Traffic Lab Should “Dig Into” Need for ST $12B 2nd Tunnel

  

The agendas for both the June 8^th System Expansion Committee Meeting and June 22^nd Sound Transit Board Meeting lack any mention of the status regarding plans to spend more than $12B on a second tunnel as part of the Ballard Link extension. For several months Chinatown residents have used Board Meeting "Comments" to urge Sound Transit include a Station near CID in any tunnel decision.  Even the Seattle Times had concern about Sound Transit proposing a “North of CID station” to access 2^nd tunnel.

 

The Board responded, concluding in the March 23^rd meeting the CID station provided a “once in a lifetime opportunity to create a space for people to transfer from light rail to light rail, to Sounder and Amtrak".   That more study was needed before the decision was made to give up that opportunity and proceed with the Pioneer Square  Station.

The May 1^st release of Sound Transit’s March Agency Progress Report had included the following response:

At its March 23 Board meeting, the Sound Transit Board identified a preferred alternative for the light rail route and station locations for the Ballard Link Extension. 

The preferred alternative includes stations South and North of the Chinatown-International District (CID) and shifts the Midtown Station to the location North of CID. The Board also directed that the CID 4th Avenue Shallower option be carried forward for additional environmental review.

That “Key Project Activities included:

Based on evaluation results and community feedback, in March 2023 the Board took action to confirm or modify the preferred alternative(s) for the Ballard Link Extension from the range of alternatives evaluated in the Draft EIS and further studies directed by the Board in July 2022. 

Continued Phase 3 project development activities to prepare the Final EIS and conduct Preliminary Engineering for the preferred alternative(s) confirmed or modified by the Board. 

Yet the June 2 release of the April Agency Progress Report, Link Light Rail Ballard Link Extension, Project Schedule included the following:

In March 2023, the Board considered the results of the further studies and identified a Preferred Alternative for much of the project corridor but with direction to continue review of two station options in the Denny Station area and to return to the Board in May 2023. 

Thus, the need in the March Agency Progress report for “the CID 4^th Avenue Shallower Option be carried forward for additional review” wasn’t even an issue in the April report. What the Seattle Times preferred, the Chinatown residents wanted, and what the Board had requested of Sound Transit, “more study of a once in the lifetime opportunity” didn’t even merit a “progress” report.  

Instead, the Board apparently concurred since the May 25^th meeting dealt only with options for locating the Denny Station and neither the June 8^th System Expansion Committee nor the June 22nd Board meeting agendas included the issue. Clearly, Sound Transit and the Board have agreed on plans to bore a second tunnel without CID 4th Ave station to allow Ballard light rail trains travel to SeaTac, West Seattle trains to Everett, and East Link trains to Mariner P&R. 

Neither considered the option of terminating  East Link and West Seattle Link at the existing CID and terminate Ballard Link at existing Westlake station.  Use the existing CID as a “once in a lifetime opportunity to create a space for people to transfer from light rail to light rail, to Sounder and Amtrak".  Use the existing Westlake station to avoid Ballard residents having to get there by walking from new station to avoid having to exit at Pioneer Square. Use the existing DSTT for those needing to transit beyond existing CID and Westlake stations. 

The result being no need to spend more than $12B and up to ten years disrupting Seattle with boring the tunnel and implementing new stations at Westlake, Pioneer Square, South of CID, and SODO. Ballard residents wouldn’t have to wait until 2039 before having access to light rail. East side commuters  wouldn't have to transfer at Pioneer Square to travel south to Boeing and SeaTac. Operations for all three extensions could be matched to meet local demand rather than what's needed on routes to Lynnwood and beyond, and Federal Way and beyond. 

Unfortunately, the bottom line is the June 22^nd meeting showed neither Sound Transit nor the Board had any interest in using a CID location for access. Again, what the Seattle Times preferred, the Chinatown residents wanted, and what the Board had requested of Sound Transit, “more study of a once in the lifetime opportunity” didn’t even merit discussion. 

Both Sound Transit and the Board need to be “persuaded” to consider using the existing CID and Westlake stations for egress and access to light rail and the DSTT for those needing to go between.  The potential for saving billions and years of delay and disruption is surely worthy of any cost and delay. It’s something the Seattle Times Traffic Lab should “dig into”.