Exit133

June 5, 2015 · Exit133

Comment on ST-3 Transit Investment Priorities

Yesterday the Sound Transit Board of Directors released its draft list of priority projects for possible inclusion in the next round of the agency's regional transit investments.

It's a short list of projects the agency is asking for public feedback on. That feedback will be considered, and starting this fall the agency will conduct further analysis to narrow the options that could be included in the ST-3 ballot measure, which could go to voters as early as November 2016.

There's an interactive map of possible projects around the region. You can click around on it and see what the potential projects are. In Tacoma they include Link expansion to Tacoma Community College and the Tacoma Mall, and segments of Link light rail connecting Tacoma to Federal Way and points north, either via I-5 or 99.

An accompanying survey, open now through July 8, asks the public to weigh in on their level of support for transit expansion in general, and for specific projects around the region in particular. A series of public meetings are also scheduled. In Tacoma the meeting will be June 24, 5:30-7:30 p.m. (presentation at 6 p.m.) at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center.

ST-3 could include some local projects, but that will require Tacoma and Pierce County residents to get involved and advocate for their transit needs over the needs of other areas in the Puget Sound region, including Everett and Renton. 

The outcome of this process will shape where our regional mass transit system goes in the decades to come. So no pressure. Take the ST-3 survey here. 

What are the projects you most hope to see included in ST-3?

Filed under: Transportation, City Projects, Get Involved, Link, Transportation Planning, Transit

4 comments

  • talus June 5, 2015

    Pierce County definitely needs to represent in the this survey. Sounder, light rail to Tacoma, light rail/streetcar in Tacoma, and express buses all deserve more support. In terms of other projects that should be under consideration, how about tightening HOV rules on I-5 to ensure that ST express buses don't get stuck in traffic so frequently? This problem is making the 594 less pleasant than it used to be, along with overcrowding.

  • Engineer June 8, 2015

    Improvements to Sound Transit in Tacoma will do absolutely no good until the voters of Pierce County decide to start support LOCAL transit routes to get people to the regional system. Pierce Transit has become, in my opinion, completely useless. Most of the routes in TACOMA are every HOUR, even during morning and evening peak commute times. Try coordinating a transfer between one of the reverse-direction Sounder trains and a local bus route to get to an office located outside of downtown Tacoma. Yeah, you are looking at travel times of over an hour, solely because of the transfer time. Perhaps the City of Tacoma should remove itself from Pierce Transit, pass its own tax measure, and create a real transit system that does more than act as a lifeline to people too poor to own a car; you know, since Tacoma routinely supports the tax hikes and rural and suburban Pierce County keep voting it down.

  • JDHasty June 8, 2015

    "Improvements to Sound Transit in Tacoma will do absolutely no good until the voters of Pierce County decide to start support LOCAL transit routes to get people to the regional system." Yea, Tacoma does not manage the public transportation providers who operate services that Tacoma taxpayers pay for and are operated in the City. The City also does not manage it's arterial and collector network either. In a word transportation planning, programming and engineering in Tacoma is one big sick joke. In a properly managed system drivers are encouraged to move quickly and efficiently from residential streets onto the collector and arterial network and remain on the arterial and collector network until they are within a few blocks of their destination. In Tacoma things have deteriorated to the point that there are now drivers using alleys as a part of their commute. Basically the individual/individuals in charge of making ALL transportation modes work have been negligent and irresponsible in the extreme. Of course they are going to come back with the retort that The City is not a "transportation provider," yea well neither is Redmond, Tukwila, Bellevue, Everett, Kent and Auburn - all of which actively oversee what KC Metro and Sound Transit are doing in their communities. These are communities that are larger/smaller, richer/poorer in terms of revenues than Tacoma and they, unlike Tacoma actually are able to handle this obligation. But then again take a look at the streets of Tacoma in comparison to the streets of say Redmond, Bellevue or Renton and answer me this: what the hell are we getting for the money we pay in taxes to support this pathetic, miserably managed effort other than bike lanes and crosswalks painted on top of failed asphalt?

    • Jesse June 8, 2015

      But how do you feel about pavement restoration?