordic Museum. According to Strauss, the event is intended to allow community members to share their perspectives directly with Sound Transit representatives.
The meeting comes as Sound Transit considers potential changes to the Ballard Link Extension. Strauss said the agency recently presented three cost-cutting options to its Board of Directors, all of which would stop the light rail line short of Ballard to address long-term financial challenges.
“Our decade-long work to build light rail to Ballard is facing its biggest challenge ever,” Strauss said in the announcement, adding that he has called on Sound Transit to present a plan that delivers light rail to Ballard as originally promised to voters.
Several elected officials are expected to attend, including state Sen. Noel Frame, state Reps. Liz Berry and Julia Reed, King County Councilmember Jorge Barón, and Seattle City Councilmember Bob Kettle.
The meeting is sponsored by Ballard Alliance.
The May 11 meeting will follow other recent public forums on the future of light rail in Seattle. The Transportation Choices Coalition is hosting a separate town hall on May 5 at Seattle City Hall, where Sound Transit representatives and local officials are expected to discuss the agency’s financial challenges and potential impacts to projects including the Ballard and West Seattle extensions. The event will include a presentation, panel discussion, and public Q&A.
The upcoming meetings follow recent community advocacy around the project, including a march by Ballard residents urging officials to preserve the planned extension, as well as earlier statements from Strauss calling on Sound Transit to maintain the project’s original scope.
Photo: A poster made by one of the Ballard Light Rail March participants (by Elizah Lourdes Rendorio)