News Release

For Immediate Release
May 26, 2026

FROM THE OFFICE OF: Councilmember Dan Strauss

CONTACT: Jesse Franz, Chief of Staff, 206-635-5701 or Jesse.Franz@seattle.gov

Seattle City Councilmember Strauss proposes amendments to save Ballard Light Rail

SEATTLE – Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6), who also serves as a Sound Transit Board Member, announced today he will be proposing and supporting three key amendments focused on saving Ballard light rail.

“Sound Transit needs a plan to get to Ballard. We voted for light rail, we have been paying for it, and the City of Seattle has planned its job and housing growth around it. My proposals give us an opportunity maximize ridership, save Ballard light rail, and keep light rail expansion to Tacoma, Everett, West Seattle, and all other regions on track,” said Councilmember Strauss

The Ballard Link Extension is projected to serve as many as 148,000 daily riders – the most of any expansion project in Sound Transit history. For reference, that’s nearly three times as many people as the newly opened and important East Link Extension. Even these ridership numbers are low because Ballard has been upzoned multiple times since these projections were completed. 

Sound Transit has promised light rail to Ballard since 2016, when voters approved Sound Transit 3 (ST3). Now, Sound Transit is considering a proposal that would cut the Ballard Link Extension short and only fund it to Seattle Center, which is nowhere near Ballard. The rest of the light rail extension, from Seattle Center to Ballard, would be postponed indefinitely with no funding being allocated for its construction.

Councilmember Strauss announced today he will propose or support three amendments to focused on saving Ballard light rail.

1) Prioritize Building to Ballard:

One of the key reasons Sound Transit’s plan falls short is because it prioritizes nearly $11 billion in Seattle area funding to build a second downtown tunnel over building light rail to Ballard. That’s a policy choice, not a necessity. To maximize ridership, we must move Seattle’s funding from the second downtown tunnel to where it’s needed most — building a Westlake to Ballard Starter Line.

The second tunnel would run parallel to the existing tunnel and serve roughly the same areas light rail does today. We can’t give up on the second tunnel, and we will identify cost savings and additional funding to build it through ongoing cost-saving exercises being completed through the Enterprise Initiative. 

2) Improve Sound Transit’s Financial Tools: By improving the way Sound Transit finances light rail, not only could we have a chance to save Ballard light rail, but we could deliver all projects faster without raising taxes. Sound Transit currently only uses 30 percent of its legal debt capacity. Making some limited, commonsense adjustments to that policy would make a huge difference. Additionally, Sound Transit can work with Olympia to pass legislation that allows Sound Transit to take out longer-term bonds.

3) Provide timelines for Ballard: Despite multiple requests, Sound Transit has not provided a timeline for when it could build the Ballard Link under the current plan. Instead, the project is indefinitely postponed. This is information Sound Transit can and must provide to rebuild trust with the community. While that timeline will certainly be bad, likely showing Sound Transit’s proposal sets the Ballard Link Extension back decades, transparency is critical so we can start working to improve that date now.

What’s next

The proposal for Sound Transit, along with these amendments and others, are scheduled for a vote during the May 28 meeting of the Sound Transit Board of Directors at 1:30 p.m. Community members are encouraged to participate and can find more information online on Sound Transit’s public comment guide. 

About the City Council
The Seattle City Council is the elected legislative branch of the city’s government. It’s comprised of nine councilmembers serving four-year terms and representing 800,000 constituents — seven selected by districts and two through citywide positions. For the latest news and information, please visit seattle.gov/council.

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