145th and SR 522 Bus Rapid Transit included in final ST3 package for November election
On Thursday, June 23, the Sound Transit Board voted to place the Sound Transit 3 (ST3) package on the November ballot.
Included in the plan is a project to improve NE 145th Street and SR 522 between the 145th Street light rail station and the UW Bothell campus to implement bus rapid transit (BRT) service.
Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Bothell, and Woodinville joined to voice their strong support for including this project in the ST3 package.
SR 522/NE 145th Street is a major east-west transit corridor that is a key to connecting riders living in the north Lake Washington area to the light rail spine and making the overall transit system work. Including it in the ST3 package ensures a complete network and transit system success.
If approved by voters in November, the ST3 plan will build a total of 62 miles of light rail with stations serving 37 additional areas. Improvements introduced following public comment on a draft plan in April will speed up most of the extensions by two to five years.
Light rail to Everett via Paine Field will open five years earlier than the draft plan released by the Board in March. Extensions to downtown Redmond and Federal Way will be completed four years sooner, while the Ballard, West Seattle and Tacoma extensions will open three years sooner. The agency will work with partners to further improve timelines where feasible.
Other highlights of the $53.8 billion ST3 package include:
- Completing the light rail spine from Tacoma to Everett
- New Eastside light rail connections from Bellevue/Overlake to Downtown Redmond and from Bellevue to Issaquah
- New light rail service to growing urban neighborhoods of Ballard and West Seattle
- Early project delivery, including new Bus Rapid Transit on I-405 and SR-522/NE 145th street, and buses running on shoulders along I-5, I-405, SR 518, and SR 167
- Improvements to Sounder South stations to serve longer trains to carry more passengers and extending the line from Tacoma to DuPont
See the full project list
Sound Transit should be billed per tree for the 1000+ old, tall trees slated to come down for the rail line through Shoreline and up to Lynnwood.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/06/grist-trees-worth-money
After seeing what an out-of-control, pro-development city clown-cil has done to the neighborhoods around the future light rail stations with zero regard for the impacts the stations and rail line will cause on our tree canopy, they're not to be trusted with the 145th corridor, or any major project at that.