37 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

11/14/18

 

 

 

 

Project update

 

First look at Level 3 “end-to-end” options

 

On November 5, the Stakeholder Advisory Group got their first look at the “end-to-end” alternatives with routes and stations. Until now, all alternatives have been developed and studied in four segments: Ballard-Interbay, Downtown, Chinatown-International District/SODO and West Seattle. Alternatives carried forward from those segments have now been connected into three full-length alternatives, including a few design options, ready for Level 3 screening.

 

Next steps? Evaluation results for Level 3 will be available for public review in early-2019. In the meantime, we’ll continue to connect with communities along the project corridor. If you have questions or want to learn more about the project, request a briefing for your neighborhood!

 

Let's see Level 3

 

Get ready to share your feedback early next year

 

Your next major opportunity to weigh in on project routes and station locations will be during our formal scoping period in early-2019. Your feedback will inform the Stakeholder Advisory Group and Elected Leadership Group recommendations, as well as the Sound Transit Board’s identification of a preferred alternative. Feedback will also help inform the scope of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) — or the document that describes the impacts on the environment by the preferred alternative and other alternatives to be studied.

 

Keep an eye out for more information on upcoming in-person and online events. In the meantime, make sure to check out the latest project updates and progress.

 

Until then...

 

Stay connected

 

Watch for future project updates. Forward this to your friends, family, neighbors and people in your community! Encourage them to subscribe.

 

Request a briefing. If you are part of a business or community organization that would like to host a briefing, get in touch.

 

Reach out

 

 

 

[CNJRoss]

2/15/19:

 

 

 

 

 

Project update

 

 

Scoping begins today! Share your comments by March 18

 

Sound Transit and the Federal Transit Administration have officially kicked off scoping for the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions project. Scoping is the next step in the environmental review process and provides an opportunity for you to comment on the route and station alternatives, topics to study in the environmental impact statement, and project purpose and need. This 30-day public comment period will include multiple ways for you to share your feedback and help the Sound Transit Board identify a preferred alternative and other alternatives to study in an Environmental Impact Statement during the next phase of project development.

 

This is an especially important time to get involved and we want to hear from you! Here's how to comment:

• Attend an upcoming open house: details below
• Comment online: wsblink.participate.online
• Email us: wsbscopingcomments@soundtransit.org
• Leave a voicemail: 833-972-2666
• Mail us a letter: West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions, c/o Lauren Swift, Sound Transit, 401 S. Jackson St., Seattle, WA 98104

Comments must be received by March 18. Your feedback will be shared with the Stakeholder Advisory Group, Elected Leadership Group and the Sound Transit Board prior to their recommendations on which alternatives should be studied during environmental review. The Sound Transit Board will identify a preferred alternative and other alternatives to study in an Environmental Impact Statement in May 2019.

 

I have feedback!

 

Save the dates! Join us at a scoping open house

 

We're excited to share dates for our upcoming scoping open houses in West Seattle, Ballard and downtown Seattle. We hope you'll join us at one of the meetings below to learn more about the alternatives being considered, ask questions and share your comments.

• West Seattle on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 6 – 8:30 p.m. at Alki Masonic Center
• Ballard/Interbay on Thursday, Feb. 28, 6 – 8:30 p.m. at Ballard High School
• Downtown on Thursday, March 7, 5 – 7:30 p.m. at Union Station

Can't join us in-person? Our online open house is now live! Visit wsblink.participate.online and submit your scoping comments by March 18.

RSVP today!

 

New year, new numbers: advisory groups review Level 3 evaluation results

 

The Stakeholder Advisory Group and Elected Leadership Group recently held meetings to review the latest alternatives and hear more about the Level 3 evaluation results. The three end-to-end alternatives were evaluated based on their performance with respect to dozens of qualitative and quantitative measures, such as service reliability, travel times, environmental effects, technical feasibility and much more.

 

Want to dig into the details to inform your scoping comments? Explore the evaluation results, then visit the online open house to comment between now and March 18.

 

I want details!

 

Other project documents, including a Scoping Information Report, the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Determination of Significance, and evaluation reports, are also available for review online.

 

Upcoming events

 

Scoping open houses on Feb. 27, Feb. 28 and March 7.

 

 

 

 

More project info

[KevinKorell]

KIRO-TV, Channel 7 in Seattle, WA, 3/4/19:

 

 

  Add-ons to Ballard and West Seattle light rail lines could increase costs as much as $2 billion  

 

The first step in a big decision is coming this spring that could affect Puget Sound-area commuters for generations, and costs are already rising.      

 

 

More

[CNJRoss]

5/24/19

 

 

 

Project update

 

Board identifies alternatives for further study in EIS

 

 

Yesterday, the Sound Transit Board of Directors gathered to review recommendations from the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions advisory groups and public feedback and identified preferred alternatives and other alternatives to study in an environmental impact statement (EIS). The Board action reflects nearly 18 months of public engagement activities, including briefings to community organizations, open houses, neighborhood forums and workshops and attendance at local festivals.

 

Thank you to everyone who has engaged in the process so far.

 

In the coming months, you can expect additional maps and information to be posted on the project website. We'll also keep you in the loop about future events and activities.

 

What will be studied?

 

 

Stay connected

 

 

Watch for future project updates. Forward this to your friends, family, neighbors and people in your community! Encourage them to subscribe.

 

Request a briefing. If you are part of a business or community organization that would like to host a briefing, get in touch.

Reach out

 

 

[EvergreenRailfan]

I can see a justification for a tunnel to Ballard. I work in the shadow of the Ballard Bridge. West Seattle will be tricky. Because of the sport of Seattle and the West Seattle Bridge, it will have to cross South of Spokane Street. We would have to tunnel through the Delridge Valley, possibly with elevated sections, or it would be a very deep station in West Seattle. It could hug the hill with an elevated section, but at the North End of Delridge is a steel mill. Ironically, the draw bridges the current span replaced, originally handled streetcars. They were proven vulnerable the day before I was born, when a freighter struck it.

[CNJRoss]

8/7/19

Fieldwork 101

 

 

 

Project update

 

 

Fieldwork 101

 

We've started fieldwork to collect information that will inform the environmental analysis of the preferred alternatives and other alternatives to study in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

 

So, what's fieldwork? Great question! Over the next few weeks, you may see crews conducting land and water surveys and collecting soil samples along the project corridor. Fieldwork will continue throughout the environmental review phase of the project and may include noise and vibration monitoring, geotechnical drilling and more.

 

Depending on the type of work being done, you may see us dropping off a flyer or crews with safety vests directing you to sources for more information. If you'd like to learn more about the different types of fieldwork activities we may conduct in your neighborhood, check out our fact sheet.

 

Dig in to the details

 

 

Festival fun!

 

We've enjoyed meeting over 3,000 community members at various fairs and festivals so far this summer. Haven't had a chance to visit us? Swing by our booth at an upcoming event (see below)! Meet the project team, snag some free swag and participate in fun activities for the whole family.

 

Upcoming events:

• Delridge Day on Aug. 10
• Chinatown-ID Night Market on Sept. 14
• Fishermen's Fall Festival on Sept. 21

 

Studying potential alternatives

 

We are busy conducting an initial assessment of potential alternatives that were suggested during the environmental scoping period. Evaluation results will be shared publicly with the Sound Transit Board this fall. The Board and the Federal Transit Administration will then establish whether further detailed study of these alternatives in the Draft EIS is appropriate.

 

Check out our updated project folio for more information on all the options currently being studied.

 

See project folio

 

Stay connected

 

Request a briefing. If you are part of a business or community organization that would like to host a briefing, get in touch.

 

Watch for future project updates. Forward this to your friends, family, neighbors and people in your community! Encourage them to subscribe.

 

Reach out

 

[Lightning]

I think the rush to prefer a tunnel to Ballard was always a "teaser".  There was never any money for the extra hundreds of millions which would be needed to dig a tunnel under the Ship Canal.  That's the "Seattle Process" at work for [against] you.  Endless debate and drawn-out revisiting of plans which should have been "set in concrete" and settled long ago.  Luckily the powers-that-be have decided not to consider a plan, which in the best of all worlds (that is if the feds were paying for the whole thing--or most of it) would site a Ballard terminal where it ought to be--in the heart of Old Ballard at 20th Avenue NW and NW Market Street, and not several blocks to the east at the corner of 15th Avenue NW and NW Market Street.  But it just doesn't pencil out.  I myself prefer the very original idea, which was to enter Ballard via a soaring bridge, which would be a fitting and unique means to arrive in the community, so based on maritime-related industry and long-standing culture as it is.  But then at the scoping meetings some began to "demand" a tunnel, under the murky waters of the Canal.  And there is the personal angle.  I might live to see rail to Ballard (2035), but not if the project is put off for some years in order to dig a tunnel.  There may yet be a tunnel directly to Market and 15th or even (heaven forbid) to 14th.  Only time--and more debate--will tell.  Then there is West Seattle.  And the upcoming I-976 vote (see article).  Stay tuned!

 

From the Seattle Times.

[EvergreenRailfan]

Unfortunately, no way to avoid a tunnel. It's just a matter of which tunnel, as the current Ballard Bridge opens too many times a day, even more hectic during the Alaska Crab and Salmon Seasons.

[CNJRoss]

Sound Transit news release

 

Sound Transit Board identifies additional alternatives for environmental study for West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions   New alternatives join options already under study

 

October 25, 2019

 

 

The Sound Transit Board of Directors has identified two additional alternatives for study in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) of the 11.8-mile West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions project. The action resulted from a Board directive in May that staff conduct initial assessments of potential new alternatives suggested during the project scoping period to establish whether further detailed study in the DEIS is appropriate.   

 

Specifically, the Board added to the study:

 

Yancy/Andover Elevated – An elevated alignment along the Yancy/Andover corridor in West Seattle with a Delridge station serving Youngstown. Connects to previously identified EIS alternatives serving Avalon and Alaska Junction areas.

 

SODO Partial Elevated – A refinement of the alternative suggested during the EIS scoping period. Elevate new SODO station and retain existing SODO station at-grade. Retain Lander Street at-grade and construct new Holgate Street overcrossing.

 

These alternatives will be analyzed in the DEIS along with the previously Board-identified preferred alternatives, preferred alternatives with third-party funding, and other alternatives. Those can be found at https://www.soundtra...link-extensions.

 

Sound Transit will prepare the DEIS, followed by a public and agency comment period in late 2020 and early 2021, respectively. The Sound Transit Board would then confirm or modify the preferred alternative after consideration of the environmental evaluation as well as public and agency comment. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is anticipated to be complete in 2022, after which the Board will select the project to be built and seek a Record of Decision from the Federal Transit Administration. 

 

In the near term, people can learn more about the alternatives being studied in the DEIS at an upcoming neighborhood forum. Scheduled for November and December, forums will be held in Ballard/Interbay, Downtown Seattle, Chinatown/International District, Delridge and West Seattle. Go to https://wsblink.participate.online for dates, times and locations.

 

When construction is complete in 2030 and 2035, respectively, the West Seattle and Ballard light rail extensions will provide fast, reliable light rail connections to dense residential and job centers. The project will also include a new light rail tunnel in downtown Seattle that will add regional system capacity to operate more trains at faster frequencies as light rail expands to Northgate, Bellevue, Redmond, Lynnwood, Federal Way, Tacoma, Everett and other communities. 

 

More information on this project and subscriptions for project updates are available at https://www.soundtra...link-extensions.

 

 

[CNJRoss]

1/17/20

 

 

 

 

 

Project update

 

 

Making progress and keeping you in the loop

 

Thanks to everyone who rode alongside us in 2019; asking questions, providing input and sharing insights about your neighborhoods and communities.

 

Looking for a quick summary of where we are in project development and how we got here? Here's an overview we shared at neighborhood forums last November and December. You can also find the latest maps of route and station alternatives moving forward for study in the Draft EIS.

 

Show me the maps

 

2020 lookahead

 

Environmental review

 

This year, we will continue preliminary design and develop the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), which will study potential impacts of the alternatives on the natural and built environment. The DEIS is scheduled to be published in early 2021.

 

Opportunities to get involved

• Summer 2020: We will host station planning workshops in your community to help inform early station design development. Stay tuned for dates, locations and more details.
• Early 2021: Once the Draft EIS is published, we will host a series of open houses and provide an online opportunity to collect comments from the public and agencies. This will be the next official comment period for the project. The Sound Transit board will then confirm or modify the preferred alternative based on the EIS analysis and public and agency comments. Sound Transit will then prepare the Final EIS for publication in 2022, and the board would select the project to be built.

Visit us at festivals

• Tết in Seattle on Jan. 18 and 19
• Lunar New Year on Feb. 8

2020 timeline

 

2019 recap

 

In 2019 we worked alongside community members, agency partners and advisory groups to reach several exciting project milestones, bringing us steps closer to expanding light rail from downtown Seattle to West Seattle and Ballard.

 

After wrapping up work with our Stakeholder Advisory Group and Elected Leadership Group last spring, the Sound Transit Board identified preferred alternatives and other alternatives to study in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). We're now in the environmental review phase of the project.

 

2019 Highlights and activities

• 5 public meetings in February during the scoping comment period where we collected over 2,800 public and agency comments on route and station alternatives, topics to study in the Draft EIS and the project purpose and need.
• 4 Stakeholder Advisory Group meetings and 3 Elected Leadership Group meetings to wrap up the alternatives development phase.
• 96 briefings with community organizations, neighborhood groups and social service providers.
• 5 public meetings in November and December to share information about the environmental review process and gather feedback that will help inform station planning.
• 25 fairs, festivals and tabling events where we talked to over 6,800 people, answering questions about light rail and collected your thoughts.

We also received nearly 4,000 comments and questions in 2019. Your thoughts and suggestions will help us deliver a light rail system that will move thousands of riders through the city and region. Thanks for a very productive year!

 

What's next in 2020?

 

More project info: soundtransit.org/wsblink