Online open house for Federal Way to Tacoma Dome regional light rail extension kicks off

Opportunity for public to weigh in online and in person on route and station locations

Sound Transit is seeking additional public feedback on route alternatives and station locations for extending regional light rail from Federal Way to Tacoma. Public input during this public comment or “scoping” period will help the Sound Transit Board and the Federal Transit Administration determine which alternatives to study in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to be prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).

An online open house will be available through May 1 at https://tdlink.participate.online/. Comments may also be submitted via email at TDLEScoping@soundtransit.org or by mail at: Sound Transit, Elma Borbe, 401 S. Jackson Street, Seattle, WA 98104. You can also leave a voicemail comment at (206) 903-7118.

The very first piece of Sound Transit's light rail system was built in Tacoma. Someday it will connect to the larger network. Photo: Morf Morford — The very first piece of Sound Transit’s light rail system was built in Tacoma. Someday it will connect to the larger network. Photo: Morf Morford

In-person open houses are taking place in April at the following locations:

Fife

6-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 16 at Fife Community Center, 2111 54th Ave. E.

Tacoma

6-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 17 at Tacoma Convention Center, 1500 Commerce St.

Federal Way

6-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 23 at Performing Arts and Events Center, 31510 Pete Von Reichbauer Way S.

Following the scoping period, which ends May 1, the Sound Transit Board will consider comments received and other information to identify a preferred alternative for routes and stations, as well as other alternatives, to evaluate in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The final EIS will respond to comments received on the Draft EIS. The EIS process will document the Tacoma Dome Link Extension’s potential impacts on the natural and built environment and will take about three years to complete.

The regional light rail extension from Federal Way to the Tacoma Dome will be 9.7-miles of elevated and at-grade light rail from the Federal Way Transit Center to the Tacoma Dome with a new bridge crossing the Puyallup River. It includes four new stations located in south Federal Way, Fife, east Tacoma and the Tacoma Dome. The new regional light rail line is schedule to open in 2030. More information on the project and public involvement process is available at www.soundtransit.org/tdlink

In addition to the Tacoma Dome Link Extension, Sound Transit is simultaneously working to extend regional light rail north, south and east, opening new stations every few years to form a 116-mile regional system by 2041.

The agency is on track to open extensions to Seattle’s University District, Roosevelt and Northgate neighborhoods in 2021, followed by service to Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond’s Overlake area in 2023. Additional extensions to Kent/Des Moines, Federal Way, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood and Downtown Redmond are planned to open in 2024. Further regional light rail extensions are scheduled to reach West Seattle in 2030; Seattle Center, South Lake Union and Ballard in 2035; Paine Field and Everett in 2036; and South Kirkland and Issaquah in 2041.

– Sound Transit