Light rail from Tacoma to the airport is still 11 years away, but you can have input now

Before light rail reaches Tacoma from points north in 2030, Sound Transit wants the public to have a say on how it will impact the environment.

The regional transportation agency is holding a series of open houses this month from Federal Way to Tacoma to take input on routes and station locations.

In Tacoma, as many as 12 locations are being considered for stations. Only two will be chosen.

“At the Tacoma Dome, we have five or six station options,” Sound Transit spokesman Scott Thompson said Wednesday. “Tell us what you think.”

Potential routes include one that parallels Interstate 5 and another that parallels Pacific Highway as the line enters Pierce County.

The Sound Transit board will consider public comments when it evaluates impacts on the environment as well as existing infrastructure and buildings.

The resulting environmental impact statement will take about three years to complete, Thompson said.

The 9.7-mile light rail extension from Federal Way to the Tacoma Dome will use elevated platforms as well as at-grade rails. It will require the construction of a new bridge over the Puyallup River.

Currently, the plan calls for stations in south Federal Way, Fife, east Tacoma and the Tacoma Dome. The stations in south Federal Way and Fife will have parking structures, Thompson said.

The extension from the current southern terminus of the light rail line at Angle Lake to Kent/Des Moines and Federal Way is scheduled to open in 2024.

The April open houses will feature Sound Transit staff presentations, maps showing routes and stations and laptops to make comments.

The open houses will occur at the following locations:

▪ Fife: Tuesday, April 16, 6-8 p.m. at Fife Community Center, 2111 54th Ave. E.

▪ Tacoma: Wednesday, April 17, 6-8 p.m. at Tacoma Convention Center, 1500 Commerce St.

▪ Federal Way: Tuesday, April 23, 6-8 p.m. at Performing Arts and Events Center, 31510 Pete Von Reichbauer Way S.

In addition to the Tacoma Dome Link Extension, Sound Transit is extending light rail north, south and east. It will open new stations every few years into 2041 as it completes a 116-mile regional system.

The agency is on schedule to open extensions to Seattle’s University District, Roosevelt and Northgate neighborhoods in 2021. That will be followed by extensions to Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond’s Overlake area in 2023.

In addition to the open houses, online comment is available through May 1 at https://tdlink.participate.online/.

Comments also may be submitted via email at TDLEScoping@soundtransit.org or by mail at: Sound Transit, Elma Borbe, 401 S. Jackson St., Seattle, WA 98104. Voicemails can be left at 206-903-7118.

More information is available at soundtransit.org/tdlink.

This story was originally published April 3, 2019 at 4:26 PM.