The Sound Transit Board last week unanimously approved an amended long-range plan that sets the stage for determining the next round of service and construction projects for the regional transit agency.
“This long-range plan gives us the ‘big picture’ of what regional transit should look like by the year 2030,” said Sound Transit Board Chairman and Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg.
Ladenburg said over the next several months, Sound Transit will work with communities to determine the highest priorities in technology, service and construction to help the board shape Sound Transit 2, the ballot item that is scheduled to go to voters in 2006.
Sound Transit officials said they have already successfully delivered the first wave of projects. Sounder commuter trains are running daily between Tacoma and Seattle and Everett and Seattle, and the service is expanding.
Also, Sound Transit’s ST Express bus network includes 19 routes, more than 10,000 new park-and-ride parking spots, and new infrastructure such as direct-access freeway ramps that allow buses to avoid congestion.
Sound Transit also remains on track to deliver Central Link light rail on time, on budget, all the way to Sea-Tac airport.
“This is an incredibly important time for our region,” added Ladenburg. “This process will determine how we will connect communities not only for our existing residents, but also for the more than the 1.2 million people who will move here over the next 25 years. Our future depends on expanding the Sound Transit system.”
Highlights of the long-range plan approved by the board include:
* Narrowing the high-capacity transit options on I-90 to light rail or bus service (convertible to light rail) operating in exclusive right-of-way lanes.
* Buses operating in the high occupancy vehicle lanes of I-5, I-405 and Highway 167, with major improvements including transit centers, park-and-ride lots and direct-access freeway ramps.
* Light rail running between Everett and Tacoma, as well as a westward extension of the existing Tacoma Link light rail system.
* Potential light rail service on I-405 and a potential extension to Burien.
* High-capacity transit service on Highway 522 and across Lake Washington on Highway 520.
* A bus system running on Highway 99 from Seattle to Everett.
* Additional ST Express bus service around the region.
Long-range plan
For more information on Sound Transit’s long-range plan, visit Sound Transit online at www.soundtransit. org or call 888-889-6368 or 888-713-6030 TTY for more information.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
