An independent Expert Review Panel for Sound Transit’s Phase 3 planning for the Regional Transit Long-Range Plan will meet on June 6 in Seattle to review the ST3 Draft System Plan, which will be presented to the Sound Transit Board at its June 2 meeting and for its approval on June 23. The nine-member panel was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee, the chairs of the state House and Senate transportation committees (Rep. Judy Clibborn and Sen. Curtis King), and the Secretary of Transportation, in accordance with state legislation (RCW 81.104.110).

The panel will convene at 8 a.m. at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel’s Alaska Ballroom at 612 Second Ave. in Seattle. The agenda for the one-day meeting includes: an overview of recent changes in the Draft System Plan; the ST3 Finance Plan; results from recent outreach activities, including comments from local jurisdictions; project delivery options; and compliance with requirements in state law. There will be an opportunity for public comment in the afternoon. The meeting is scheduled to end at 3:30 p.m.

The role of the panel is to pose and assess critical questions, help guide the preparation of the Sound Transit 3 Plan through the panel’s review of key methodologies and assumptions, and ensure the assumptions in the plan are appropriate and reasonable. The panel’s technical review of the plan is necessary to guarantee that Sound Transit’s Board can make appropriate decisions for Sound Transit 3 investments in the region’s high-capacity transportation system.

The nine panel members were selected from across the nation. Collectively their expertise spans key technical areas, including project cost estimating, capital finance plan review, ridership forecasting, modal analysis, legal and political architecture of Sound Transit’s legislative charter, environmental impact statement preparation, local design and constructability, and transit operations and maintenance.

For the meeting agenda and more information about the panel, visit: www.wsdot.wa.gov/partners/erp