Seattle Rallies to Save Ballard Rail

People walk past the planned site for the Ballard Link station.

On Sunday, hundreds of Seattleites and transit advocates walked from Ballard to Interbay and Smith Cove, roughly following the planned Ballard Link route. The walk was organized in response to Sound Transit's recent suggestion to defer part of the Ballard Link Extension. We are here today because close enough is not good enough," Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck said to a cheering crowd. Along with Rinck, King County Councilmember JorgeL.Baron and Washington State Senator Noel Frame spoke in support of completing the Ballard Link extension. Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss and Mayor of Seattle Katie Wilson did not attend the rally, but shared their support with the organizers.

At a Board retreat in March, Sound Transit revealed three approaches it is considering for how to build parts of ST3, given the agency's severe budget shortfalls. None of the approaches included Link reaching Ballard in the near future.

Three approaches from the ST Board Retreat. (Sound Transit)

The complete exclusion of a full Ballard extension was surprising, and upsetting, to many transit advocates and Ballard residents. Sound Transit estimates this section will carry 90,000 to 147,000 daily riders by 2046, significantly more than any of the other projects in ST3. The majority of this ridership will be from the new tunnel under downtown Seattle.

You do not solve a financial crisis by breaking trust with the people who funded you," declared Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck.

A new grassroots advocacy organization, Save Ballard Rail, has formed to push Sound Transit to complete the Ballard Link Extension and all ST3 projects. The group sees two ways for Sound Transit to complete ST3: technical optimizations and legislative opportunities.

Technical Optimizations

We strongly believe that ST3 in its current design is highly inefficient, and that there are massive opportunities to reduce costs with either neutral or positive impacts on coverage and rider experience" Save Ballard Rail organizer Carl Aslund told Seattle Transit Blog. We strongly believe that plausible technical solutions merit consideration by Sound Transit."

Transit advocates have long called on Sound Transit to consider using smaller and more frequent automated trains on the Ballard Line. Earlier this month, former SDOT Director Scott Kubly and transportation consultant Trevor Reed published a detailed white paper on the feasibility of automated light rail for Ballard and West Seattle. Sound Transit has not responded to the paper.

Another option to reduce construction costs is by building surface or elevated alignments. The Ballard Link Extension has two fairly distinct sections: a tunnel under downtown Seattle and South Lake Union, and a surface or elevated section between Seattle Center and Ballard. For the latter section, Save Ballard Rail cautions against alignments that limit capacity, such as an at-grade alignment with intersections. The group is open to surface alignments without those intersection issues". When Sound Transit faced a budget crisis while planning the initial Link segment, it opted for a surface alignment along MLK Way. As a result, Link delays due to car crashes occur a few times each year.

The other part of the Ballard Link project is a new tunnel under South Lake Union and downtown Seattle. This second tunnel (often called DSTT2") is the main driver for cost increases in the Ballard Link Extension. About 60% of the project's overall $20.1B - $22.6B price tag is from DSTT2. While some transit advocates have suggested deferring the tunnel, Save Ballard Rail believes improving the downtown portion of the spine, be it through DSTT2, an elevated alternative, or some other option, to be of regional importance".

In the current plan, costs for the DSTT2 are split across the five Sound Transit sub-areas, based on expected ridership. Save Ballard Rail is not too concerned about adjusting how much each sub-area contributes. Instead, they want to focus on reducing the overall cost for all sub-areas.

Participants walk across the Ballard Bridge. A choir of car horns rang throughout the walk from drivers showing their support for the Ballard Link Extension.Legislative Opportunities

Technical changes to the ST3 plan will only go so far. Sound Transit will likely need help from the Washington State Legislature to further reduce costs, and provide options for more funding. Save Ballard Rail is interested in the use of 75-year bonds (Sound Transit currently uses 40-year bonds) and in Sound Transit gaining permitting power. Additional state or federal funding could also help fill some of funding gaps for ST3 projects. Aslund continued, We recognize the need for additional funding, and are reaching out to representatives about possible state or federal funding." He specifically called out Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, who represents Ballard, Interbay, South Lake Union, most of downtown Seattle, and West Seattle. Jayapal has advocated for funding for local transit projects in the past.

Sound Transit 3 is a generational infrastructure investment in Puget Sound. Getting the projects back on track will require engineering and political effort to reduce costs and provide more funding.

To get involved with Save Ballard Rail, check out their website, Bluesky account, or Instagram account.