A massive package of transit projects that aims to bring light rail to Lynnwood by 2023 is likely to make it to the November ballot, a Sound Transit board member from Edmonds said Wednesday.
The package worth $14.7 billion with inflation is expected to receive at least 12 votes — a minimum vote required for approval — among 18 Sound Transit board members today, said Edmonds City Councilwoman Deanna Dawson, who serves on the agency’s board of directors.
“I do feel confident,” Dawson said.
Two other Snohomish County delegates, County Executive Aaron Reardon and Everett City Councilman Paul Roberts, said they plan to vote for the measure.
Dawson and Reardon had opposed the package a few weeks ago. They came around after changes were made to increase bus service 30 percent in Snohomish County. That should help people cope with record-high gas prices, Dawson said.
“We wanted to have immediate improvements,” she said.
The three board members from Snohomish County fought hard to improve the measure for people in the county, Reardon said.
“I do feel very good about changes. The changes were significant,” he said.
Roberts also had been against the package partly because it doesn’t aim to bring light rail to Everett, the biggest city in the county. He said Wednesday he now supports the package, even though he still has some concerns.
“What tipped the balance for me was additional service” for Snohomish County, especially Everett, Roberts said.
The 15-year-plan should bring additional bus service to southwest Everett, where the Boeing Co. and other aerospace companies are located, Roberts said.
“This is the largest manufacturing center in the world,” he said.
Details are still being hammered out in the 15-year plan. Its preliminary cost estimate could change. If voters in the Sound Transit district approve the measure, the package would result in a new sales tax hike — 4 or 5 cents on a $10 purchase. The district stretches over Snohomish, King and Pierce counties.
The plan aims to improve bus, train and light rail systems in the three counties. In 2007, voters decisively rejected an $18 billion proposal for mass transit projects. That proposal, tied to a series of road projects, was too big and complicated to pass, critics said.
This time, a transit package alone should appear on the ballot, Dawson said.
“We think this is something we can present for voters,” she said.
Snohomish County needs light rail to diversify its transportation system in the future and to boost its economy, Dawson said.
“Now is the time to make investments rather than waiting,” she said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
Sound Transit board meets today
The Sound Transit Board of Directors is set to decide today on a package of mass transit projects for the November ballot. The meeting is 1 p.m. at Union Station, Ruth Fisher Boardroom, 401 S. Jackson St. in Seattle.
For more information, go to www.soundtransit.org or call 800-201-4900.
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