Issaquah officials ask residents to weigh in on ‘once-in-a-generation’ light rail line

A light rail line to Issaquah is in the current draft of a public transportation package that could go before voters in November. The draft of ST3 was released by the Sound Transit Board March 24 to gather public opinion before they finalize the plan and vote in June to put it on the ballot.

By Daniel Nash • April 4, 2016 12:25 pm
Courtesy of soundtransit3.orgThe current proposed line from Downtown Bellevue to Issaquah.
Courtesy of soundtransit3.orgThe current proposed line from Downtown Bellevue to Issaquah.

A light rail line to Issaquah is in the current draft of a public transportation package that could go before voters in November. The draft of ST3 was released by the Sound Transit Board March 24 to gather public opinion before they finalize the plan and vote in June to put it on the ballot.

Now Issaquah city officials are asking residents weigh in to let the Transit Board know which projects they support.

Calling the proposed Issaquah route a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity, spokespeople claim if a line isn’t approved with the ST3 package — which would roll out projects over 25 years — the city may not receive light rail for up to 50 years.

The proposed nine-mile line would run from Downtown Bellevue to Central Issaquah with intervening stops along Richards Road, at Eastgate and Lakemont. The line is estimated to carry up to 15,000 people per day and is estimated to cost up to $1.706 billion in 2014 dollars, according to the ST3 draft plan.

The Bellevue-to-Issaquah proposal has been revised from an earlier plan considered by the board in December that would have connected Issaquah to Totem Lake in Kirkland via Bellevue’s Wilburton neighborhood. The current draft plan dropped Totem Lake’s light rail connection in favor of bus rapid transit.

Some transit followers criticized the priority of the draft plan’s projects. Grassroots organization Seattle Subway — which supports a full light rail buildout it’s dubbed STComplete — theorized that ST3 couldn’t pass in November without a greater focus on the region’s metro core.

“Sound Transit must do everything it can to expedite the construction of light rail in Seattle, including the elimination of projects that do not contribute the same benefits to mobility in Seattle,” read a March 31 guest post from the organization on the Seattle Transit Blog.

The Issaquah line would be expected to open in 2041.

An online survey on the ST3 draft plan can be found at soundtransit3.org. An open house is set for 5:30 p.m. April 27 at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, 16600 NE 80th St., Redmond.