Center City Connector Recommended for $75M

The February announcement that President Obama's FY 2017 budget proposes a $75M FTA grant to fund the Center City Connector signaled a major funding milestone for the keystone line of Seattle's streetcar system.  SDOT has identified new project team leadership to design and construct the project in close coordination with community stakeholders.

Please see our project folio (Fall 2016) for updates on the Center City Connector.

Environmental Assessment Update

In March 2016, the City and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) completed an environmental assessment (EA) that evaluated potential impacts of the Center City Connector Streetcar. The EA was published on May 9, 2016 and a 30-day public comment period ended on June 8, 2016. The EA satisfies the requirements for both the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). This concluded the NEPA and SEPA public review periods and SEPA appeal period. However, there are a few more steps needed to complete both the NEPA and SEPA environmental processes:

• To complete NEPA, the FTA will review the City's response to comments on the EA and documentation of new information or project changes. If the FTA concludes that no further analysis is required, this information will be incorporated into a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The FONSI will be published in the Federal Register and posted on the project website.
• To complete SEPA, changes to the project will be documented through a SEPA Addendum. The SEPA Addendum will have a 15-day public comment period.
• The City anticipates that FTA will issue a FONSI and SDOT will issue a SEPA Addendum by early 2017.

You can read the EA and legal notices online at: Seattle Center City Connector Environmental Assessment.

What's New

Since the publication of the EA, Center City Connector design has advanced and additional utility work on 1st Avenue has been identified. This information will be incorporated into the FONSI and SEPA Addendum. The Center City Connector Streetcar team will be communicating updates on the project by email, at community events and fairs, and directly to businesses, residents, and property owners along the alignment.