Getting around the region can be challenging today, and the future promises more growth, and with it, more congestion. Current projections show that our population will grow by another 30 percent, adding 1.2 million people to this region by 2030. More than two years of planning and public discussion have made it clear that we must invest in the future of our region’s transportation system.
Sound Transit has been busy building the foundation of the regional mass transit system approved by voters in 1996. Today, Sound Transit’s trains, buses and light rail already help nearly 61,000 riders bypass traffic each weekday. The Central Link light rail system from Downtown Seattle to Tukwila opened in July 2009 and will extend to SeaTac Airport by the end of the year. The system will carry more than 45,000 riders every day by 2020. In late 2008, work will begin on a northern extension to the University of Washington, which will take another 70,000 riders off the roads each day by 2030.
Long Range Plan
Sound Transit updated its Long Range Plan in 2005, using public input to fine tune the overall roadmap to mass transit's future in the region. The Long Range Plan informed the identification of the Sound Transit 2 Plan and provides the foundation for expanding the regional transit system.
Expanding the regional mass transit system
On Nov. 4, 2008, voters of the Central Puget Sound region approved a historic Sound Transit 2 ballot measure that will provide an alternative to rising gas prices and greenhouse gas emissions. The plan adds regional express bus and commuter rail service while building 36 additional miles of light rail to form a 55-mile regional system.
Highlights of the 2008 mass transit expansion:
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Provides 100,000 more hours of ST Express bus service beginning in 2009, a 17 percent increase
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Increases Tacoma-Seattle commuter rail capacity by 65 percent with four new round-trips and longer trains
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Builds 36 miles of new light rail with service reaching north to Lynnwood, east to Redmond’s Overlake Transit Center, and south to the Star Lake/Redondo area of Federal Way
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Improves access to transit stations around the region
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Connects the region’s busiest population and job centers with more bus and train service
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Takes cars off roads, protects the environment and bolsters the economy
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Targets investments where they will make the biggest difference as the region’s population grows more than 30 percent by 2030
