Mountlake Terrace station explained

Mountlake Terrace
Address:6001 236th Street Southwest
Mountlake Terrace, Washington
Country:United States
Coordinates:47.7856°N -122.3147°W
Owned:Washington State Department of Transportation
Train Operators:Sound Transit
Bus Stands:6
Bus Operators:Community Transit
King County Metro
Sound Transit Express
Bus Routes:7
Parking:880 parking spaces
Bicycle:Bicycle lockers and racks
Accessible:Yes
Opened: (buses)
Rebuilt:2019–2024
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Custom:
Shape:none
Line:none
Marker:rail-light
Zoom:15

Mountlake Terrace is a bus station and future light rail station in Mountlake Terrace, Washington, U.S. It will be served by the 1 Line of Sound Transit's Link light rail service beginning on August 30, 2024.

The elevated light rail station was built as part of the Lynnwood Link Extension from 2019 to 2024.[1] [2]

Location

Mountlake Terrace station is located adjacent east of Interstate 5 near its interchange with 236th Street Southwest. It is west of Mountlake Terrace's city center.

History

Community Transit opened a 400-stall park and ride lot at Interstate 5 and 236th Street Southwest on April 12, 1983.[3] It was initially served by Community Transit and King County Metro commuter service,[4] until the latter dropped service to Snohomish County in June 1989.[5] [6] The new lot regularly reached capacity beginning in the 1990s and was supplemented with leased spaces at three nearby churches to provide overflow parking.[7] City officials proposed a garage with integrated housing and retail, but later dropped them from plans.[7] [8] Construction began in late 2007 with the closure of the existing lower lot, which was replaced by spaces leased from local businesses.[8]

The parking garage at Mountlake Terrace Transit Center was dedicated on February 20, 2009, and opened three days later.[9] [10] The freeway flyer stop, located in the median of Interstate 5, opened on March 20, 2011. It was immediately served by Sound Transit Express and Community Transit commuter routes connecting Snohomish County to Downtown Seattle.[11] The median flyer stop was first proposed in a 1996 report by Sound Transit and WSDOT.[12] The garage was also planned as a precursor to a future light rail station,[13] which was approved as part of Sound Transit 2 in 2008.[14]

Light rail construction at the transit center began in September 2019, with the closure of the surface parking lot for construction staging. The light rail platforms will be built to the east of the bus bays and are scheduled to open as part of the Lynnwood Link Extension, carrying the 1 Line in 2024 and 2 Line in 2025.[15] The freeway station bays were closed for five months beginning in July 2020 for light rail construction, with commuter routes bypassing Mountlake Terrace replaced by a temporary fare-free shuttle route to downtown.[16]

The main bus loop at the transit center was closed in March 2021 and replaced with a temporary loop to the east of the future light rail station.[17] The new main bus loop opened on March 30, 2024.[18] Light rail service at Mountlake Terrace station is scheduled to begin on August 30, 2024.[1]

Transit-oriented development

Beginning in 2018, the former site of the Evergreen Elementary School just south of the station was redeveloped into a three-building complex with 600 apartments and retail spaces.[19] The city government is also planning a "town center" in the area east of the light rail station.[20] A plaza and new pedestrian path through Veterans Memorial Park to the city hall and library is also planned.[21]

Layout and services

Services

RouteBay(s)[22] class=unsortable Terminiclass=unsortable Viaclass=unsortable Notes
align=center align=center 1BrierPeak-only route
align=center align=center 1Lynnwood, 44th Avenue W, Lynnwood Transit Center
align=center align=center 1Edmonds College, Meadowdale
align=center align=center 3, 4Edmonds Station,
align=center align=center 1Northgate StationNorth City, ShorelineOperated by King County Metro
align=center align=center 6, 7Downtown Seattle,
Mariner Park and Ride
Peak-only commuter route
align=center align=center 6, 7Downtown Seattle,
Swamp Creek Park and Ride
Ash Way Park and RidePeak-only commuter route
align=center align=center 6, 7Downtown Seattle,
North Lynnwood
Ash Way Park and RidePeak-only commuter route
align=center align=center 6, 7Downtown Seattle,
Mill Creek
Canyon Park Park and RidePeak-only commuter route
align=center align=center 6, 7Downtown Seattle,
Everett Station
Peak-only commuter route
align=center align=center 6, 7Northgate Station,
Everett Station
Lynnwood Transit Center
align=center align=center 6, 7Northgate Station,
Seaway Transit Center
Eastmont Park and RidePeak-only commuter route
align=center align=center 3Northgate Station,
McCollum Park Park and Ride
Mariner Park and Ride,
Ash Way Park and Ride,
Lynnwood Transit Center
Peak-only commuter route
align=center align=center 3Northgate Station,
Edmonds Park and Ride
Peak-only commuter route

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Lindblom . Mike . April 4, 2024 . When will light rail reach Lynnwood? Sound Transit sets opening date . . April 5, 2024.
  2. News: Lindblom . Mike . April 23, 2015 . 4 North End light-rail stations get Sound Transit's green light . The Seattle Times . June 13, 2015.
  3. News: March 16, 1983 . New park-and-ride lot to open . F3 . The Seattle Times.
  4. News: April 20, 1983 . Metro to start new rush hour bus route . F2 . The Seattle Times.
  5. News: Bergsman . Jerry . September 21, 1988 . Metro buses won't be traveling to Snohomish County after April . H5 . The Seattle Times.
  6. News: Bergsman . Jerry . June 9, 1989 . Some bus commuters to say goodbye to Metro . B3 . The Seattle Times.
  7. News: Thompson . June 18, 2003 . Officials hope commuter project will jump-start Mountlake Terrace . H13 . The Seattle Times.
  8. News: Pesznecker . Scott . December 31, 2007 . Mountlake Terrace parking a hot commodity . The Everett Herald . November 29, 2022.
  9. February 20, 2009 . Agency Welcomes 880 New Parking Spaces at Mountlake Terrace Transit Center . . July 20, 2016.
  10. News: Brown . Charles E. . February 23, 2009 . Bumper to Bumper: License-plate placement . B1 . The Seattle Times.
  11. March 17, 2011 . Sound Transit dedicates Mountlake Terrace Freeway Station . Sound Transit . July 20, 2016.
  12. Web site: 1996 . Puget Sound HOV Pre-Design Studies . 18 . Washington State Department of Transportation . July 28, 2018.
  13. News: Pesznecker . Scott . June 21, 2007 . Mountlake Terrace bus trip to get easier . The Everett Herald . November 29, 2022.
  14. News: Haglund . Noah . November 27, 2016 . Here's the plan for light rail to Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace . The Everett Herald . November 29, 2022.
  15. News: Haglund . Noah . September 21, 2019 . Part of MLT Transit Center will close for light-rail work . The Everett Herald . September 24, 2019.
  16. June 9, 2020 . Mountlake Terrace Transit Center Freeway Station to Close until Late November, Effective July 6 . Community Transit . August 17, 2020.
  17. News: Distelhorst . Luke . April 1, 2021 . New bus loop at the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center . Community Transit Blog . Community Transit . February 28, 2022.
  18. Web site: March 2024 . Changes to Bus Service Start March 30 . Community Transit . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20240408162812/https://www.communitytransit.org/buses/service-changes . April 8, 2024 . May 7, 2024.
  19. News: Haglund . Noah . May 29, 2018 . Work starting on buildings along I-5 in Mountlake Terrace . The Everett Herald . May 29, 2018.
  20. News: September 24, 2019 . City council Sept. 26 set to approve updated Town Center Plan . MLT News . September 24, 2019.
  21. News: Watanabe . Ben . January 29, 2023 . Paved path, plaza coming to Mountlake Terrace near light rail . The Everett Herald . December 28, 2023.
  22. Book: October 3, 2021 . Bus Plus: Routes, Schedules and Services Guide . 30 . Community Transit . February 28, 2022.