Today Sound Transit entered the next phase of the Enterprise Initiative, our agencywide effort to address a future funding gap of $34.5B over the next 20 years.
At this morning’s Executive Committee meeting, staff presented a proposed update to the ST3 System Plan, a critical step in the agency’s work to finalize a balanced, affordable Long-Range Financial Plan.
The proposed plan incorporates feedback from a series of Board workshops, committee meetings, public town halls, and community engagements over recent months.
The full Board will consider a version of the proposed ST3 System Plan, and Sound Transit’s complete public engagement report, at its May 28 meeting.
What’s in the proposed System Plan update?
Sound Transit is committed to delivering all the projects in ST3.
In this proposal, no projects are canceled, and all light rail projects will continue to move forward.
To navigate financial constraints, the System Plan update proposes:
Building light rail projects that are closest to shovel-ready. This includes the West Seattle, Everett, and Tacoma Dome Link extensions, and the initial segment of the Ballard Link Extension to Seattle Center. The proposed update also includes full funding to deliver the Tacoma Community College Link Extension (now 2043) and the South Kirkland-Issaquah Link project (now 2050).
Advancing the remaining light rail projects to final design, like Ballard’s additional segments (to Smith Cove and to Market Street), Graham Street Station, and Boeing Access Road Station.
Continually evaluating projects that need to secure additional funding to move forward to take advantage of cost savings, improved economic conditions, or new agency funding tools. These include some parking and access projects, Sounder platform extensions, and highway improvements related to Stride BRT.
You can find more detailed project-level information from the proposed System Plan update in today’s Executive Committee presentation and here on our website.
How will it work?
The proposed System Plan update keeps projects moving.
By building the projects that are ready and advancing planning for projects further down the pipeline, we can maximize progress within the resources available today.
But Sound Transit is also committed to growing those resources, and to finding further cost savings, which become more feasible as design advances.
That will require an adaptive, agencywide program management framework to determine when and how to move projects in or out of the affordable program as conditions change over time. This program management approach will formalize activities to enable cost savings, accelerate project delivery, and develop additional financial resources to deliver the full ST3 program.
And adjusting our capital program is just one facet of the work we’re doing to achieve affordability. We’ll also aggressively compete for new federal and state funding, pursue additional legislative tools to increase available debt and bonding capacity, and partner with local jurisdictions to improve permitting and construction to accelerate timelines.
What happens next?
For now, the proposed System Plan update is just that — a proposal, not a final decision. It may evolve in the weeks ahead as Sound Transit staff and Board members continue to assess opportunities, trade-offs, and public feedback.
While our engagement results are still preliminary, clear themes are emerging from communities regionwide.
More than 17,600 people took our online survey between March 30-May 1, and respondents overwhelmingly ranked expanding light rail and advancing regional connectivity as their highest priorities. A majority do not want to see light rail projects delayed or canceled.
We’ve also gathered public input through a range of ongoing in-person meetings and town halls, and via email. While the survey is now closed, you can continue to provide feedback by emailing EnterpriseInitiative@SoundTransit.org, or share your input directly with Board members.
The full Sound Transit Board is scheduled to consider the System Plan update at its May 28 meeting.
Once adopted, the updated System Plan will establish the foundation for our next Enterprise Initiative steps, including an updated Regional Transit Long-Range Plan, which represents the agency’s goals, policies, and strategies to guide long-term development of the high-capacity transit system. The most recent plan was adopted in 2014.
Stay tuned to The Platform blog and Sound Transit’s social media channels for frequent updates as work advances, and be sure to sign up for email updates on the projects you care about most.