As Sound Transit gets closer to the next milestone in West Seattle-Ballard light-rail planning – publishing the Draft Environmental Impact Statement this fall – it’s just announced a plan for new Community Advisory Groups. Here’s the announcement:

Sound Transit is looking for people along the West Seattle and Ballard corridor who bring diverse perspectives and lived experiences to serve on a community advisory group (CAG). The CAGs will provide an additional forum for community members to help inform the Sound Transit Board’s confirmation or modification of the preferred alternative for the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions project.

The CAGs will work collaboratively to highlight issues and tradeoffs to the community for the Sound Transit Board to consider as the agency works to deliver a project on time and within scope. Feedback from the advisory groups will be taken together with all the input gathered from the public comment period when Sound Transit releases the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the project, and shared with the Sound Transit Board before it confirms or modifies the preferred alternative early next year. In addition to participating on a CAG, community members will be able to engage in a variety of ways during the public comment period including at public meetings, by phone, mail, email and online.

The CAGs will include a balance of neighborhood and community interests and reflect the diversity throughout the corridor, including income level, race, age, physical and cognitive abilities, and lived experience. Each advisory group will be comprised of 10-15 community members, and organized by geographic area.

Sound Transit is seeking people who:

· Live, work and/or volunteer along the project corridor.

· Are a part of or have deep understanding of one or more of the communities along the corridor.

· Have knowledge and/or interest in public transportation, mobility and how transportation affects the lives of people in the region.

Sound Transit asks that members be prepared to:

-Act as a community ambassador, willing to share information with community members and bring forth community values, concerns, and ideas.
-Consider the community as a whole and go beyond personal interests.
-Participate collaboratively with group members whose views may be different from their own.
-Attend approximately six-monthly meetings from fall 2021 through early 2022, participating fully in the process.

Interest forms will be accepted through 5 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 27. Fill out an interest form at wsblink.participate.online/#cag. For assistance, contact the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions project team at wsblink@soundtransit.org or 206-903-7229.

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