Details of the Seattle's Big ST3 Light Rail Plan

Martin H. Duke writes the fourth in a series of articles detailing the Sound Transit 3 (ST3) ballot initiative, scheduled for a vote in November. Previous posts (1,2, and 3) detailed the phases of development proposed by the ballot initiative, while the most recent post details the costs to the individual tax payer.

ST3 proposes a mix of sales, vehicle, and property taxes. The Seattle Times has created an ST3 tax increase calculator to help people figure out how much the individual tax burden will be (i.e., about $169 a year, or 46 cents a day, for the average resident).

Duke's article demystifies some of the rationale behind the variety of figures that have been cited to describe the cost of the projects proposed by ST3. After considering all these costs, Duke also pronounces: "ST3 is the most plausible path to deliver wide-ranging alternatives to congestion and to direct growth into more sustainable corridors."

An article by Daniel Beekman from June 2016 offers traditional daily newspaper coverage of the ST3 plan. For information of the official variety, the ST3 plan has its own interactive map.