The Environmental Impact Statement released last Wednesday by Sound Transit —- shows what lies ahead for mobility in the Puget Sound region. Its focus is on the long term.

The document contains hundreds of pages full of text, tables and charts that detail the coming wave in population and employment growth and their attendant impact on transportation.

Bluntly speaking, there will be changes of great magnitude in the coming years. The forecasts outlined in the EIS show that today’s population of 2.8 million — in the metro area that stretches from Everett to Tacoma — will grow by nearly a third by 2040.  The number of jobs is expected to grow by more than 60 percent by 2040 to 2.5 million.  The effects on the transportation network will be profound.

None of this is new. Sound Transit, WSDOT and the counties and cities of the region began working on these issues regarding mobility, demographics and the economy years ago. This newest report builds on transportation plans and environmental impact statements from 1993 and 2005 as well as reports, studies, forecasts and plans from agencies across the region.

And of course, it will not just involve building rails or roads or parking lots. The EIS includes studies and analyses of the hundreds of environmental elements that will be affected by expanding the regional transit system.

But Is this a report by some government agency that likes to build big projects and push cars off the road?  No. This effort includes mayors and city councilmembers, planners, county executives and agencies such as the Puget Sound Regional Council. The goals?  To be ready to accommodate the changes to come. To ensure a livable and sustainable environment in our region for people, business and commerce to thrive.