[nfbwatlk] Fw: Mountlake Terrace Transit Center Opens Feb. 23

Thu Feb 12 23:21:54 UTC 2009

Mountlake Terrace Transit Center Opens Feb. 23
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Community Transit 
To: jacobstruiksma at gmail.com 
Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 1:31 PM
Subject: Mountlake Terrace Transit Center Opens Feb. 23

Mountlake Terrace Transit Center Opens Feb. 23
Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:00:00 -0600

Facility features sustainable building, daylighted creek

Mountlake Terrace, Wash. - Community Transit will open Snohomish County's first transit parking garage, located at the new Mountlake Terrace Transit Center, on Monday, Feb. 23. The garage and surface parking lot more than double the capacity of the old Mountlake Terrace Park & Ride, which has been closed during construction.

Community Transit will have a dedication event for the new transit center, located at 236th Street SW. and I-5, at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 20. The public is invited to tour the center, learn about the features of the project and take in spectacular views from atop the garage.

The $20 million project is being completed on time and within budget. Between Otak, which handled the architecture and engineering work, and construction contractor Berschauer Phillips, the project employed about 250 people. About 60 percent of the construction costs go directly to salaries.

"This facility is built for the future," said Community Transit CEO Joyce Eleanor. "Transit ridership is increasing and we have built capacity here for future transit growth. At a time when many people are out of work we continued with this project because it represents an investment in our local economy and in the Mountlake Terrace community."

The transit center will have a number of environmentally friendly features, such as solar panels to generate electricity for the regional power grid and energy-efficient lighting fixtures. Concrete used in the garage includes recycled materials. A seasonal stormwater creek on the property that was enclosed in a culvert has been daylighted, and native landscaping has been added to the site. No trees in neighboring Veterans Memorial Park were removed for this project.

As a hub for regional transportation, the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center will have capacity for 890 vehicles, including 660 spaces in the four-story, five-level parking garage. There will be two bus bays for Community Transit commuter service to downtown Seattle and the University District. Community Transit and King County Metro local service also will use the facility for travel throughout south Snohomish and north King counties. Sound Transit plans to begin work this year on a flyer stop in the I-5 median just west of the transit center, bringing all-day regional service to Mountlake Terrace. A pedestrian bridge will connect the flyer stop to the parking garage.

During construction of the transit center, the facility's customers had been moved to temporary parking nearby. With the opening of the new Mountlake Terrace Transit Center, Community Transit will close most of its interim parking lots in central Mountlake Terrace starting Feb. 28. Parking still will be available at park & pool lots at Bethesda Lutheran Church, 23406 56th Ave. W., and at Roger's Market, 23120 56th Ave. W.,  in the spaces at the east side of the parking lot along 56th Avenue W. These parking spaces for commuter parking have yellow striping.

The interim commuter stop on 56th Avenue will be removed when the transit center opens. When that stop is gone, Community Transit commuter buses will resume serving local stops located about a block north and a block south of that location as they did prior to construction.

Community Transit staff will be at the interim parking locations during the next two weeks to remind passengers of the coming changes. For more information, go to the agency's website at www.communitytransit.org.

Community Transit strives to help Puget Sound commuters think transit first. With 64 local and commuter bus routes and one of the nation's largest vanpool programs, the agency is a leader in finding new ways to make alternative transportation an attractive option. Call Community Transit at (425) 353-RIDE or (800) 562-1375 for bus information, or (888) 814-1300 for carpool or vanpool information, or go to www.communitytransit.org. 

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