Ballard Transit Expansion Study open house this week

On Thursday, June 27 from 5 to 7 p.m., Sound Transit will host an open house about the Ballard Transit Expansion Study at the Ballard High School Commons (1418 NW 65th St.). The open house is the follow-up to a March meeting in which Sound Transit evaluated potential route options, and the discussion on Thursday will include preliminary route options for public consideration and input, according to Sound Transit.

Sound Transit and the City of Seattle have partnered up to study the possibilities of rail transit between Ballard and downtown, and are holding the open houses in order to understand travel patterns of residents and explore potential route options. This week’s meeting is the second open house held this year, and after refining the route options later this summer, Sound Transit will hold another open house in the fall.

While the funding for the transit expansion study has already been allocated, Seattle City Council recently announced they wouldn’t recommend funding for studies of a light-rail crossing of the Ship Canal. According to a Seattle Times article, McGinn said he was disappointed but that he would continue to work with Sound Transit to advance planning for the rail line to Ballard, and he has pledged to include a study of the Ship Canal crossing in his 2014-15 budget. To learn more about the transit expansion study, click here.