Your commute might get even slower, seriously.
Okay, so I mean, we all complain about Sound Transit, right? Like, it’s a Seattle rite of passage, up there with complaining about the cost of lattes or the price of a house in Ballard. But this week, it feels a little different. The Sound Transit Board is actually voting *today* on which parts of the ST3 expansion plan they’re going to, like, just… not do? Or at least severely delay? I mean, bus karo. We voted for this, you know?
### What This Means for Seattle
This isn't just about some abstract transit plan, you know? This is about our daily lives, about getting from say, Rainier Valley up to Capitol Hill without sitting in traffic on I-5 for an hour, or getting out to West Seattle without needing a ferry.
Here's a quick look at what's happening:
* **The Vote:** The Sound Transit Board is meeting at Union Station in SODO to decide which ST3 projects face cuts or delays. * **The Original Promise:** ST3 was approved by voters almost ten years ago, promising major light rail expansions, including new lines to Everett, Tacoma, and West Seattle, and a new tunnel under downtown. * **The Reality:** Budget shortfalls, rising construction costs, and some — I mean, for sure — optimistic original projections mean they just can’t deliver on everything as planned.
I mean, the original ST3 plan was supposed to bring light rail to places like West Seattle and Lynnwood, and extend the existing lines. Now, seeing it get chipped away like this? It's just a bit disheartening, isn't it? Especially when you think about how much density we've added around the city, and how much more expensive it's getting to live anywhere near a transit hub. It feels like we're constantly trying to catch up, and then things like this just push us further behind.
This is the kind of stuff that just makes you sigh, you know? Like, it’s one thing to have rain, but it’s another to feel like the city is just continually playing catch-up on basic infrastructure while everything else just keeps getting more… everything. That’s Seattle — Rainier’s out, everything’s forgiven. But when it's not out, and your train is delayed? That's when you really feel it.
Preet Kaur-Sullivan, MiTL Sports Desk.
You know, the crew on the Morning Wire really digs into this kind of stuff every day – check 'em out live at mornings.live.