Six-Year Plan Update Continues Expansion
Community Transit plans for major restructuring in 2024, when light rail gets to Snohomish County
Snohomish County, Wash. – Every year, Community Transit updates its six-year plan to forecast the financial outlook and operational needs of the near-term future. Typically, that plan contains a roadmap for each year’s changes over that six-year timeframe.
This year, the agency is publishing a barebones data and project status update that continues the work outlined in the last six-year plan, most notably a 36 percent service expansion through 2022.
In 2024, a year beyond the scope of this year’s planning update, Community Transit will restructure its service network to serve Sound Transit’s Link light rail, which will open service between Northgate and Lynnwood that year.
Following this year’s minimal update, Community Transit will focus attention on a more robust six-year plan next year outlining how the agency will get to that 2024 restructure.
Public comment on this year’s Draft 2018 Addendum to 2017-2022 Transit Development Plan (TDP) is welcome through Aug. 31. A public hearing will take place on Sept. 6.
Technical addendum
Community Transit’s 2017-2022 TDP outlined a 36 percent transit service increase for Snohomish County residents. The agency is well underway with its service expansion, with a 20 percent increase in Swift Blue Line service coming this fall and launch of the Swift Green Line on tap for spring 2019.
The service expansion plans outlined in the previous TDP remain in place. The new addendum updates the transit agency’s sales tax revenue forecast to match proposed future service expansions with the labor and fleet needed to provide that service.
The addendum forecasts two new items for its outlying year, 2023:
No service expansion that year as the agency preserves its capacity for the major restructure in 2024; and
Replacement of the original 15 Swift bus rapid transit buses that launched the Blue Line service in 2009.
The addendum also contains a status update on the various projects listed in last year’s TDP. The Draft 2018 Addendum to 2017-2022 Transit Development Plan can be found at www.communitytransit.org/TDP.
Draft addendum review and public comment
The draft addendum was presented to the Community Transit Board of Directors today and is available for public comment through Aug. 31.
Comments may be made in several ways:
(425) 353-7433 (RIDE)
@MyCommTrans on Twitter (Use #TDP4CT)
Community Transit, 7100 Hardeson Rd., Everett, WA 98203
People can present their comments to the Board of Directors at a public hearing at 3 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 6 in the Community Transit Board Room, 7100 Hardeson Road, Everett, accessible by Route 105 and Everett Transit Route 8.
Community Transit is responsible for providing bus and paratransit service, vanpool and alternative commute options in Snohomish County. The agency is building a network of Swift bus rapid transit lines with Swift Blue Line along Highway 99 and the Swift Green Line between Canyon Park/Bothell and Boeing/Paine Field coming in 2019.
