Lynnwood Transit Center

Lynnwood Transit Center, also known as Lynnwood TC or LTC, is a bus station and future 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.

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
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	2003, 2024 (planned)
Services
Preceding station     Following station   Future service   Terminus Line 1 Lynnwood Extension (2024) Mountlake Terrace toward Angle Lake   Proposed service   West Alderwood toward Everett Line 1 Everett Extension (2036) Mountlake Terrace toward Angle Lake

In 2024, 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]

Light rail construction

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 2024, 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] Demolition of the stores began in July 2018 and the project broke ground in September 2019.[18][19] In early 2020, Sound Transit opened a temporary parking lot on the east side of 46th Avenue West to replace several closed areas of the park and ride that will be used for construction staging.[20]

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.[21] The area around the transit center is part of a regional growth center designated by the Puget Sound Regional Council;[22] the Lynnwood city government designated the area between the transit center and the Alderwood Mall to the northeast as its city center, preparing for heavy development that is expected to follow light rail expansion.[23][24] The city raised the height limits for buildings in the area to 350 feet (110 m) in 2005, looking to "resemble downtown Bellevue".[23][25]

Services

As of 2016, more than 40 percent of Community Transit's bus routes serve the transit center, with 500 total buses passing through each day. Buses arrive at Lynnwood Transit Center at an average frequency of every three minutes during peak periods.[26]

Bus routes

Route	Bay(s)[1]	Termini	Via	Notes
112	B5, C5	Mountlake Terrace Transit Center, Ash Way Park and Ride	44th Avenue W
113	B3	Mukilteo
115	B2, C2	Aurora Village Transit Center, Mariner Park and Ride	Edmonds College, Mill Creek
116	B2, C2	Edmonds Station, Silver Firs	Edmonds Community College, Mill Creek
120	B1, C1	Edmonds Community College, Canyon Park P&R
130	C4	Edmonds Station	Aurora Village Transit Center, Mountlake Terrace Transit Center
196	B5, C1	Edmonds Station, Ash Way Park and Ride	196th Street Southwest
201	B4	Smokey Point	Everett, Marysville
202	B4	Smokey Point	Everett, Marysville
402	D5	Downtown Seattle		Peak-only commuter route
421	A2, D4	Downtown Seattle, Marysville		Peak-only commuter route
422	A2, D5	Downtown Seattle, Stanwood		Peak-only commuter route
425	D4	Downtown Seattle, Lake Stevens		Peak-only commuter route
511	D2, D3	Downtown Seattle, Ash Way Park and Ride	Mountlake Terrace Transit Center	Peak-only commuter route
512	D2, D3	Downtown Seattle, Everett Station	Ash Way P&R
535	D1	Bellevue Transit Center	Interstate 405, UW Bothell
810	A2	University District, McCollum Park Park and Ride	Mountlake Terrace, Ash Way P&R, Mariner P&R	Peak-only commuter route
821	A2	University District, Marysville		Peak-only commuter route
855	A2	University District		Peak-only commuter route

References

1. Bus Plus: Schedules & Route Maps (PDF). Community Transit. September 11, 2016. p. 32. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
2. "RideStore". Community Transit. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
3. Everett to North Seattle Interurban Trail (PDF) (Map). Community Transit. 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
4. "Lynnwood Transit Center - Public Art". Sound Transit. Archived from the original on July 16, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
5. "17-acre site urged for park-ride lot". The Seattle Times. August 27, 1977. p. H7.
6. "Work to start on largest park-ride lot". The Seattle Times. February 20, 1980. p. G3.
7. Aweeka, Charles (May 20, 1981). "Lynnwood park-and-ride lot ready for use". The Seattle Times. p. G2.
8. "New transit center to debut in Lynnwood on Sunday". The Seattle Times. September 24, 2003. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
9. Sitt, Pam (August 30, 2002). "Park-and-ride will be improved - Lynnwood lot to have more parking, covered waiting areas, better lighting". The Seattle Times. p. B2.
10. Hadley, Jane (October 27, 2003). "New bus-rider center typifies transit projects". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
11. Hadley, Jane (November 16, 2004). "State opens direct-access ramps to I-5 at Lynnwood Transit Center". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
12. "Lynnwood Link moves into final design" (Press release). Sound Transit. April 11, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
13. "Fact sheet for Lynnwood Link Extension" (PDF). Sound Transit. July 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
14. "Chapter 3: Transportation Impacts and Mitigation" (PDF). Lynnwood Link Extension Final Environmental Impact Statement (Report). Sound Transit. April 1, 2015. pp. 3–24, 3–46. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
15. "Project update: Lynnwood Link Extension, July 28, 2017: Permanent station names adopted". Sound Transit. July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
16. "Appendix F: Conceptual Plans" (PDF). Lynnwood Link Extension Final Environmental Impact Statement (Report). Sound Transit. April 1, 2015. pp. 44–45. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
17. Davis, Jim (July 25, 2016). "Behind scenes work underway to bring light rail to Lynnwood". The Everett Herald. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
18. Haglund, Noah (August 4, 2018). "Demo removes eyesores from future light rail path". The Everett Herald. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
19. Giordano, Lizz (September 4, 2019). "Historic groundbreaking for Lynnwood light rail extension". The Everett Herald. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
20. Watanabe, Ben (February 11, 2020). "Early light rail station preparations under way in Lynnwood". The Everett Herald. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
21. "Chapter 12: TOD Potential for Stations Serving Lynnwood Transit Center" (PDF). Lynnwood Link Extension Station Area Transit-Oriented Development Potential (Report). Sound Transit. April 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
22. Growing Transit Communities Oversight Committee (October 2013). "Lynnwood Transit Center: Future Light Rail/Bus" (PDF). The Growing Transit Communities Strategy. Puget Sound Regional Council. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
23. Lindblom, Mike (November 3, 2016). "Lynnwood eager for growth and transformation that light-rail station will bring". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
24. King, Rikki (April 22, 2015). "Lynnwood's City Center to include two apartment complexes, hotel". The Everett Herald. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
25. Brooks, Diane (July 26, 2006). "Hotel, condos may start city's makeover". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
26. "Lynnwood Transit Center Multimodal Accessibility Plan" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. November 2016. p. 24. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

External links

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