{"id":390,"date":"2026-07-26T07:52:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T07:52:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/?page_id=390"},"modified":"2026-07-26T07:52:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T07:52:41","slug":"history-of-ballard-light-rail","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/history-of-ballard-light-rail","title":{"rendered":"History of Ballard Light Rail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Today<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/path><\/svg><\/div>
\n

We’re waiting for the new date for light rail to Market St! <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sound Transit committed to providing this date by August 1st.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

June 25, 2026<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/path><\/svg><\/div>
\n

Promposal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We want a date! Save Ballard Rail holds a promposal at the Sound Transit Board Meeting asking for a date.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

May 25, 2026<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/path><\/svg><\/div>
\n

ST3 Realignment: Ballard Link Extension is in cryogenic chamber. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Wins:
1. Sound Transit has allocated funding for planning the entire Ballard line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Sound Transit will provide an ETA for building to Market St by August 1st.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Losses:
1. Sound Transit voted against the Ballard starter line proposal, thus prioritizing redundancy over Ballard ridership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Ballard’s future is in limbo as there are no concrete commitments to building Ballard Rail by the 2030s.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can read more about the realignment on Publicola<\/a>!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

April 19, 2026<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/path><\/svg><\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hundreds turn out for Save Ballard Rail March<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

April 4th, 2026<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/path><\/svg><\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Save Ballard Rail is formed!<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

March 18, 2026<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/path><\/svg><\/div>
\n

Sound Transit Board Retreat: Board discusses its fiscal challenges and proposes indefinitely delaying rail to Ballard.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Sound Transit board discuss proposals to handle a $34.5 billion budget shortfall at their retreat<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

October 3rd, 2023<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/path><\/svg><\/div>
\n

Sound Transit separates the planning for West Seattle and Ballard via EIS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An Environmental Impact Statement is made for West Seattle independent of Ballard to prevent delays to West Seattle’s light rail stations.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

2021 <\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/path><\/svg><\/div>
\n

Light rail to Market St in Ballard is delayed to 2039<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sound Transit conducted a realignment<\/a> of the ST3 plan due to budget shortfalls. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

2018<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/path><\/svg><\/div>
\n

Sound Transit starts the draft EIS for the Ballard-West Seattle line<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

2016<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/path><\/svg><\/div>
\n

Voters approve Ballard Link Extension by ballot measure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Sound Transit 3 Plan was approved by voters in 2016. The plan included a light rail line from West Seattle to Ballard. The expected completion date of the light rail line to Market Street was 2035.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1997-2005<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/path><\/svg><\/div>
\n
\"The
Photo taken by Klaus with K<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Seattle Monorail: Seattle approves an elevated monorail system and later abandons it<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Seattle Monorail was originally supposed to build to Ballard. It faced opposition and budget concerns. The monorail kept appearing on the ballot for years even surviving a recall measure. However, after budget concerns and loss of political will, it was finally abandoned after a 5th ballot initiative. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1968 & 1970<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/path><\/svg><\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Forward Thrust: Seattle narrowly votes against building an extensive subway system using federal grant money<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The ‘Forward Thrust’ ballot initiatives proposed an extensive subway system using federal grant money. The initiative needed 60% of the vote and narrowly failed in 1968 and then again in 1970. The federal grant money was later awarded to Atlanta to build the MARTA transit system.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The subway system included a station in Ballard.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can read more details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1919-1941<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/path><\/svg><\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Seattle Municipal Street Railway

aka Street Cars<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Seattle ran an extensive street car network across the city. It was later replaced by buses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


You can read more about the history of the streetcar network here<\/a> (or if you’re using an SPL library card here<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1911-1912<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/path><\/svg><\/div>
\n

The Bogue Plan: Seattle’s first rapid rail transit system was proposed but failed by ballot measure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Virgil Bogue submitted a proposal of a rapid rail network in Seattle including rail to the Ballard area. Its projected completion date was 1935.

The original proposal can be found here<\/a> and a fun Seattle Times article is here<\/a>. You can read it here<\/a> with a Seattle Public Library card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


PS: You can read the Seattle Times online using your Seattle Public Library card. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-390","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nHistory of Ballard Light Rail - Save Ballard Rail<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/history-of-ballard-light-rail\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"History of Ballard Light Rail - Save Ballard Rail\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/history-of-ballard-light-rail\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Save Ballard Rail\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Image-1.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1506\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/history-of-ballard-light-rail\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/history-of-ballard-light-rail\",\"name\":\"History of Ballard Light Rail - Save Ballard Rail\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/history-of-ballard-light-rail#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/history-of-ballard-light-rail#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Image-1-1024x771.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-26T07:52:41+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/history-of-ballard-light-rail#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/history-of-ballard-light-rail\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/history-of-ballard-light-rail#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Image-1.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Image-1.jpeg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1506},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/history-of-ballard-light-rail#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"History of Ballard Light Rail\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Save Ballard Rail\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Save Ballard Rail\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/IMG_EC234827BBFE-1.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/IMG_EC234827BBFE-1.jpeg\",\"width\":1218,\"height\":1218,\"caption\":\"Save Ballard Rail\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saveballardrail.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/saveballardrail\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"History of Ballard Light Rail - Save Ballard Rail","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/history-of-ballard-light-rail","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"History of Ballard Light Rail - Save Ballard Rail","og_url":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/history-of-ballard-light-rail","og_site_name":"Save Ballard Rail","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1506,"url":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Image-1.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/history-of-ballard-light-rail","url":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/history-of-ballard-light-rail","name":"History of Ballard Light Rail - Save Ballard Rail","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/history-of-ballard-light-rail#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/history-of-ballard-light-rail#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Image-1-1024x771.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-07-26T07:52:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/history-of-ballard-light-rail#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/history-of-ballard-light-rail"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/history-of-ballard-light-rail#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Image-1.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Image-1.jpeg","width":2000,"height":1506},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/history-of-ballard-light-rail#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"History of Ballard Light Rail"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/","name":"Save Ballard Rail","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/#organization","name":"Save Ballard Rail","url":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_EC234827BBFE-1.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_EC234827BBFE-1.jpeg","width":1218,"height":1218,"caption":"Save Ballard Rail"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/saveballardrail"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=390"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":418,"href":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/390\/revisions\/418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saveballardrail.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}