Mosqueda issues statement on cost-saving options for ST3

March 18, 2026

Teresa Mosqueda, Sound Transit Board member and District 8 King County Councilmember issued the following statement Wednesday following the Sound Transit Board retreat, during which the board discussed the agency’s Enterprise Initiative to address rapidly escalating costs driving long-term affordability challenges. Board members set forth their priorities for delivering the voter-approved Sound Transit 3 (ST3) plan and discussed an array of policy, finance, operations, and capital levers to bring the plan within range of affordability.

“I stand united with my North King County Sound Transit board colleagues in our commitment to delivering light rail to West Seattle and ultimately to Ballard, and we need the spine completed between Everett and Tacoma. To do so, we cannot work within the confines of limited information or stagnant revenue, nor can we accomplish further cost-savings measures if we don’t move forward with authorizing additional design work for some of our highest impact projects. The scenarios presented by Sound Transit today were not proposals to make cuts — they were intended to serve as the basis for conversation, and more analysis for the Board’s consideration is clearly needed. The cost savings work the Sound Transit team has done on the West Seattle plan shows what’s possible when we demand creative thinking and aggressively pursue cost-saving options: properties avoided, ridership retained, and billions saved. Now is the time to build on this momentum, move forward on shovel-ready West Seattle, and roll up our sleeves to explore all options to deliver light rail to Ballard and the spine so that this generational project delivers on its full potential.”