Time for residents to speak up about transit

Published 1:00 pm Saturday, April 23, 2016

Last month, the Sound Transit Board released a draft plan for Sound Transit 3 that attempts to address the increasing demand we’ve heard for fast, reliable mass transit that provides more options to more destinations – and now is the time for Federal Way residents and people across the region to weigh in on that draft.

The draft plan responds to the input we’ve heard by funding investments to keep the region moving. Federal Way would be the first additional city to be connected to the regional light rail system, with new stations in the areas of South 272nd Street, the Federal Way Transit Center near South 320th Street, and in South Federal Way. From there, light rail would continue south to Fife and Tacoma.

Riders from the Federal Way area would gain access to a growing number of destinations with the plan’s extensions of light rail north all the way to Everett, east to downtown Redmond and Issaquah, and west to Seattle’s Ballard and West Seattle neighborhoods.

For South King County residents who travel to East King County, one of the first projects delivered under ST3 would establish new bus rapid transit service stretching the length of I-405 and beyond, all the way from Burien to Lynnwood, with faster and more reliable buses running every ten minutes during rush hours.

These investments will help ensure the Federal Way area is connected with the other economic engines driving our regional growth over the coming decades. As we complete a light-rail spine connecting job centers across our three-county region, our goal is for people to be able to get to their destination on time, every time, regardless of traffic or weather – even as we add a million more people over the next 25 years.

The draft plan is based on input we received from cities, community members, passengers, transit advocates and our technical experts at Sound Transit. Our staff is working hard to identify every possible option to deliver service sooner. However, we believe the most important input we can receive is from our citizens.

Sound Transit and King County Metro are hosting a series of joint open houses, including in Federal Way for South King County on April 28, where our staff will be available to answer questions about proposed projects, timelines and plans for local buses and regional rail to operate as one, seamless system. Through the month-long public comment period that ends April 29, you can also take an online survey available at soundtransit3.org.

Please take a few minutes at soundtransit3.org to check out the draft plan. The proposed investments you’ll see are designed to complete a true regional light rail system with 112 miles of light rail and stations serving 35 new areas – a system comparable to those in Chicago, Washington, DC, and San Francisco. You can tell us what you think by taking an online survey or coming to an upcoming open house.

As we finalize the plan that will be presented to voters in November, we want to hear your thoughts. Your feedback will help shape the final draft of the proposed plan, which the Sound Transit Board of Directors will vote on in June.

In the meantime, with your input, we will continue to fine-tune the plan to deliver the best option to voters in November.

Dow Constantine is chair of the Sound Transit Board of Directors and King County Executive. Pete von Reichbauer represents South King County communities on the Sound Transit Board and is a member of the King County Council representing Federal Way.