Snohomish council calls Sound Transit’s approach flawed
Apr 18, 2018, 12:56 PM | Updated: Apr 19, 2018, 8:18 am
Crews working on what will be the Northgate light rail station. (Chris Sullivan, KIRO Radio)
(Chris Sullivan, KIRO Radio)
Snohomish County Councilmember Terry Ryan wants to know why Sound Transit light rail service will be available in other areas of Seattle before Tacoma and Everett.
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“When did it become Sound Transit’s responsibility to move people from Ballard into Seattle as opposed to Metro?” he asked Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff during a meeting this week.
The short answer from Rogoff: “Things change. Things have changed.”
Rogoff says development patterns are very different now than when Sound Transit was first formed. In 1996, voters approved Sound Move. It was the first phase toward a high-capacity light rail system. The vote authorized the creation of the agency, tax collections, and the first set of projects. Those projects included service between Sea-Tac Airport and the University of Washington — among other things.
The Northgate station, currently in the works, was part of the initial voter-approved package. That was dependent on additional funding.
Sound Transit 2, approved in 2008, authorized the agency to expand the system by 36 miles. The 15-year program will add service to Lynnwood and east to Overlake and south of Sea-Tac Airport.
In 2016, voters within the agency’s taxing district approved Sound Transit 3; a 25-year program that is expected to complete the 116-mile system to Everett, down to Tacoma, west to Ballard and West Seattle, and to the Eastside.
The agency, Rogoff says, can’t prioritize constructing the “spine” — the north-south line between Everett and Tacoma — because the agency’s funding strategy uses money from its five taxing districts to benefit those particular areas. And Snohomish County brings in the least amount of money.
Council members say that’s flawed and want the agency to consider switching to a system-wide approach.
Service to Everett is not expected to begin until 2036. That is one year after Ballard and six years after West Seattle.
Tacoma will have light rail service to the Dome in 2030.
Sound Transit’s taxing districts include the most populated areas of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. In 2016, people within those districts approved Sound Transit 3 by 54 percent of the total vote. It passed in King and Snohomish counties. Fifty-six percent of voters in Pierce County rejected the measure.
MyNorthwest’s Kipp Robertson contributed to this story.
