The following is a release from Sound Transit:
The Sound Transit Board today unanimously re-elected Sound Transit Board Chair Dow Constantine and Vice Chairs Marilyn Strickland and Paul Roberts for new one-year terms.
Board members voiced support for the leadership the three provided during 2014 and 2015 as Sound Transit advanced 34 miles of light rail extensions that are on track for completion by 2023 and saw major ridership gains. Their extended tenure will support the Board’s work to move a Sound Transit 3 ballot measure forward toward a regional vote in November 2016.
“I am honored by the Board’s vote to extend my leadership, as we prepare to open Link to the U District and Angle Lake and go to the voters for further expansion of light rail,” said Constantine, who is serving his second term as King County Executive. “We are positioned to move ST3 forward and continue delivering big projects and big results for the region.”
Strickland is in her second term as Tacoma Mayor and Roberts in his third term on the Everett City Council.
“We are positioned for a historic vote next year on finally connecting major cities across Pierce, King and Snohomish counties with a regional light rail system,” Strickland said. “The benefits to our economy and environment will exceed the costs of these investments many times over and enable us and our children to thrive as our population grows dramatically.”
“The light rail extensions that we are on track to complete in 2023 will lay a foundation for transforming the way our residents commute and our cities grow years into the future,” Roberts said. “To realize the benefits of these investments for our mobility, economy and environment the Sound Transit 3 measure must finish the job by creating a truly regional system.”
The Sound Transit 3 measure will decide where the regional transit system continues growing after current projects are complete. The University Link light rail extension, with new stations on Seattle’s Capitol Hill and near Husky Stadium, is on track to open in early 2016, ahead of schedule and approximately $150 million under budget. Later in the year the Angle Lake extension will reach one stop further south from the airport. Light rail service will reach Northgate in 2021 and by 2023 extend further north to Lynnwood, south to Kent/Des Moines and east to Redmond’s Overlake area. The extensions are expected to increase Sound Transit’s overall weekday ridership to more than 350,000 by 2030.
