Sound Transit: Planning continues on Pierce County transit expansion

Tacoma residents will have two opportunities in June and July to learn more about Sound Transit’s Regional Transit Long-Range Plan, which outlines the transportation agency’s vision for high-capacity transit in Snohomish County, King County, and Pierce County.

According to Sound Transit officials, the region’s population is projected to grow 30 per cent by 2040, and daily ridership on Sound Transit is projected to increase more than 350,000 in 2030 following the completion of more than 30 miles of light rail expansions.

Last fall, as Sound Transit’s Board of Directors kicked off the process to update the Regional Transit Long-Range Plan, more than 12,000 people provided input to Sound Transit on where mass transit should go when current voter-approved projects are completed in 2023. Based on this feedback, Sound Transit developed a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement that is available for review and comment through July 28. Public input on the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement will help guide the Sound Transit Board’s decisions when the Regional Transit Long-Range Plan is updated in December. Once updated, the plan will shape potential future ballot measures for consideration by voters across the region.

Mark your calendars if you would like to learn more about Sound Transit’s Regional Transit Long-Range Plan and Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, as well as offer comments on both issues.

Tacoma City Council’s Infrastructure, Planning, and Sustainability Committee will hear from Sound Transit on a proposed update to the Regional Transit Long-Range Plan and seek comment and feedback from committee members during a public meeting on Weds., June 25, at 4:30 p.m., at Tacoma Municipal Building North, 733 Market St., Conference Room 16, in downtown Tacoma. Copies of the agenda and meeting materials are available online here.

Additionally, Sound Transit will hold a public hearing and open house on Thurs., July 10, between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, located at 1500 Broadway, in downtown Tacoma. Visitors will have an opportunity to review the Regional Transit Long-Range Plan and provide feedback on the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.

More information is available online here.

To read the Tacoma Daily Index‘s complete and comprehensive coverage of Sound Transit’s Regional Transit Long-Range Plan, click on the following links: