Series of bond ballot initiatives in King County, Washington
Powell S. Barnett and three Seattle parks officials look over plans for Powell Barnett Park, one of many parks funded by the Forward Thrust bonds
The Forward Thrustballot initiatives were a series of bond propositions put to the voters of King County, Washington in 1968 and 1970, designed by a group called the Forward Thrust Committee. Seven of the twelve propositions in 1968 were successful; four of the remaining propositions were repackaged for a vote in 1970, when they were defeated in the darkening local economic climate of the Boeing Bust.[1][2] One of the most visible accomplishments of the Forward Thrust levy was the eventual building of the Kingdome, ultimately the first home of the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Mariners.
The initiatives were variously under the aegis of METRO (the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle), King County, and the city of Seattle.[1] (METRO and King County merged in 1992.) The Forward Thrust Committee was founded by James R. Ellis[1] and effectively disbanded shortly after the 1970 defeats.[2] It disbanded formally in 1974.[3][4] Seattle Mayor Dorm Braman was also a strong backer of the 1968 initiatives.[1]
The US$118 million passed in 1968 in support of the Department of Parks and Recreation was, at the time, the largest parks and recreation bond issue ever passed in the United States.[5]
The elections took place February 13, 1968,[1] and May 19, 1970.[2] Each initiative required a 60% supermajority to pass.[1][2] The results were as follows; bold typeface indicates successful propositions:
Year
Initiative
US$ amount (millions)
Yes
% Yes
No
% No
Result
1968
METRO Proposition 1: Rapid Transit
$385M local + $765M federal
97,339
50.8%
94,187
49.2%
Failed
1968
METRO Proposition 2: Transit System Administration
Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It manages the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, regional Sounder commuter rail, and Sound Transit Express bus service. The agency also coordinates the regional ORCA fare card system, which is also used by local transit operators. In 2019, Sound Transit services carried a total of 48 million passengers and averaged over 161,000 riders on weekdays.
The Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT), also referred to as the Metro Bus Tunnel, is a 1.3-mile-long (2.1 km) pair of public transit tunnels in Seattle, Washington, United States. The double-track tunnel and its four stations serve Link light rail trains on the 1 Line as it travels through Downtown Seattle. It runs west under Pine Street from 9th Avenue to 3rd Avenue, and south under 3rd Avenue to South Jackson Street. 1 Line trains continue north from the tunnel to Northgate station and south through the Rainier Valley past Seattle–Tacoma International Airport to Angle Lake station as part of Sound Transit's light rail network.
King County Metro, officially the King County Metro Transit Department and often shortened to Metro, is the public transit authority of King County, Washington, which includes the city of Seattle. It is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in the United States. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 78,121,600, or about 256,200 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024. Metro employs 2,477 full-time and part-time operators and operates 1,540 buses.
The 1Line, formerly Central Link, is a light rail line in Seattle, Washington, United States, and part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system. It serves 19 stations in the cities of Seattle, SeaTac, and Tukwila, traveling nearly 25 miles (40 km) between Northgate and Angle Lake stations. The line connects the University District, Downtown Seattle, the Rainier Valley, and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. The 1Line carried over 26 million total passengers in 2023, with an average of nearly 80,000 daily passengers on weekdays. It runs for 20 hours per day on weekdays and Saturdays, with headways as low as six minutes during peak hours, and reduced 18-hour service on Sundays and holidays.
The Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI) is a left wing think tank based in Redmond, Washington, founded in 2003 and incorporated in 2005. It uses technology, public policy research, and political advocacy to advance progressive causes in the Pacific Northwest region as well as across the United States. It describes itself as "a netroots powered strategy center working to raise America's quality of life through innovative research and imaginative advocacy."
Seattle Parks and Recreation is the government department responsible for maintaining the parks, open spaces, and community centers of the city of Seattle, Washington. The department maintains properties covering an area of over 6,200 acres (25 km2), which is equivalent to roughly 11% of the city's total area. Of those 6,200 acres (25 km2), 4,600 acres (19 km2) are developed.
Beacon Hill station is a light rail station located in Seattle, Washington. It is situated between the Mount Baker and SODO stations on the 1 Line, which runs from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport to Downtown Seattle and the University of Washington as part of the Link light rail system. The station is located 160 feet (49 m) under the southeast corner of Beacon Avenue South and South Lander Street in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood.
International District/Chinatown station is a light rail station that is part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel in Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is located at the tunnel's south end, at 5th Avenue South and South Jackson Street in the Chinatown-International District neighborhood, and is served by the 1 Line of Sound Transit's Link light rail system. The station is located adjacent to Sound Transit headquarters at Union Station, as well as intermodal connections to Amtrak and Sounder commuter rail at King Street Station and the First Hill Streetcar.
Pioneer Square station is a light rail station that is part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel in Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is located under 3rd Avenue at James Street, between University Street and International District/Chinatown stations. It is served by the 1 Line, part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system, and provides connections to local buses and Colman Dock, a major ferry terminal serving areas west of Seattle.
Waterfront Park is a public park on the Central Waterfront, Downtown, Seattle, Washington, USA. Designed by the Bumgardner Partnership and consultants, it was constructed on the site of the former Schwabacher Wharf.
University Street station is a light rail station that is part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel in Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is located under 3rd Avenue at University Street, near Benaroya Hall, and is served by Sound Transit's 1 Line. It is located between Westlake and Pioneer Square stations and has surface connections to buses operated by King County Metro and other providers.
Westlake station is a light rail station that is part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel in Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is located under Pine Street between 3rd and 6th avenues in Downtown Seattle, near Westlake Center and Westlake Park. It is served by the 1 Line, part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system, and also connected above ground by buses at several stops, the South Lake Union Streetcar, and the Seattle Center Monorail.
Link light rail in the Seattle metropolitan area of Washington is a light rail system managed by Sound Transit since its inception in 1996. As of 2024, it consists of the 1 Line, the 2 Line, and the T Line; with several extensions under construction and other lines in planning.
RapidRide is a network of limited-stop bus routes with some bus rapid transit features in King County, Washington, operated by King County Metro. The network consists of seven routes totaling 76 miles (122 km) that carried riders on approximately 64,860 trips on an average weekday in 2016, comprising about 17 percent of King County Metro's total daily ridership.
U District station is a light rail station on the 1 Line of Sound Transit's Link light rail system in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located in the University District neighborhood, near the University of Washington campus. The underground station has two entrances along Brooklyn Avenue Northeast at 43rd and 45th streets.
Roosevelt station is a light rail station located in the Roosevelt neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is served by the 1 Line of Sound Transit's Link light rail system, which continues north to Northgate station and south to Downtown Seattle and SeaTac. The underground station consists of a single island platform connected to the surface via a mezzanine and two entrances along 12th Avenue Northeast at Northeast 65th and 67th streets.
The Bay Freeway, also referred to as the Mercer Street Connection, was a proposed elevated freeway in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The 0.7-mile-long (1.1 km) freeway would have run parallel to a section of Mercer Street between Interstate 5 (I-5) and Aurora Avenue North at the Seattle Center.
Sound Transit 3, abbreviated as ST3, was a ballot measure during the November 2016 elections in Seattle, Washington, proposing an expansion of the regional public transit system. The measure was proposed by Sound Transit, which was established by a similar initiative passed in 1996 and expanded by the Sound Transit 2 vote in 2008, who have operated regional transit systems in the Seattle metropolitan area since 1999. On November 8, 2016, Sound Transit 3 was approved by over 54 percent of voters in the Puget Sound region; voters in Pierce County rejected the measure, but the measure passed in King and Snohomish counties, and had an overall majority.
Route 41 was an express bus route operated by King County Metro in Seattle, Washington, United States. It connected Lake City and Northgate to Downtown Seattle, with non-stop service on Interstate 5 south of Northgate Transit Center.
James Reed "Jim" Ellis was a municipal bond lawyer and civic activist based in King County, Washington. Although he never sought or held elective office, at the time of his death the Seattle Times described him as "one of [Washington's] most visionary and successful civic leaders." Among the many projects for which he was a key leader were cleaning up Lake Washington, establishing King County Metro, and a series of ballot initiatives known collectively as Forward Thrust; he also founded the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust. He was also a key proponent of lidding Interstate 5 to create Freeway Park and the adjacent Washington State Convention Center.
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