Calling it “just the kind of access that’s key for our community,” Edmonds Mayor Mike Cooper and other dignitaries gathered Friday morning to dedicate the new Edmonds Sound Transit rail station directly across from the Edmonds ferry terminal. Edmonds Sounder train riders had been using a temporary station located south of the Amtrak station while the new station was being built.
Among those on hand to mark the occasion were Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon, 21st District State Sen. Paull Shin, Snohomish County Councilmember Stephanie Wright, Federal Transit Administration Regional Administrator Rick Krochalis, City Councilmember Diane Buckshnis and former Sound Transit Chairman (and Edmonds Mayoral Candidate) Dave Earling. Gerard Tsutakwa, the artist who created the 15-foot-high “Standing Wave” bronze sculpture that provides a dramatic entry to the station, was also on hand. After the required speeches, those present — led by the Duwamish Dixieland Jazz Band — walked from the temporary station to the new one for the official ribbon-cutting.
Station improvements for the $12.9 million project include a new train platform, larger passenger loading area and new transit shelters for Community Transit buses, which will directly access the station to pick up and drop off Sound Transit train commuters. Other amenities include upgraded lighting, newly paved parking lots, new landscaping and secure bike lockers.
“This location ties together Community Transit, Sound Transit and the Washington State Ferries in a facility where people can commute to work by getting off the ferry, walking a few hundred yards and getting on the train and going to Seattle to work, and that’s the kind of community that we want to have,” Cooper said. Based on strategic planning soon to get underway in Edmonds, he added, the hope is that people eventually can get off the train “and walk a few hundred yards to a mixed use facility where they can shop and live.
“Those are the kinds of things we’d like to see…a community that’s walkable where you can ride the bus and ride the train and ride your bicycle and everybody has access, and this facility provides just that kind of access that’s key for the future of our community,” Cooper said.
With the opening of the new parking lot on Monday morning, July 11, the temporary commuter parking area on Admiral Way will permanently close Friday at 8 p.m. Any vehicles in the lot after the closure date are subject to fines or towing by the Port of Edmonds. The new bus transit center operated by Community Transit is expected to open later this summer.
Consultant and contractors included KPFF Consulting Engineers for preliminary and final design, Harris & Associates for construction management and Pellco Construction Inc. for construction.
I asked this question a week ago and never got an answer, so I thought I’d give it one more try:
There is a huge permanent generator next to the bus transit center. Does anybody know why?
Joe – just received this info from Sound Transit:
The structure referred to is actually not a generator. It is a storm drain pumping station. There is a matching one south of the transit center in the parking lot for the train station. Both pumping stations belong to the City of Edmonds and not Sound Transit.
That makes sense. Maybe this winter we’ll have less flooding at Dayton & Highway 104 and in the antique mall marking lot. OMG am I thinking about winter already????
Thanks for finding out, Teresa!
There is a HUGE parking problem at the Edmonds Station. Although the improvements are nice, unfortunately it appears that the number of parking stalls for Sounder commuters was reduced. When I emailed Sound Transit about the issue, I was told the following: “During the redesign of Edmonds Station, our planning studies and community outreach found that station users who live in the vicinity needed better bus connections. Based on these findings, Sound Transit included a new bus facility as part of the station’s redesign. To accommodate the space needed for this facility, a small number of parking spaces were lost.
We understand that parking is at a premium at the station. Earlier this year, Sound Transit stepped up its parking enforcement to maximize parking for transit users. In addition to driving and parking, we encourage riders to use local bus routes or establish van pools or car pools to access Edmonds Station. There are also private and municipal pay lots in the area, if needed.”
The closest municipal pay lot costs $12/day (roughly $140/month) – that on top of what I pay to ride the Sounder. I am hopeful that Sound Transit will work with the Port of Edmonds and City Government to find a solution so those Edmonds residents who ride the Sounder have a free place to park. I would have much rather seen tax dollars spent on increasing the number of parking stalls than purchasing pretty old fashioned light posts that were just installed this week……Signed, an Exasperated Sounder commuter who can never find a parking stall
Sound Transit did acknowledge this problem during their presentation to the Edmonds City Council a couple of weeks ago and indicated they are trying to find solutions. See link to story here:
https://myedmondsnews.com/2011/08/edmonds-city-council-approves-three-levies-for-november-election-ballot/
Sound Transit seemed to have lost sight of the fact that they were rebuilding a PARKING LOT. Several parking spots were lost in the redesign to the inclusion of areas for plants.
There’s a real opportunity here for the owner of the Antique Mall parking lot. The lot is always mostly empty, and there are always cops nearby due to the ferry, so it’s a pretty safe place to leave or car. They could charge a lot less than $140 per month. They’re getting $0 per month today.
I used the Sounder Train on a fairly regular basis, when I worked in Downtown Seattle. It is a great service.
I hate to be critical; but I really can’t cosider this a successful improvement. We need to encourage more people to use mass transit by making things more affordable and efficient. The commuters only spend a few minutes at that site, the “improvements” seem to be nice things that make the site more attractive. By reducing parking I believe they actually took a step backwards. The money would have been better spent buying some parking at the Old Safeway/Antique mall. A couple million dollars on parking would have been a lot better than this 13 million dollar project. I get the feeling that the management and planners behind these projects haven’t commuted themselves or observed those that do.
13m would be in the range needed to buy the entire Safeway site. While Sounder is nice the subisdy per ride is pretty high. I recall it to be somewhere around $40 per passenger per ride. The fee to BN for use of track was in the $100s of millions.
If the city were proactive, they would take advantage of a suggestion my neighbor made, whom also rides the train.
There is plenty of on-street parking within walking distance, but it is limited to 3 hours, I believe. The city could issue parking permits for commuters, allowing them to park all day, just not overnight. I’d be willing to bet many folks would be willing to pay a fee to obtain a permit of this type.