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A look back at Ballard Link’s 2023
Thank you to everyone who engaged with us in 2023. It was a busy year as we advanced the Ballard Link Extension (BLE) project through the planning process. This included further studies of station and alignment refinements throughout the project corridor. As a result, we will be developing a new BLE Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), that will build upon the previous West Seattle and Ballard Link Extension Draft EIS and will include deeper study of these refinements.
Here’s a summary of our engagement activities by the numbers in 2023:
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We hosted an open house in the Chinatown-International District (CID) and another in Interbay/Ballard, offered an online survey (and received nearly 1300 completed responses for BLE segments), hosted nearly 54 briefings and meetings, and completed 3 neighborhood door-to-door engagement outings to collect feedback on further studies.
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We hosted two webinars to share project updates and gather feedback for the Denny and South Lake Union stations.
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We completed neighborhood door-to-door engagement and hosted an in-person open house event to gather feedback on public realm investments in the CID and Pioneer Square neighborhoods.
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We staffed a table at 10 community events to share project information and answer questions.
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We facilitated nearly 70 additional briefings and meetings (in-person and virtually) with property owners and community organizations.
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We sent 19 email updates to listserv subscribers.
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Continued to work with 7 Community Liaisons, in partnership with the City of Seattle, who support workshops, open houses, business and residential forums, and festival tabling in the CID.
In 2023, we asked for your input, collected your comments, and fielded questions. Your responses have helped us take meaningful steps to advance project planning. We greatly appreciate the time you’ve spent participating.
In 2024, we will continue to advance the BLE Draft EIS for the project and prepare it for upcoming public review and comment. As directed by the Board in December 2023, we will also complete a study of a potential new Draft EIS alternative in South Lake Union and share the results publicly in April.
Also, following the kickoff of our South Downtown Hub planning effort in November 2023, we will continue collaboration with community members and our partners at the City of Seattle and King County to create a plan for enhancing the neighborhoods of CID and Pioneer Square. Additionally, we will further engage the CID community by organizing regular community information sessions to discuss important project information and facilitate learning.
We look forward to the many engagement opportunities in 2024!
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