SnohomishTimes.com

SnoCo Leaders Approve ST3 Package

Thursday, June 23, 2016
SnoCo Leaders Approve ST3 Package

Today, the Snohomish County members of the Sound Transit Board of Directors joined their colleagues in unanimously approving the Sound Transit 3 package. This historic package would complete the regional network, linking Everett and Paine Field to Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, and beyond.

“With 200,000 more people expected to move into Snohomish County over the next twenty years, we have to plan ahead for transportation, jobs, and housing,” said Dave Somers, Snohomish County Executive. “Sound Transit 3 is our best opportunity to ease our region’s chronic traffic congestion and create a regional system that will help our economy, our environment, and our mobility.”

“We have worked very hard over many years to finally have a package that serves our major jobs and population centers,” said Paul Roberts, Councilmember for the City of Everett and Vice Chair of the Sound Transit Board. “We look forward to working with our regional partners and Sound Transit to further expedite the completion of the line to Everett Station District.”

"This is a critical step forward for Snohomish County and the region,” said Dave Earling, Mayor of Edmonds. “With 800,000 people coming to the region and 200,000 of those to Snohomish County in the next twenty years, we are at a pivot point and must provide more and better transportation alternatives or face dire consequences."

The ST3 package represents a visionary approach rivaling other major metropolitan areas. In addition, it anticipates projected growth, serving the needs of the entire Puget Sound region. With spiking housing costs driving people out of Seattle, ST3 would provide businesses with a broader labor market and workers with more housing options.