Welcome to the CEO Corner
Here you'll find the latest news on Sound Transit as we continue building a mass transit system that connects the Puget Sound region. In 2007, we carried about 14 million people on our buses and our commuter and light rail trains. Every day we are improving mobility and providing alternatives to sitting in traffic.
As the CEO of Sound Transit, I can assure you that everyone here, including the Board of Directors, Sound Transit staff and our consultants, is committed to offering safe and reliable service and building quality transit projects throughout the three-county region. Sound Transit is accountable to the public. The agency’s commitment to openness and accountability is evident in its cost and project controls, its outside audits and oversight and with its clearly defined milestones that are updated every year.
Joni Earl, Sound Transit Chief Executive Officer
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CEO Report
May 9, 2008
Sound Transit 2 public involvement getting underway
Sound Transit is preparing to kick off a major public involvement effort, including seven open houses, to encourage comment on potential options for expanding the regional mass transit system.
Public comment will help shape the Sound Transit Board’s decision on the timing of a mass transit expansion measure and whether to move forward with a 12-year or a 20-year package.
A postcard announcing the outreach opportunities was mailed to all houses in the Sound Transit District this week. The open houses are from 5:30-8:30 p.m., with presentations at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 22: Lynnwood Convention Center, 3711 196th St. S.W., Lynnwood.
Wednesday, May 28: Highline Community College, 2400 S. 240th St., Des Moines.
Tuesday, June 3: Daffodil Valley Elementary School, 1509 Valley Ave., Sumner.
Wednesday, June 4: Northgate Community Center, 10510 5th Ave. N.E., Seattle.
Thursday, June 5: Meydenbauer Center, 11100 N.E. 6th St., Bellevue.
Tuesday, June 10: Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma.
Wednesday, June 11: Everett Station, 3201 Smith Ave., Everett.
In addition, starting next week the public can review and comment on the options by completing a questionnaire on our Web site or by phone at 1-877-263-3801. Please visit or call starting May 14. Comments can also be mailed to 401 S. Jackson St., Seattle WA 98104.
Sound Transit will also be out in the community in the next several weeks at speaking engagements and fairs and festivals gathering community feedback on the plans.
The Board could make a decision in June or July on whether to take a plan out for a public vote this year or wait until 2010.
First quarter 2008 ridership up 15 percent
More good news on ridership. Our first quarter 2008 ridership for ST Express regional bus, Sounder commuter rail and Tacoma Link light rail, was nearly 3.6 million passenger boardings up 15 percent over first quarter 2007.
System-wide, our average weekday boardings reached 50,368 in the first quarter of this year. Ridership averaging over 50, 000 every weekday is one of our milestones for this year.
The numbers show that ST Express bus ridership was up 13 percent in the first quarter, Sounder commuter rail service up 28 percent and Tacoma Link up 1 percent.
Link construction moving along well
Construction on the Link light rail initial segment from downtown Seattle to Tukwila is about 90 percent complete and is on schedule and budget for opening next year. The Airport Link segment connecting Tukwila to Sea-Tac Airport is also on schedule to open in late 2009. Free shuttle bus service will take passengers from the Tukwila International Blvd Station to Sea-Tac Airport until train service begins running to the airport in late 2009.
A Link construction update to the Sound Transit Board on Thursday included word that light rail track is now in place from the Rainier Valley all the way to Tukwila, more than 10 miles away.
So far 22 light rail vehicles have arrived and train testing is already underway in the SODO segment and will begin this summer in the Rainier Valley and the Tukwila segments. A campaign to promote train safety is also underway.
Also, as part of that testing, Sound Transit contractors today are energizing the new overhead electrical lines that power the trains in the Rainier Valley. The agency is reminding neighbors and the general public to follow the same precautions with overhead Link light rail power lines as they would with other high power electric lines. Any contact with the overhead power lines can cause serious injury or death.
Good news for the environment
Our Sounder train locomotives are about to get outfitted with a new system that will not only save fuel, but will benefit the environment as well.
The Sound Transit Board on Thursday approved the purchase of equipment that automatically shuts down a locomotive’s engine when it’s idling for long periods of time. The system, through Rail Systems, Inc., also automatically starts the engine when necessary.
Because engine idling will be reduced by an estimated 34 percent, the system is expected to cut a total of more than 1.8 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year from the agency’s fleet of 11 Sounder locomotives. It will also provide significant fuel savings and reduce noise pollution where the locomotives are stored at night.
The contract, approved Thursday by the Board, is for $230, 596. The agency was also very pleased to learn that the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has designated a $100,000 grant toward the purchase of the equipment.
Photo of the Week
Our photo this week shows a lineup of Link light rail cars at the Link Operations & Maintenance Facility just south of downtown Seattle. http://www.soundtransit.org/newsroom/photo/.
Sound Transit Board actions from Thursday, May 8:
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Ratified a sole source agreement with Catholic Community Services to provide administrative and management services for the Regional Special Needs Transportation Coordination Plan Volunteer Programs project for a total authorized amount not to exceed $107,837.
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Ratified a sole source agreement with Hopelink to provide administrative and management services for the Regional Special Needs Transportation Coordination Plan Volunteer Programs project for a total authorized amount not to exceed $163,
