King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Board member Teresa Mosqueda issued a formal statement Wednesday calling for aggressive, creative thinking to address the escalating costs facing the Sound Transit 3 (ST3) expansion plan.

Following a Sound Transit Board retreat, Mosqueda addressed the agency’s “Enterprise Initiative,” a strategic effort aimed at identifying policy, finance, and operational levers to bring the voter-approved light rail plan back within the range of long-term affordability. While the board reviewed various scenarios to manage rising expenses, Mosqueda clarified that these were not proposals for service cuts, but rather a starting point for deeper analysis.

“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,” Mosqueda said.

The Councilmember emphasized that the board cannot rely on "stagnant revenue" or limited information to solve the current fiscal challenges. Instead, she urged the board to authorize additional design work for high-impact projects, arguing that moving forward is the only way to uncover further cost-saving opportunities.

Mosqueda pointed to recent progress on the West Seattle plan as a successful model for this approach. According to her statement, creative engineering and aggressive pursuit of alternatives in that sector have already resulted in billions of dollars in savings while retaining ridership and avoiding impacts on local properties.

“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,” Mosqueda concluded, stressing the importance of ensuring the generational project delivers on its full potential.