A Major Transit Victory in the Puget Sound By Abigail Doerr The Sound Transit board voted to send a $54 billion package to the voters that would add 62 miles of light rail to its growing transit system that will eventually complete a 116-mile light rail network as well as bus rapid transit, commuter rail and express bus service. The fi nal step was to convince over 50 percent of the area 1.6 million voters to vote “Yes.” I T WAS 8:45 P.M. ON ELECTION NIGHT. THE AIR was thick with anticipation as transit agency leaders, elected offi cials and community advocates anxiously paced awaiting the fi rst results of a $54 billion transit expansion measure in the Seattle region. Th e results, which were already 30 minutes late, fi nally appeared in a hard-to-read text fi le, adding to the chaos and confusion. Did we win? Was it close? It was hard to tell with all the number fl ying around. “Read me the numbers!” I shouted, grabbing a laptop to tally the results. As I read the results aloud, people started to cheer. It took me a moment but it fi nally dawned on me that it was over. We had fi nally won. Aft er 50 years of waiting, the Seattle region was fi nally going to build the rail system it deserved. Th is win couldn’t have come at a more urgent time. Th e Puget Sound region has experienced rapid growth in the last few years, as more people choose to live and work here. And we are expected to grow by nearly a 20 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | MARCH 2017 station opens, Sound Transit ridership continues to grow. Th is has been an excellent start, but it is not enough to meet the demands of the region. To plan for the growth that we are expecting and the traffi c congestion we are experiencing, Sound Transit leadership spent three years developing the next phase of expansion fi ghting political battles to obtain the authority to raise taxes. Last June, aft er years of process, including extensive public outreach, the Sound Transit board voted to send a $54 billion package to the voters that would add 62 miles of light rail to our growing transit system that will eventually complete a 116-mile light rail network as well as bus rapid transit, commuter rail and express bus service. Th e fi nal step was to convince over 50 percent of our 1.6 million voters to vote “Yes.” Sample promotional material at MassTransitmag.com/12303679 And we did. I think we were successful on election night because of the following: Go Big Sound Transit put forward a bold and visionary package based on constituent feedback. Many critics, including the Seattle Times, argued that we were pushing a package that was too big. However, a smaller investment would have meant a less expansive transit system therefore a less compelling reason for voters to say “Yes.” Residents from all across the region could fi nally see themselves using THE SOUND Transit board voted to send a $54 billion package to the voters that would add 62 miles of light rail to its growing transit system. million people in the next several decades. With this growth comes immense traffi c challenges. Congested roadways make it impossible to reliably navigate our city and the region by car. Getting to work in the morning only a few miles away can take more than an hour. Th e robust bus systems are in high demand and they serve the region well but it only takes a crash or a fi sh truck turning over and the entire city to grinds to a halt. Th is victory was a long time coming. Th e Seattle history books are fi lled with stories of transit failures from long before many of us were born or moved here. Most memorably, voters a half century ago rejected an expansive subway system that would have received signifi cant federal funding. In the years that followed, nearly every decade included an attempt to build the grade-separated system we need now. But in 1996, voters approved of the creation of Sound Transit, the regional transit authority laying the ground work to build and operate a full-scale mass transit system. Sound Transit currently operates regional commuter trains, a regional bus system and 20 miles of light rail. An additional 30 miles of light rail are planned or under construction. As every light rail Transportation Choices
MassTransit_March_2017
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