What Can I Do?

Council member Dan Strauss has proposed that Sound Transit build from Ballard to Westlake instead of building from Sodo to Seattle Center. Sign our petition to support this amendment so we can build light rail to Ballard.

Call your representatives and demand a date for Ballard Rail. Leave a voicemail if necessary.

• Mayor Wilson 206-684-4000
• Executive Zahilay 206-263-9600

We encourage you to adjust this to be in your own voice, and add personal anecdotes about what light rail would mean to you, but make sure whatever you say is polite, constructive, and inviting.

Email meetingcomments@soundtransit.org with a written public comment for the Sound Transit board meeting on May 28. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy–you are voicing how you feel.

Here is a sample public comment:

Hello,

On May 28, 2026, you will be voting on a proposal that is unacceptable without a date to Ballard. Despite there not being any legal requirement, you are choosing to jam through this proposal and effectively ‘cut’ lines. You don’t need to pass this proposal to break ground in West Seattle.

I want you to honor the commitments made when the ST3 project was approved by voters in 2016. We were promised light rail to Market St in 2035. Then 2036. Then 2039. Then 2046. And now we have no date for Ballard’s light rail completion. Indefinitely delaying rail to Ballard violates a promise made to voters, and makes it unlikely we’ll ever see it built in our lifetime.

Instead we are told the Ballard link extension will be built to Seattle Center. That’s not even close to Ballard. Close enough is not good enough.

We want you to look for creative, ambitious approaches to rein in skyrocketing construction costs and raise new revenue and provide a date for Ballard.

Nobody is giving Sound Transit kudos for considering opening lines and stations 40 to 50 years after they were approved. It makes the agency look incompetent.

Board members, vote no to this proposal.

You can attend via Zoom or come in person to the Ruth Fisher Board Room at the Union Center.

So we’re holding a funeral march before the Sound Transit meeting.

It all comes down to this. Will you join us on Thursday?

Where: 5th and Yesler, downtown Seattle (end of the RapidRide D Line from Ballard).

When: Thursday, May 28. The funeral procession leaves at 12:00pm sharp for the three-block walk to Union Station.

What to wear: If possible, wear all black, except a green Save Ballard Rail shirt if you have one.

What to bring: If you have time and the materials, you can make a cardboard tombstone with an epitaph on it. Otherwise, just bring yourself!

Order a yard sign here or pick one up at Smal Market on NW Market St.

Donations go to Seattle Subway who has been helping us advocate for Ballard Rail. They are a non-profit so all donations help. Plus they have some pretty cool shirts.

Text 2 neighbors this link right now.

If you want to canvas with us, feel free to join in.

Here’s a script for what you can say while canvassing or talking to neighbors.

Follow us on Instagram @saveballardrail

Join our mailing list.

Email us your ideas at saveballardrail@gmail.com