Editing Sound Transit (section)

===Background and early studies===
[[File:Forward-Thrust-map.svg|thumb|right|Map of the proposed [[Forward Thrust]] rapid transit system from the second referendum in 1970]]

The waters of [[Puget Sound]] and the [[Puget Sound region|surrounding region]]'s navigable rivers were the primary transportation corridors for the indigenous [[Coast Salish people]]s as well as later settlers who arrived in the 19th century. A series of scheduled [[steamboat]] trips in the 1880s grew into the "[[Puget Sound mosquito fleet|mosquito fleet]]", the main mode of passenger and freight transportation for the growing region through the turn of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web |last=Williams |first=David B. |date=February 2, 2021 |title=Mosquito Fleet |url=https://www.historylink.org/file/869 |work=[[HistoryLink]] |accessdate=December 19, 2024}}</ref> It waned in importance as railroads and [[streetcar]] systems were constructed around Puget Sound; these services, later supplemented by [[interurban]] trains, grew in the early 20th century to serve a growing number of passenger commuters. The [[Seattle Municipal Street Railway]] had a {{convert|231|mi|km|adj=mid}} streetcar and [[cable railway]] system by 1935, while private companies ran interurban services north to [[Everett, Washington|Everett]] and south to [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Crowley |first=Walt |author-link=Walt Crowley |date=October 2, 2000 |title=Street Railways in Seattle |url=https://www.historylink.org/file/2707 |work=HistoryLink |accessdate=December 19, 2024}}</ref> These rail services were all abandoned or converted into bus routes by 1941 as automobile adoption in the Seattle area contributed to a need for more developed highways and later freeways.<ref name="Wodnik5">{{cite book |last=Wodnik |first=Bob |year=2019 |title=Back on Track: Sound Transit's Fight to Save Light Rail |pages=5–7 |publisher=[[Washington State University Press]] |location=Pullman, Washington |isbn=9780874223699 |oclc=1098220735}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Crowley |first=Walt |date=September 19, 2000 |title=Interurban Rail Transit in King County and the Puget Sound Region |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/2667 |work=HistoryLink |accessdate=December 19, 2024}}</ref>

The first major proposal for a [[rapid transit]] system to serve Seattle and the surrounding region was drafted by urban planner and civil engineer [[Virgil Bogue]] in 1911 as part of a [[comprehensive plan]]. Bogue's plan was rejected by a wide margin in the March 1912 municipal election; the city's three major newspapers had all opposed it.<ref>{{cite web |last=Oldham |first=Kit |date=March 3, 2020 |title=Seattle voters reject Bogue Plan for city development and elect George Cotterill mayor, and King County voters approve plans and funding for Port of Seattle, on March 5, 1912. |url=https://www.historylink.org/file/160 |work=HistoryLink |accessdate=December 19, 2024}}</ref> The [[Forward Thrust]] program, formed in the 1960s by civic activists, proposed the development of a {{convert|47|mi|km|adj=mid}} subway system that covered Seattle, [[Renton, Washington|Renton]], and [[Bellevue, Washington|Bellevue]] by 1985. Two-thirds of the $770{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|770000000|1968}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US-GDP}} construction cost would be funded by the federal government, contingent on the approval of local funding.<ref>{{cite news |last=Coffman |first=Larry |date=February 4, 1968 |title=Rapid Transit: Everyone Agrees It's Needed, but What Kind? |page=5 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The first referendum in February 1968 failed to reach the 60{{nbsp}}percent [[supermajority]] needed to pass; a second attempt was made in May 1970, but failed amid a spree of [[Layoff|layoffs]] by [[Boeing]] that severely affected the local economy.<ref name="Wodnik5"/><ref>{{cite news |date=June 14, 1970 |title=Seattle Mass Transit Proposal Pleases Everybody but Voters |page=16 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/06/14/archives/seattle-mass-transit-proposal-pleases-everybody-but-voters.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |url-access=limited |accessdate=December 19, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Crosscut-Forward">{{cite news |last=Cohen |first=Josh |date=October 14, 2016 |title=How Seattle blew its chance at a subway system |work=[[Crosscut.com]] |url=http://features.crosscut.com/seattle-forward-thrust-sound-transit |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917000729/http://features.crosscut.com/seattle-forward-thrust-sound-transit |archive-date=September 17, 2017 |accessdate=December 19, 2024}}</ref> The federal earmark was instead used to build the [[Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority]]'s subway system in [[Atlanta, Georgia]].<ref name="Crosscut-Forward"/>

The [[Seattle Transit System]], the successor to the municipal streetcars, struggled to secure funding to modernize its fleet in the 1960s but launched the region's first [[express bus]] system, named [[Blue Streak (bus)|Blue Streak]], in 1970 between Downtown Seattle and a park and ride lot in [[Northgate, Seattle|Northgate]]. The successful route led to plans to develop a network of express buses across the region by using the then-new freeway system and [[reversible lane|express lanes]]. The regional [[water quality]] agency, [[Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle]] (Metro), led planning of the network; Metro later took over operations of the Seattle Transit System and a suburban company in January 1973 following the approval of [[King County, Washington|King County]] voters in a September 1972 [[special election]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Crowley |first=Walt |year=1993 |title=Routes: An Interpretive History of Public Transportation in Metropolitan Seattle |pages=60, 66–69 |publisher=Crowley Associates |location=Seattle |oclc=31996584}}</ref><ref name="HL-Metro">{{cite web |last=Kershner |first=Jim |date=February 21, 2020 |title=King County Metro Transit |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/20968 |work=HistoryLink |accessdate=December 19, 2024}}</ref> Metro Transit's ridership reached 66 million passengers in 1980—exceeding its original projections—and an increase in bus trips led to congestion on downtown streets. A [[Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel|tunnel for buses]] began construction in 1987 and was opened in 1990 for a fleet of [[dual-mode bus|dual-mode]] electric and diesel buses; the tunnel was also designed for eventual conversion to accommodate a rail system.<ref name="HL-Metro"/>

Metro and the [[Puget Sound Council of Governments]], the inter-county [[metropolitan planning organization]] for the Seattle area, completed a study in 1986 to identify potential corridors for a modern [[light rail]] system. King County voters approved an advisory measure in November 1988 to endorse accelerated planning of a light rail system as well as a [[commuter rail]] line by 2000.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lane |first=Bob |date=January 3, 1989 |title=Metro set to get rail system on track |page=B1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lane |first=Bob |date=November 9, 1988 |title=Ballot Issues: On track, voters say 'hop to' on rail transit |page=E9 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The [[Washington State Legislature]] also convened a rail development commission to study a regional transit system that later incorporated Metro's unfinished plans.<ref name="Crowley145">{{harvp|Crowley|1993|pp=145–146}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lane |first=Bob |date=September 23, 1988 |title=Rail plan given new push toward fast track |page=B1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The commission endorsed the creation of a regional transit board composed of politicians from King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, which was authorized by the state legislature in 1990.<ref name="Crowley145"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Bergsman |first=Jerry |date=August 21, 1990 |title=Everett's OK may speed regional transit |page=C2 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The Joint Regional Policy Committee was formed in 1991 and approved its final long-range plan for regional transit two years later. The $12{{nbsp}}billion (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|12000000000|1993}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US-GDP}} plan comprised a {{convert|105|mi|km|adj=mid}} light rail system from Everett to Tacoma and Redmond; commuter rail from Everett and Tacoma to Seattle; and improvements to local and express buses.<ref name="Herald-RTA1993">{{cite news |last=Wodnik |first=Bob |date=May 29, 1993 |title=Transit plan for region is approved |page=1A |work=[[The Everett Herald]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-herald-transit-plan-for-region/144148461/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=December 19, 2024}}</ref> It would be funded by [[sales tax]] and [[motor vehicle excise tax]] revenue within a district that covered the urbanized areas east of Puget Sound between [[Marysville, Washington|Marysville]] to the north and [[Parkland, Washington|Parkland]] to the south.<ref>{{harvp|Crowley|1993|pp=151–152}}</ref> From 1960 to 1990, the region's population had increased by 82 percent and was outpaced by the growth in the number of registered vehicles, which collectively logged 55.2{{nbsp}}million miles ({{convert|55.2|e6mi|e6km|abbr=unit|disp=out}}) traveled in 1991.<ref>{{harvp|Wodnik|2019|pp=10–11}}</ref>