Lynnwood Transit Center

Lynnwood Transit Center
Looking north at the A and B bays
Location	20100 48th Avenue West Lynnwood, Washington United States
Coordinates	47°48′58″N 122°17′47″W / 47.81611°N 122.29639°W / 47.81611; -122.29639Coordinates: 47°48′58″N 122°17′47″W / 47.81611°N 122.29639°W / 47.81611; -122.29639
Owned by	Washington State Department of Transportation, Sound Transit
Train operators	Sound Transit (planned)
Bus routes	19
Bus stands	20
Bus operators	Community Transit Sound Transit Express
Construction
Parking	1,370 parking spaces
Bicycle facilities	Bicycle lockers and racks
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	May 25, 1981 (1981-05-25)
Rebuilt	2004, 2023 (planned)
Services
Future service   Preceding station     Following station Mountlake Terrace toward Northgate Lynnwood Link Extension Planned Terminus

Lynnwood Transit Center, also known as Lynnwood TC or LTC, is a bus station and proposed light rail station in Lynnwood, Washington. It is the largest transit hub in southwestern Snohomish County and is served by Community Transit and Sound Transit Express. The transit center also includes a park and ride with 1,370 spaces and bicycle facilities.

In 2023, Lynnwood Transit Center will become the northern terminus of Sound Transit's Link Light Rail system as part of the Lynnwood Link Extension. The Link extension was approved in 2008 as part of the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure and is scheduled to begin construction in 2018.

Location and layout

The Lynnwood Transit Center is located on the north side of Interstate 5 at 44th Avenue West, southwest of Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood. The 17-acre (6.9 ha) transit center includes 20 bus bays and a 1,370-stall park and ride across three surface lots. The bus bays have passenger information displays that have real-time arrival information for inbound buses. A customer service center called "RideStore" is located at the north end of the transit center.^[1][2]

The transit center is also located adjacent to the Interurban Trail, which runs through the southeast parking lot and connects it to Alderwood Mall, Aurora Village and downtown Everett.^[3]

The 2003 renovation of the transit center came with the installation of two pieces of public artwork created by Claudia Fitch, known collectively as Shift. The art installation consists of a pair of 30-foot-tall (9.1 m) steel beacons resembling newel posts that are used to mark the two main crosswalks.^[4]

History

Planning for a large park and ride lot in Lynnwood began in the late 1970s with the formation of Community Transit and increasing population growth in Lynnwood that had begun to affect the nearby Northgate lot.^[5] Construction on 13-acre (5.3 ha) lot began in February 1980, with the project's $1.5 million cost paid for almost entirely by the Federal Highway Administration.^[6] The park and ride opened on May 25, 1981, with 808 stalls, becoming the largest park and ride in the state of Washington, serving Community Transit as well as Seattle-bound commuter buses operated by King County Metro.^[7]

In September 2003, Sound Transit and Community Transit rebuilt the park and ride lot and renamed it "Lynnwood Transit Center".^[8] The $33.6 million project expanded the lot to 17 acres (6.9 ha), added 300 parking spaces to the lot, and consolidated the bus bays on the site of an old warehouse; additional amenities built during the project included a coffee stand, bathrooms, public art, and a customer service center.^[9][10] The following year, a $31.2 million direct access ramp to Interstate 5's high-occupancy vehicle lanes, the first in the state, was opened to replace the congested onramp on 44th Avenue West.^[11]

Future

A typical bus bay at Lynnwood Transit Center

Lynnwood Transit Center was selected as the northern terminus of the Lynnwood Link Extension, a 8.5-mile (13.7 km) light rail extension that is part of the Link light rail system. The extension and its $1.6 billion in funding was approved by voters in 2008 and construction is expected to begin in 2018.^[12] When it opens in 2023, the extension is projected to carry 63,000 to 74,000 daily riders by 2035;^[13] 17,900 daily riders are expected to board at Lynnwood Transit Center's station.^[14]

The Lynnwood City Center^[15] light rail station will be elevated 24 feet (7.3 m) above the direct access ramp and southeastern parking lot, crossing from the southwest to the northeast. The station will have two entrances connected to its mezzanine below platform level: one that travels across the roadway and leads to a ground-level plaza; and another with direct access to a five-story parking garage with 500 stalls. The existing bus station would be retained and slightly expanded to accommodate more layover space. Parking at the transit center would increase to 1,900 stalls, with room to expand further.^[14][16]

Construction of the station will require the demolition of a furniture store to the east of the bus bays, a well as a gas station, restaurant and strip mall.^[17]

Sound Transit determined in 2011 that the area around the transit center had "moderate to strong" potential for transit-oriented development, including housing and offices.^[18] The area around the transit center is part of a regional growth center designated by the Puget Sound Regional Council;^[19] the Lynnwood city government is developing a "city center" in an area between the transit center to the southwest and the Alderwood Mall to the northeast, in anticipation for light rail expansion.^[20] The city raised the height limits for buildings in the area to 350 feet (110 m) in 2005, looking to "resemble downtown Bellevue".^[21][22]

Services

Bus routes

References

External links

• Lynnwood Link Extension
• Lynnwood Transit Center/Park-and-Ride