By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The event that brought a standing-room-only crowd to Youngstown Cultural Arts Center‘s Thelma Dewitty Theater tonight was announced as a “light-rail visioning forum,” but “floating forum” would have been more accurate: At the heart of it were Sound Transit managers floating their most promising options for getting West Seattle light rail cost back into “affordable” range.

The biggest potential changes: “Phasing” West Seattle light rail – build between SODO and Delridge first, extend to The Junction sometime later – or dropping the Avalon station entirely. The latter has already been more extensively discussed than the former – both were presented at a board committee meeting we covered in September – and the way that ST’s Brad Owen and Jason Hampton discussed it tonight, it sounded almost like a done deal.

Nothing, however, has been decided, or is on the brink of decision, but it’s just a matter of months before the Sound Transit Board starts making decisions as part of its “Enterprise Initiative.” Before we talk more about what was shown tonight, here’s our full video of the hour-and-a-half forum, introduced by our area’s King Countu Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, who mentioned she’s hoping to join the ST Board (which will have vacancies soon, such as King County Council chair Girmay Zahilay vacating his seat as he moves up to the one guaranteed for his new job as KC Executive):

The first half-hour was spent mostly in acknowledgments and preface; then came the heart of the presentation, followed by about 20 minutes for questions.

During her introduction, Mosqueda said the forum was important because “West Seattleites like details.” She is one herself, a North Delridge resident, as is the other local elected official she introduced, City Councilmember Rob Saka, who otherwise did not speak. Second speaker was ST CEO Dow Constantine, who championed West Seattle light rail during the years he was on the board as county executive (and noted tonight that his first swearing-in was exactly 16 years ago).

He said the “Enterprise Initiative” is all about trying to make the agency sustainable, explaining that it has evolved from a “capital construction fir” to a “substantial transit agency,” serving “up to 150,000 people a day” while building one of the nation’s longest light-rail lines – and figuring out how to close a $34 billion, 20-year budget deficit. In the big picture, Constantine said, by the time the FIFA World Cup games come here next year, ST will have built 63 miles in less than 17 years, pronouncing that a “history of success” that should offer hope “we can solve today’s problems.”

More optimism was offered by Carrie Avila-Mooney, representing outgoing County Executive Shannon Braddock (who had been billed as a forum speaker), reminding those present that the project already had its Federal Record of Decision and therefore hope for the federal funding it would need. She said Braddock – a West Seattleite who had served as Constantine’s deputy executive – is a “huge, huge fan of building” West Seattle light raill

When Owen and Hampton from ST finally began their presentation, one of the early slides was notable for added rationale points arguing for the West Seattle line, including that it would be a travel alternative “if the West Seattle Bridge is congested or closed for repairs” and that it “facilitates future expansion to the south” such as White Center and the airport.

Owen said West Seattle is now about a third of the way through design – 30 percent – meaning they are getting “cost clarity.” That’s led to the previous reporting about the three-stop West Seattle line potentially costing up to $7.9 billion, while current financing would cover about $4.2 billion.

So that gap called for some “project-specific things we think we can move the needle on. Station optimization for SODO and The Junction would save some money, but not as much as eliminating the Avalon station or “phasing” by stopping at Delridge for an undetermined while.

ST describes potential savings in terms of “levers”:

The highest level “lever” would be phasing. If they stopped at Delridge for now, they project it would cost just over $3 billion, within the range of affordability, and that’s a “conservative” estimate, Owen said.

“Phasing is a very typical thing for these projects,” he insisted.

The next level of “lever” would apply to dropping the Avalon station, though that would only drop the cost into the $6 billion rang, still more money than the agency could cover.

Skipping the Avalon station also could enable a different entrance for the tunnel to The Junction, possibly sparing the West Seattle Health Club (among other properties) and reducing the impact to Longfellow Creek, the ST reps said.

They also briefly discussed possible optimization for the Junction station – a previously reported design change that would remove the plan for “tail tracks” south of the station – and changes to the Duwamish River light-rail-only bridge as well as the SODO station.

After the brief review of these possibilities, the podium was given to Kurt Hovenkotter of the Transportation Choices Coalition, a light-rail booster who explained his group’s recently announced Build the Damn Trains campaign.

He said that instead of cutting back on projects like this, ST should look at “creative” ways to turn the plan into reality. (We asked him afterward if he was suggesting a search for new revenue; he said no,
they don’t want to see ST cut back on projects like this; instead, he said he supports ST’s quest for legislative approval to issue 75-year bonds without voter approval.

Less than half an hour remained when they started taking audience questions – both written ones collected from the crowd by people including Rachel Porter, executive director of the co-sponsoring strong>West Seattle Chamber of Commerce:

Those included a request for more information on what the “no Avalon station” concept might mean:

Hampton said the West Seattle extension wouldn’t see much of an overall ridership drop if Avalon was scratched – most of its prospective users would go to one of the other stations. Meantime, Owen acknowledged that they’re slowing the pursuit of properties until this is all figured out. Hampton acknowledged that they had acquired three homes, not because they needed the property quickly but because the owners requested early action due to life circumstances (as reported here in July). The ST reps said that if it ultimately turns out those properties aren’t needed for the project, they’ll “work with the property acquisition team” to determine what to do with them.

A few questions were asked via open microphone. One was whether there would be a “real town hall” devoted to people’s questions. Mosqueda said she hopes to have more events like this but in the meantime, all the officials and managers who were there are accessible for one-on-one questioning. Another attendee asked how to build the light-rail extension faster; Owen suggested the “phasing” was one answer – “when you have to build less, you could build faster.”

But while it’s decided whether they will build less, or make other changes, some residents and business owners remain in limbo, like Erin Rubin of Mode Music Studios and nonprofit Mode Music and Performing Arts, still likely to have to move no matter what changes are made in the plan, as their building remains in the Delridge station footprint, whether the project is “phased,” trimmed dow, or changed in some other way.

WHAT’S NEXT: The ST Board’s work on the “Enterprise Initiative” is expected to take another year or so, but decisions on plan changes and project changes are expected sooner, likely in the first half of next year. Until then, ST says it wants “feedback on design refinements,” so if you have thoughts on what was floated tonight – and/or other ideas – you can email westseattlelink@soundtransit.org.

The Seattle Kraken have been one of NHL’s biggest surprises at the quarter poll of the 2025-26 season.

Seattle Kraken get top goalie back from IR, but lose another to injury

After a disappointing 2024-25 campaign led to the firing of head coach Dan Bylsma following his first season, the Kraken have turned things around early on under new bench boss Lane Lambert.

Seattle entered Saturday in fourth place in the Pacific Division with a 10-5-5 and 25 points, just two points behind first-place Anaheim in a crowded race.

Kraken play-by-play voice John Forslund shared his insight on how the team has taken a step forward this year when he joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Friday.

“Lane Lambert has done a remarkable job from day one of training camp just coming in and letting everybody know I’m the new sheriff, this is how we need to play, it’s not that complicated, I need a buy-in from the players,” Forslund said. “And as you know, that’s the most important thing in pro sports. You have to have a buy-in no matter what the game is, and they have (bought in).”

An identity that fits

One look at the stat sheet gives a pretty clear indicator as to why the Kraken have taken a step forward early on. Seattle’s 56 goals allowed are tied for the lowest mark in the Pacific Division and the fourth-lowest across the NHL. It’s held opponents to two goals or fewer nine times.

Last year the Kraken allowed the 10th-most goals (265) in the league.

“It gets back to where they were last year. So last season, for me – and I said it over and over again, wasn’t afraid to say it  – but it was their lack of defensive recognition, their lack of awareness in the defensive zone, the (lack of) trust they had in each other as a five-man group in front of the goalie,” Forslund said. “That’s hockey. That’s how you play the game. And Lane had to come in and lay down a system that would get to those basics. (It’s) like building a house. You don’t start with the roof. You start with the foundation and you work up.

“So if you do that, you can awaken a team. You can provide more energy.”

While their defense has been among the league’s best, the Kraken have struggled to score this year. Their 54 goals are tied for the third-lowest mark in the league, and they’ve been held to two or fewer goals in eight games.

The lack of firepower on offense has been a troubling sign for Seattle, but it also illustrates why a shift to a more defensive identity under Lambert is a better fit for this group, according to Forslund.

“The Kraken do not have high-end offensive talent. That’s the one thing they need,” Forslund said. “… They don’t have guys who can break the game open on their own talent. Other teams do. (Other teams) can get away with playing a game that maybe isn’t as based in a work ethic but more or less based on talent, and they can win and they can outscore their chances or outscore their problems. The Kraken don’t have that.

“So you had to get back to that (defensive identity) and he did it, and he did it in short order. And because he did, they started to gain momentum, and momentum leads to energy, leads to a new way of playing.”

Forslund highlighted how Seattle’s attempt to get more scoring out of its group a year ago ultimately led to exposing its defense.

“If you stretch out your game, take risks, try to do what they attempted to do last year and score, you’re gonna get victimized,” Forslund said. “So for me, I think this is a great starting point (this year). And I think if they just continue to play this way, it’ll get better and better and better. And who knows as you get into the second half of the year? The league is asleep on them, no one expected them to be very good. So that’s where they’re at right now, but people will become more aware of their style as we move forward with the season. It’ll get tougher and we’ll see where it goes.”

Why Forslund likes Seattle Kraken’s chances in Pacific

The race in the Pacific Division is very crowded early on with just four points separating its first- and sixth-place teams.

Forslund views Vegas, which is currently tied for second with 26 points, as the team to beat in the Pacific Division. He also highlighted a rising Anaheim squad as another contender.

But Forslund likes Seattle’s chances to continue surprising thanks the identity it’s taken on so far this season.

“I like the fact that they can compete with all of these teams, including Vegas, based on their style,” Forslund said. “And that’s gonna put them in a good position, because of all the teams that we talked about in the Pacific Division, the team that, to me, has the most grit and the ability to grind and make it tough to play against are the Kraken. They don’t have the talent level of Vegas, and they don’t have the talent level certainly of Edmonton and … even (Los Angeles), but they have the ability to grind games.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays form 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

Thursday: Seattle Kraken score 3 in third in 3-2 comeback win over Chicago

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