2005-2007: Updating the Long-Range Plan
In December 2004, a draft supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Long Range Plan was released, and public comments and suggestions were accepted through January 2005. The Final Regional Transit Long-Range Plan Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) was issued on June 1, 2005.
The Board then approved a new Long-Range Plan. Sound Transit staff held a series of public meetings throughout the region to solicit comments. After reviewing public and agency comments on the draft, the Board unanimously adopted the updated Long-Range Plan in July 2005.
Long-Range Plan issue papers were drafted at the Board's request to provide them with information they need to make decisions about the future of our regional mass transit system. These papers explored questions that have been raised by the Board or the public about potentially amending the Long-Range Plan.
When the Board adopted the updated Long-Range Plan in July 2005, they also directed staff to complete additional analyses for the East Corridor, primarily focused on the I-90 Corridor.
Chronology
May 2004 Sound Transit Board picks preferred North Link route
The Board directs staff to complete the final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the
preferred North Link route and stations. The preferred route stretches north of the Downtown Seattle
Transit Tunnel to serve First Hill and Capitol Hill before crossing under Portage Bay near the Montlake
Bridge and continuing beneath the eastern edge of the main campus to a station under Brooklyn
Avenue at NE 43rd Street. The line will continue north to a station in the Roosevelt neighborhood near NE 65th Street, following either Eighth Avenue Northeast or 12th Avenue Northeast and to a northern terminus station at Northgate.
July 2004 ST 2 process under way
The Sound Transit Board begins giving staff input on the agency's long-range vision and ST 2
planning effort. Sound Transit is beginning to plan an extension of the mass transit system it is
currently building and asking the region to help imagine what that system might look like.
Nov 2004 Lynnwood HOV access lanes open
The first HOV access lanes in the state open in Lynnwood. The lanes connect the Lynnwood Transit
Center directly to I-5, saving time for express bus commuters. The project is completed six months
ahead of schedule and under budget, saving a total of up to $5 million.
June 2005 ST Releases Final SEIS
Sound Transit issues the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for updating its
Long-Range Plan. The document examines the effect an expected 1.2 million more people living here
in the next 25 years will have on the region's transportation systems.
July 2005 Sound Transit Board approves updated Long Range Plan
The Sound Transit Board unanimously approves an amended Long Range Plan, setting the stage for
determining the next round of service and construction projects for the regional agency. The Long Range Plan gives the agency the ‘big picture' of what transit should look like by the year 2030 and helps the Board shape Sound Transit 2.
Key documents online
2005 Long Range Plan Final SEIS
