The Sound Transit Executive Committee voted late last week to amend their 2012 budget to include $2 million to study of high-capacity transit from downtown to Ballard.

Approved by the region's voters in the Sound Transit 2 vote, this planning money, along with a $900,000 federal grant awarded to Seattle in October and City matching funds, will allow the City and Sound Transit to conduct a detailed analysis of alignments and technologies that will enable the city to meet the longer-term demand for transit between some of the fastest growing neighborhoods and downtown.

The Downtown to Ballard corridor was highlighted in both the Seattle Streetcar Study in 2008 and the Sound Transit Long Range Plan in 2005. The corridor also ranked highly in the City's recently completed Transit Master Plan. Funding to study this corridor was included in the Sound Transit 2 package. This agreement would accelerate that work by 3 years.

"There's a lot more work to be done, but I think we're making good progress," said Mayor McGinn. The full Sound Transit board must still vote to approve the budget on December 15. If the amendment is retained, the City and Sound Transit will then begin to identify a scope of work and each party's responsibilities.