WEST SEATTLE LIGHT RAIL: ‘Guiding principles’ survey; new line name

| Sound Transit | West Seattle news | West Seattle online

(Sound Transit map of what’s being studied – see full-size version here in PDF)

The planning for West Seattle’s light-rail line, due to launch in 2030, continues. Two notes:

‘GUIDING PRINCIPLES” SURVEY: The city Department of Neighborhoods has been helping Sound Transit with “outreach” related to parts of the planning process. We just discovered (while scanning the Cascade Bicycle Club‘s email newsletter) that the city has a survey open, to find out if you agree with the “guiding principles” it’s developed. Go here to participate.

LINE NAMES: In case you missed the announcement in April (we did), ST is renaming its lines with numbers, including yet-to-be-built lines like West Seattle to Ballard, which will become “the 3-Line.”

P.S. Sound Transit’s board continues its regular meetings, online – next one is Thursday (May 28th) afternoon; here’s the agenda.

West Seattle Mad Sci Guy May 24, 2020 (4:53 pm)

That survey was kind of a joke. Was it a legal requirement they post one? Most questions one would expect most people to answer 4 or 5 with maybe a three thrown in there. Well. I suppose unless the person was just generically anti transit.

AMD May 24, 2020 (8:27 pm)

I read your comment before seeing the survey and assumed it was just snark (you get jaded around these parts, my apologies). I just took the survey and I see exactly what you mean. I think if we were asked to rank the items in order of importance they maybe could have gotten more useful feedback. Hopefully the next survey will be more helpful.
- WSB May 24, 2020 (8:46 pm)
  
  Just for some context:
  Whether you think a survey is well-crafted, consequential, or neither, they get cited in city policy as “we asked the community and here’s what they said” – so when I find out about these (too often NOT announced via media release), I post them here, in hopes West Seattleites will at least have a chance to be heard. If it’s really and truly a topic about which you do not care at all, pass it over, but this is a relatively short survey and touches on some interesting aspects of decisions yet to be made …TR
  - Steve M May 25, 2020 (4:42 pm)
    
    Ah, I appreciated the context, and thank you for sharing this out. I did hope the survey might include a question about the community’s thoughts on coordinating the West Seattle light rail efforts with the West Seattle bridge repair/replacement… Alas.
BBILL May 24, 2020 (8:59 pm)

Harve May 24, 2020 (7:14 pm)

I wonder how many thousands of dollars Sound Transit paid its consultants to coin and vet “The 3-Line” as a name for the proposed West Seattle to Ballard light-rail connection. I don’t suppose they imagined its nickname will be “The Trip-Line,” as in the wartime booby trap used to blow up passing trains.