SEATTLE — Sound Transit leaders will hear from the public as they continue to weigh major changes to the region’s voter-approved light rail expansion plans, while confronting a multibillion-dollar budget gap.
The Sound Transit Board of Directors Executive Committee is holding a special meeting Thursday at 1:30 p.m., with additional time set aside for public comment, as it considers scaling back the Sound Transit 3 (ST3) expansion program. The agency is facing a projected budget shortfall of more than $34 billion in the next two decades.
Sound Transit has floated several cost-cutting proposals this year that drew criticism from taxpayers and elected leaders across western Washington. Earlier ideas included canceling expansions to Tacoma, Everett, and West Seattle. Under the current proposal, however, Sound Transit says all three projects are still affordable and would remain on track…