Sound Transit Board Meeting Liveblog: What Will Survive for ST3?
If all goes well, by 4:30pm today we'll know what will be considered for an ST3 package. The Board will be deliberating the Priority Projects List that, if approved, would direct ST staff to study each project for cost, ridership, etc for inclusion in the System Plan and the eventual ballot measure. Like a cut in a round of golf, today's motion will be exclusionary, eliminating non-listed projects from further consideration, while not revealing much about the eventual projects that will make it all the way through to ST3. With specific projects in each subarea, this list is what will kickoff what's sure to be a an intense and earnest 1.5 years of debate, compromise, and horse trading.
Though the Priority Projects List is one of the last items on the Board's agenda, we'll be liveblogging throughout the meeting as other items of interest arise, including ST's Transit Development Plan, a Tacoma Trestle Project update, approval of a small ($1.5M) cost increase for Capitol Hill Station work, and authorizing the construction contract for the Point Defiance Bypass.
Watch the video above beginning at 1:30pm, or follow along on Twitter. As soon as the meeting begins, we'll post the Priority Project List for your perusal.
1:35 The meeting has begun. Here is the ST3 Priority Project List that the Board will be deliberating today.
1:36 ST CEO Search Update: Board Chair Constantine reports that 136 people have applied for the CEO position, and ST's consultant will be reviewing applications in the coming weeks.
1:47 During the Research and Technology update to the Board, ST announced:
- A new mobile website is coming, with real-time info within the site.
- Sounder will begin rolling out real-time info in September.
- The TVM machine interface redesign is progressing. Current average time to complete a TVM transaction is an unacceptable 2 minutes, which is big pain point for rider queues, especially for special event trains. The new interface will be rolled out at the same time as ULink.
1:56 Angle Lake project update
- The project is trending $20M under budget, has 146 days (5 months) of schedule float remaining. The project could open shortly after ULink, but no official shortening of the timeline has been announced.
- The Angle Lake arking garage was supposed to be done by December, but will likely be delayed until March. The P&R delay will not impact service startup or pre-revenue testing.
- The station will be finished by late fall.
2:15 Public comment begins!
2:17 Issaquah Council President: Supports Issaquah-Totem Lake #Link with a new structured P&R, (Project E-03)
2:18 Shoreline Mayor notes that 92% of riders at 145th Street Station will not arrive by car. Service on 145th and SR 522 is critical.
2:21 Everett Mayor: "Without light rail to Paine Field, we will inhibit our ability to grow the economy" "The spine must be the first priority"
2:22 Kirkland Councilmember Jay Arnold and Asher: Open BRT on the Eastside Rail Corridor is best for Kirkland. "405 BRT will pass us by."
2:25 Kenmore Mayor + City Manager: I-90 and SR 520 aren't the only cross-lake corridors. Toll diversion hurts SR522. Link on 522 is the solution. We want BRT on 145th and we want rail on SR 522. We thank the board for including the SR 522 study on the PPL.
2:31 Burien City Manager: TOD is here and more on the way. You can see the Link spine from the roofs of these developments, just 2.5 miles away. We want both Link from Downtown-White Center-Burien-SeaTac. Let's have two trains to SeaTac.
2:32 Lakewood Mayor Anderson: JBLM is the largest employer, bigger than Paine Field or any Boeing property. We support Project S-17, Sounder extension to Dupont with a station at Tillicum, serving 3 JBLM access points. We support S-08, extended Sounder hours. We are disappointed that BRT from Tacoma Dome to Tillicum via South Tacoma Way is not included.
2:35 Orting Mayor Pestinger thanks ST for including a study of a Sounder spur to Orting.
2:37 STB commenter David Whalen: build for expansion, maximize development within new project areas, fight for maximum upzoning. Full grade separation is imperative.
2:39 Doug King from the Museum of Flight thanks the Board for including Boeing Access Road station.
2:41 Your Zimmerman and Queen Pearl bathroom break.
2:49 Kenmore resident Matthew Martin presents the Board with a narrative history of Kenmore, calls out history of Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway that preceded the Burke-Gilman, says that full P&Rs and choked traffic are a poor substitute for the rails of old.
2:53 Lake Forest Park resident and council candidate: transit access is the #1 issue for voters. "Our entire city is a last-mile problem."
3:00 Jonathan Hopkins and Jon Cracolici from Seattle Subway making the argument that ST3 needs to a be a big, expansive package. "Voters will reward your ambition. Let's not let ST3 be an incremental solution that gets us almost to West Seattle, almost to Ballard, almost to Everett."
3:11 Public comment over, the consent agenda passes unanimously, including items for the Tacoma Trestle project and an $1.5m increase in the Capitol Hill Station budget.
3:12 Onto business items: Board unanimously approves $53.8M to Stacy & Witbeck for the Point Defiance Bypass project.
3:17 Now onto the Priority Project List! Ric Ilgenfritz and Karen Kitsis are presenting a staff report.
3:20 ST3 Project Considerations. Does is qualify as HCT? Is it consistent with the Long Range Plan? Does it fit Board priorities? Does it run principally in exclusive ROW?
3:22 Updates to prior listed projects:
- N-02: add 1000 space parking garage to Everett Station
- C-01: adds Seattle Center to Ballart LRT options at the request of the city of Seattle
- C-01c: adds a tunnel under the Ship Canal to the Ballard options
- E-02: adds Burien as the terminus of I-405 BRT
- E-03: adds a new Issaquah Park & Ride
- R-01: ST Express Improvements
- Express route from West Seattle-Burien-TIBS-Airport
- Redmond-UW service along SR 520
- Redmond to Kirkland
- Redmond to I-405 BRT
3:25 New Projects
- N-06, a second parking garage at Mountlake Terrace
- N-07 and N-08, new I-5 crossings at SW 128th St and SW 164th St, for which ST would pay the bike/ped/transit components
- N-09, BRT on 145th St
- N-10, BRT on ST 522 to UW Bothell
- C-01e, new station at SR 99/Harrison, as requested by SDOT
- C-01f, new station at Newton Street in Interbay, to serve the Whole Foods development
- C-01g, extension of Ballard Link to Ballard High/NW 65th St
- C-01h, replacing the Ballard Bridge with a combined bike/ped/light rail/car bridge.
- C-12, more parking at Tukwila Int'l Blvd Station
- C-13, West Seattle-Burien Link
- E-05, 300 stall parking lot in North Sammamish
- E-06, Eastside Rail Corridor BRT
- P-05, Downtown-SeaTac Link via West Seattle and Burien
- P-06, Link from Burien to Renton
- P-07, Link from Ballard-Crown Hill
- P-08, Link on SR 522 study
- P-09, Link from Ballard to Bothell via Greenwood
- S-12 BRTization of Pierce Transit Route 1
- S-13 BRT for SR 161 in Puyallup
- S-14 BRT for SR 162 in Orting
- S-15 more Sounder access
- S-16, Sounder to Orting
- S-17, Sounder to Dupont