Tomorrow afternoon, as previewed here, the Sound Transit Board is expected to adopt a realignment plan – potentially delaying West Seattle light rail. Supporters of a transit alternative – a gondola system – have been trying to convince ST to seriously consider it as an alternative for the West Seattle spur of the system. They say a gondola line, which they call West Seattle SkyLink, could be built faster and cheaper than light rail between SODO and The Junction. So now they’re collecting signatures on an online petition with this request:
We ask Sound Transit to immediately commission gondola experts to conduct a technical engineering study on using a gondola as the West Seattle connection to the Link light rail spine.
We further ask the Sound Transit Board to use the results of the study to compare the gondola to light rail alternatives in reaching a determination on the best way to connect West Seattle to Link.
The gondola concept has been discussed for a few years, but the organized campaign under the name West Seattle SkyLink really revved up around the first of the year; we first talked with advocates in January. ST says it considered gondolas (see page 35) while planning ST3; SkyLink supporters think the transit agency should take another look. If you’re interested in signing their petition, see it here.
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