Some of the Eastside’s largest employers joined with three city mayors on Tuesday morning to encourage voters to support Proposition 1, the Sound Transit 3 proposal.
The leaders gathered in Downtown Bellevue next to the Bellevue Transit Center and spoke to members of the media as buses rumbled behind. Mass Transit Now, a group in support of the proposition, sponsored the press conference.
Bellevue Mayor John Stokes urged his constituents to think of the big picture.
“This is for the whole region, folks,” he said. “It’s not just for us. It really connects us all together … Let’s get it done and get it done now.”
Sound Transit 3 would increase light rail in the Puget Sound region to 116 miles with 83 stations. If the $54 billion proposition passes in November, the plan would allow someone to get on a light rail train in Everett and ride it as far south as Tacoma Community College, as far east as Central Issaquah or Downtown Redmond or to south Kirkland, Ballard, West Seattle or Bellevue with just a few transfers.
Tony Williams, a Bellevue business owner and representative for the Bellevue Downtown Association, said the interconnectivity of the proposition was why his organization voted overwhelmingly in favor of supporting the plan.
“We voted more than three-to-one to support Prop 1,” he said. “It’s critical to the whole Eastside. We want this community to be a regional leader.”
Irene Plenefisch, Microsoft’s government affairs director, reiterated that the technology giant’s weight was behind Sound Transit 3.
“At Microsoft, we take a regional view of transportation issues,” she said. “Put simply, St3 will increase the quality of life in the Puget Sound region.”
Furthering that message, Marc Berejka — director of government and community affairs for REI — said his company had a vested interest in transportation options in Bellevue.
“We just opened our store in Bellevue this past weekend, and our intent is to open our headquarters in the Spring District,” he said. “We have employees from all around the Puget Sound area and we want all options for how they can get to work.”
Berejka remarked on the irony of almost showing up late to the press conference espousing the need for better mass transit thanks to a traffic jam on Interstate 405.
“I think it explains why I was coming here,” he said.
Redmond Mayor John Marchione reflected on his city’s unique issue with transportation in qualifying his support.
“I did a magic trick this morning that I do every morning and doubled Redmond’s population from 60,000 to 120,000,” he said. “We need this for our community. Traffic is a strain on our system. We are wasting millions of hours of time as we sit in our cars.”
He reminded voters that even though the very last stage of Sound Transit 3 wouldn’t be completed until 2041 (light rail extension from south Kirkland to Issaquah), pieces will be finished sooner than they realize.
“People tell me they won’t be around to use light rail. I tell them ‘take better care of yourselves,'” he said.
The extension of light rail to Downtown Redmond is slated to be completed and opened by 2024, a scant eight years from today. The Ballard line is planned for 2035, West Seattle for 2030, Seattle to Tacoma connector 2030 and Everett to Lynnwood 2036. Bus Rapid Transit lines from Lynnwood to Burien are planned for 2024.
As Mayor of Issaquah and member of the Sound Transit Board, Fred butler has a vested interest in seeing ST3 passed.
“Congestion is already making getting in and out of Issaquah difficult,” he said. “Ridership will continue to grow. I hear from our citizens every day that they want more options.”
The vote
