04/16/2026
Issaquah residents have been paying Sound Transit taxes since 2016.
Nearly ten years. On a clear, voter-approved promise: light rail to Issaquah by 2041.
Now Sound Transit — facing a $34.5 billion funding gap it created — is considering canceling the South Kirkland–Issaquah Link entirely.
The agency collected the money. It holds it under a legally binding subarea equity policy. And it's now asking East King County communities to absorb the consequences of its own cost overruns while Seattle-corridor projects stay protected.
That's not an infrastructure problem. That's a breach of contract.
I wrote about it this week — the taxes paid, the promises made, and why subarea equity isn't a suggestion.
Issaquah residents have paid Sound Transit ST3 taxes since 2016 on a clear promise: light rail by 2041. Now Sound Transit is considering canceling the South Kirkland–Issaquah Link entirely. That's not a funding crisis — it's a breach of contract.
