05/05/2022 | News release | Distributed by Public on 05/06/2022 21:39
Sound Transit's West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions (WSBLE) project is the largest transit infrastructure investment in Seattle history, with a project budget of roughly $12 billion. It is a generational investment that will transform how people get around our region. This Sound Transit light rail system expansion project brings transformative opportunities to advance the City of Seattle and regional goals to expand equitable access to communities and job centers, support thriving neighborhoods and economic prosperity, and continue to provide a wide range of sustainable and climate-friendly transportation options.
At the same time, the many miles of new light rail track and multiple stations which will be constructed through Seattle neighborhoods will impact Seattle residents and everyone who travels through our city. The City of Seattle supports Sound Transit's overall effort with the WSBLE project, and City staff identified many areas where the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analysis could be to strengthened to ensure it adequately assesses the potential impacts of the project and needed mitigation.
In 2019, the Sound Transit Board identified a range of light rail alignments and station locations (called alternatives) to study in the project's Draft EIS. Since then, Sound Transit has developed these alternatives and prepared an in-depth analysis of their anticipated impacts and potential mitigations. The comment period on the Draft EIS was open to the public and other agency partners (including the City of Seattle) for 90 days. The comment period recently closed on Thursday, April 28.
A summary of the City's comments on the Draft EIS is available on the City's website.
Over the past 90 days, a team of about 100 subject matter experts from 17 departments at the City of Seattle reviewed the WSBLE Draft EIS and submitted around 1,500 comments to Sound Transit.
The future light rail routes will travel to and through numerous communities in Seattle - including West Seattle, Delridge, SODO, Chinatown-International District, South Lake Union, Seattle Center, Interbay, and Ballard. The City's comments strive to strengthen the analysis and ensure it adequately assesses the potential impacts of the project and identify what should be done to help Seattle's communities during construction. This will help save time later in Sound Transit's project planning and design process and help to minimize surprises or delays in the permitting of the project down the road.
While reviewing the Draft EIS alternatives, City staff used guiding principles and core values to show where comments could reflect what Seattle residents and businesses wanted from the project. Community members prioritized these principles and values in a public survey.
The West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions will provide fast, reliable light rail connections to dense residential and job centers throughout the region. In addition, a new downtown Seattle light rail tunnel will provide capacity for the entire regional system to operate efficiently. These two separate Link extensions are part of the regional transit system expansion approved by voters in November 2016.
Through the City's partnership with Sound Transit, staff have engaged with communities along the entire WSBLE alignment during the Draft EIS comment period. We listened through a range of opportunities including community advisory group meetings, outreach to community organizations and small groups like seniors, childcare centers, and through the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Community Liaisons program.
The City recognizes that Seattle's communities each need their own engagement approach, so staff have been responding to community needs as they have arisen, such as:
This important work is continuing. With Sound Transit, we will support further community and stakeholder engagement to inform our position on the preferred alternative and the project. We look forward to partnering in this engagement work, through both the development process and the update to the Racial Equity Toolkit for this project.
[Link]People cross the street in the Chinatown-International District neighborhood. Photo credit: SDOTUsing the information we collected through our Draft EIS review and our community engagement, the City will share our recommendations on alignments and station alternatives, support for some existing proposals, the request for more time to do additional analysis, and our ask for some modifications. These recommendations will advance into the Final EIS.
We will be discussing a draft of the 'Locally Preferred Alternative' at a Seattle City Council's Transportation and Seattle Public Utilities Committee meeting by this summer.
Mayor Harrell and Seattle City Council President Juarez represent the City on the Sound Transit Board. They will engage in Sound Transit Board discussions in the coming months around the preferred alternative and additional alternatives or refinements to be advanced for study in the Final EIS.
Ultimately, that is a decision made by the Sound Transit Board. After Sound Transit identifies the final station locations, City staff will work with communities to:
The City appreciates its ongoing partnership with Sound Transit. Staff are committed to working with them to clarify comments as needed, resolve any issues in partnership, and support the work ahead on a Final EIS.
Learn about the City's upcoming community meetings and sign up for updates at www.seattle.gov/lightrail.
For more information about this project, please visit Sound Transit's website at https://wsblink.participate.online/.