<< Previous   of   Next >>

ADVERTISEMENT

CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE Jocelyn Robinson, News editor jrobinson@heraldnet.com

No light rail for Snohomish County

By Chris Fyall
For the Enterprise

Light-rail trains started rolling into Seattle last week, but local commuters hoping to catch a train of their own have more than a decade to wait.

Even if everything goes according to plan, Sound Transit’s first light-rail trains will not venture into Snohomish County until 2023.

That’s when service is projected to begin at stations in Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood. Voters approved that extension as part of a $17.9 billion Sound Transit tax package last November.

“(Light rail) is on its way,” said Paul Roberts, an Everett city councilman and one of three Snohomish County Sound Transit board members.

Elsewhere, it arrived July 18. A light-rail link will connect 12 stations from Tukwila to downtown Seattle.

There’s no plan to connect Everett — yet.

Still, people in Snohomish County are pushing for a larger regional investment in light rail.

“We think (the current plan) is the staging ground for Sound Transit 3,” Roberts said, referring to a new tax package the agency will be pushing toward voters. He didn’t have a time frame for that one. “We need to connect the dots — connect the employment centers with the population centers.”

While last year’s vote won’t bring immediate light-rail returns into Snohomish County, the vote has already brought expanded Sound Transit bus routes. The ST2 package promised Snohomish County about 30,000 additional bus hours per year.

In June, the agency took a step towards that goal. It added about 7,500 annual bus hours to Snohomish County routes serving Seattle and Bellevue.

In September, it plans to add another 7,500 annual bus hours, said Mike Bergman, a Sound Transit program manager for service planning.

At that point, the agency will have every bus it owns on the road during rush hour, Bergman said.

The bus hours were under attack earlier this year as sales tax revenues came in lower than expected.

Snohomish County’s delegation fought to protect the promised bus service, said Joe Marine, Mukilteo mayor and Sound Transit board member.

“We have continued to say, ‘No. We need to get that service to the people up here,’” he said.

Buses have proven popular here in lieu of light rail.

More people than ever are riding Sound Transit buses in Snohomish County, Bergman said. Ridership has grown about 7 percent this year, he said.

That’s for various reasons, people said.

Some people just want to get out of the car, commuter Tabb Clark said this week after stepping off a Sounder commuter rail train in Everett.

“I simply do not want to drive,” said Clark, who commutes to Tukwila from his home in Snohomish — by bus on his way in, and by rail on his way back. “I ride with a wide variety of people and they like the buses and trains.”

Others hope to save money.

Dustin Vanatti lives in Seattle and works in Everett. He owns a car, but every day he catches the 511 bus from downtown Seattle to downtown Everett. It saves money, he said.

“It’s a nice ride,” Vanatti said. “Of course, light rail would be way nicer.”

The local Sound Transit delegates agree.

The dream is clear. The details — how, where, when — are murky. “The jury is still out,” Marine said.

Light rail might get to Everett, but it might not stop there, he said.

“Obviously, things will continue to grow to the north. That’s the only place to go,” he said. “We’ll continue to drive it out farther and farther. But we can’t get to places like Marysville until we get to Everett.”

Chris Fyall writes for the Herald of Everett.