NORTH SOUND, MAY 20: Bedeviled by a projected $34.5 billion budget shortfall, Sound Transit link light rail extensions to downtown Everett and the Ballard business district in Seattle appear to be on a collision course to get funded.
“Everett link (light rail) has the benefit of at grade track alignment (rather than higher cost of tunneling and bridge crossing needed for the Ballard route) and lower cost than Ballard (extension)” says Everett City Councilman, Ben Zarlingo.
Zarlingo says he’s “(looking for) best (decision) to connect the region, control costs, finish the Everett extension and (then) finish the other projects (like Ballard)” in the future.
Asked about the prospect that Ballard or Everett residents are going to feel short-changed given the lack of money compared to the expected costs of the two unfinished light rail legs, Zarlingo says, “We gotta make tradeoffs to keep things going.”
Zarlingo repeats he’s focused on “how best to advance the whole (ST3) project—including cost (savings)”
Saving money on link light rail may rest in acting sooner, rather than later. “What’s best for Everett and Snohomish County region with the best outcomes while managing risk and cost”, Zarlingo tells Everett Post.
Zarlingo acknowledged that there is a risk in delaying a decision on how to move forward amid the budget crunch. On May 28, the Sound Transit Board is scheduled to hold a critical vote to finalize plans on exactly what will be funded but that decision could potentially get delayed, too, adding to cost complexities.
“There’s a lot of money put into King County on this”, he says, alluding to a term within the Sound Transit taxing district called “sub-area equity”—the concept that taxpayers get back what they put in to the transit system. But Zarlingo confesses there’s no hard data about how the money has been collected or dispersed to evaluate that equity.
Zarlingo notes that a proposal to stop Sound Transit heavy rail service between King Street Station in Seattle and the Everett Station on Smith Avenue will soon be adopted due to lack of ridership and higher operating costs. The Everett link light rail extension will likely also miss out on parking structures at stations in an effort to save money, underscoring his point that Everett won’t receive all its seeking in the ST3 phase as the geo-political battle with Ballard light rail intensifies.
Zarlingo has served on an “Elected Leadership Group” that focused on narrowing down the track location from Lynnwood to Everett along with station location and maintenance facilities. It was a multi-year process to boil down the planning to two primary options and Sound Transit staff are now evaluating the environmental impact for those routes.