With six weeks left before the grand opening of the Lynnwood Link extension, Sound Transit has announced additional details about the opening day festivities as well as an update on progress completing the tasks necessary to open the 8.5-mile extension.
“Every day brings us closer to the launch of Lynnwood Link, and the anticipation is building,” said King County Executive and Sound Transit Board Chair Dow Constantine. “This extension, approved by voters as part of ST2, is now in the final stages, and we are eager to deliver on our promise.”
“It’s exciting to see the trains running every few minutes on the alignment now, because it’s a sign that we’re on the verge of delivering for our residents, the environment, and the region’s economy,” said Snohomish County Executive and Sound Transit Vice Chair Dave Somers. “The opening day is going to be a major step in acknowledging the significant investments of our taxpayers and our vision for giving people more options to get to where they need to go.”
The agency will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Lynnwood City Center Station at 11 a.m. on Aug. 30. The event will include remarks from elected officials, board members and stakeholders. At the conclusion of the event, regular service to and from Lynnwood will begin.
Starting at 4 p.m., members of the public are invited to enjoy festivities, including activities, exhibits and entertainment, at each of the four new stations led by the North City Neighborhood Association (NCNA), Shoreline Chamber of Commerce, Mountlake Terrance Chamber of Commerce, Snotrac, Asian Service Center and Lynnwood Chamber of Commerce. Visitors will also be able to participate in a Discover. Stamp. Win! activity at the new stations to win exciting prizes.
“This is a different format for celebrating an opening than any we have had before,” said Sound Transit Interim CEO Goran Sparrman. “By having festivities for the community late in the day just as the Labor Day holiday weekend begins, more people will be able to join us in marking this major milestone for transit in our region.”
Since July 8, trains have been running “simulated service” on the extension, Sound Transit said in a news release announcing the celebrations. This is the final phase of pre-revenue testing that the agency conduct before opening a new light rail extension, making sure the stations, tracks, utilities, escalators, elevators, systems, and vehicles all work together as expected before customers are welcomed aboard.
During this phase, all passengers disembark at Northgate station and empty trains continue on to Lynnwood City Center station on regular practice runs. Video and photos of trains in simulated service is available at this link.
In addition, almost all assets on the project, such as stations and tracks, have been transferred from the construction team to Link operations, a major milestone among the goals necessary for opening.
The Lynnwood extension will serve the following stations, all of which provide multiple transit connections:
Shoreline South/148th Station. Located just northeast of I-5 at the NE 145th Street exit, the elevated Shoreline South/148th Station includes a parking garage with approximately 500 new spaces.
Shoreline North/185th Station. Located on the east side of I-5, the Shoreline North/185th Station serves Shoreline Stadium, the Shoreline Conference Center and the surrounding neighborhoods. Improved pedestrian pathways connect the station to the west side of I-5. A parking garage with approximately 500 new spaces is part of the project.
Mountlake Terrace Station. Located east of I-5 at the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center just north of 236th Street Southwest, west of Veterans Memorial Park, the elevated Mountlake Terrace Station straddles 236th Street Southwest, and is a short walk from the Mountlake Terrace Library, new city hall and future Gateway transit-oriented development neighborhood. There are 890 existing parking spaces at the station.
Lynnwood City Center. Located at the Lynnwood Transit Center, this elevated station serves one of the busiest transit centers in the region, with extensive connections to local and regional service. A new garage containing 1,670 parking stalls in a five-story structure opened last year.
I wonder whether it will be free to ride the trains on the day? Also whether there will be new bus routes from Edmonds to the various stations?
Hi Bill, the new bus service by Community Transit will go into effect on August 30th at the same time Sound Transit begins full service to Lynnwood. Best I can tell from their website, transit will not be free on the 30th, but a new flat fare to downtown via link will be lower than before, at $2.50 for a single seat ride all the way to SeaTac.
https://www.communitytransit.org/transitchanges
There will be several new and express routes from Downtown to both Lynwood Station and Mountlake Terrace Transit Center. My new all-day route 909 will travel up Edmonds Way to Hwy 99 before turning off at 228th toward Lake Ballinger. It runs every 50 Minutes
Revised Route 130 will now run down 9th/100th Ave and will stop at both MLT and Lynnwood Stations. It will run every 30 minutes at peak times.
Routes 102, 114, 119, and 166 will all have direct connections and frequent travel times to either station and many other destinations.
Hope that helps!
Steven, great summary of local bus services, except Community Transit changes are coming a couple of weeks AFTER Link light rail opens on Aug. 30th. The CT bus route changes are happening on Saturday, Sept. 14th. Details of those changes won’t be released until Aug. 5th (until then, all they show are lines on a map).
The thing to remember is that by Sept. 14th, ALL bus routes serving Edmonds will connect directly to a Link light rail station.
https://www.soundtransit.org/get-to-know-us/news-events/news-releases/sound-transit-moves-to-flat-link-light-rail-fares-boosts
The flat fare for adults riding Link will become $3.00:
“The new fare, $3.00 per trip for adults, takes effect in the fall of 2024, coinciding with the opening of the Lynnwood Link Extension. Currently, Sound Transit charges between $2.25 and $3.50 for adults traveling one way based on distance. Sound Transit last raised Link fares in 2015. The new fare structure will not affect low-income adult (ORCA LIFT) fares or senior/disabled fares.”
If you transfer using ORCA from a bus during a 2-hour window, you’d pay the greater of the bus/rail fare each way. For adults 19-64, this only makes a difference for those who transfer from an ST bus, their $3.25 fare would apply each way. For seniors 65+ with a Regional Reduced Fare Permit ORCA, this only makes a difference if transferring from a CT bus, as they charge a higher fare for seniors, $1.25, than Link does, $1.00. Therefore, $1.25 would be the cost each way. However, if you’re a senior who uses an RRFP ORCA and transfers from a KC Metro or ST bus to Link, your fare would be $1.00 provided you transfer within a 2-hour window.
We assume, being Seattle, there will be beer gardens on 8/30?
I can’t wait! I am so excited as a senior citizen living in Lynnwood to be able to go to Seattle and the airport among other destinations starting soon!
Please post about the elements of homeless, desperate drug users, and overwhelmed present this will bring transits. We live here so how are things going to change for us here? Are things going to be better on or worse? It’s literally a Way to bring Seattle transients, and junkies a place to loiter, hangout, and simply put, YUK!!!! Going to Seattle is bad enough but now my personal space is being jeopardized. (No loitering no harassment no store carts with trashy items) Police enforcement precent!!! Security enforce rules with removing is the best new approach.
You are exactly right Richard! Edmonds will no longer be in a bubble. The new transit routes will funnel Seattle criminals into our city. It is time to stop being soft on crime and lock these people away. Vote republican!
News flash: Edmonds hasn’t been in a bubble for years.
And if voting republican means voting for the great orange liar, I’ll pass.
I have the same question as Bill Alexander concerning bus transportation from Edmonds, especially the Downtown bowl area, to the new Mountlake Terrace Light Rail Station. With buses running only once an hour now, it will be a very long ride to Seattle and/or SeaTac.
Ditto Bill and Gails question.
This extension of light rail (LR) from Northgate to Lynnwood is part of ST2 passed in 2008. In 2016 ST3 was passed to extend LR from Lynnwood to Everett, Federal Way to Tacoma and Bellevue to Issaquah. The cost was to be $54 billion. It is now $148 billion and counting. It includes overruns for ST1 and ST2. According to our regional planning agency, the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) in 2050, after 50 years and full build out of light rail we will see the following:
1. Traffic increases 35%
2. Only 3% of the 24,000,000 trips/day will be on Sound Transit light rail and commuter rail trains.
3. We will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by only 6% – and that does not take into account all the emissions from building these structures.
4. The average household is paying $1,784/year in ST taxes.
5. Just 64,000 new riders will be using light rail by 2050, the equivalent of about 7 express bus routes.
It’s time to rethink ST3 – before any further planning is done. There are much more effective and less expensive ways to provide alternatives to driving alone. Please see SmarterTransit.org (https://smartertransit.org/) for more information and source for our numbers. Also, please sign our Petition to the state legislators to hold ST accountable starting with having the Board directly elected not appointed.
Hi Maggie,
Exactly what does it mean to “hold ST accountable”?
Thanx for your reply
– also, I just signed the petition – https://www.change.org/p/demand-that-washington-state-legislators-hold-sound-transit-accountable
Thank you Victor for signing the Petition. There are several ways SmarterTransit.org is asking the State Legislature to hold Sound Transit accountable. First, “Washington State law (RCW 47.80.030) has required least-cost planning (LCP) for regional transportation plans since July 1, 1994. “Least cost planning means a process of comparing direct and indirect costs of demand and supply options to meet transportation goals and/or policies where the intent of the process is to identify the most cost-effective mix of options.” Sound Transit has never done an objective analysis of providing service by bus vs. light rail or heavy rail. Richard Harkness PhD did a detailed study of their process in 2000(https://bettertransport.info/pitf/harkness2000.htm).
Second, the Legislature can make the Board an elected board by district vs. appointed by 3 County Executives. Those elections should be publicly funded. Third, they should require that candidates have actual experience in transit planning. It is sad, but the cost is the benefit with regard to Sound Transit. Hundreds of private companies are making millions of dollars off the most expensive way to provide transit service. Please see our “Contracts Report” on our smartertransit.org web page under “Learn More.”
Per the Community Transit website, bus service to the MLT station is increasing in frequency in phases, with the first phase beginning September 14. The 130 (which begins at the Amtrak station) will run every half hour until 7:30 pm on weekdays and 6 pm on weekends and every hour after that. The weekend 130 service has increased. The route has been revised to connect with the Swift Orange (new) and Blue lines which serve parts of Edmonds. There is also a new line (909) from downtown Edmonds to the MLT Station that is aligned with the ferry schedule. Not as frequent but this was a request from ferry riders. The second phase of CT changes will take place in 2025. Personally, I’m excited about increased 130 service because the half hour walk from my house to the MLT station is getting old and when it’s raining, it’s no fun at all. I take the 405 to downtown Seattle now, but it only runs during commuting hours and not great for those of us who work the 9 to 7 shift. (It’s being cut). Check out the CT website for changes. The Find My Bus and Plan My Trip features on the site are helpful. As a 30 yr transit rider who doesn’t drive, I can’t wait!
For the naysayers and the doubters, please do NOT use this modern and enlightened transportation option.
Your choice will free-up more seats and ensure less standing for those of us who are interested in this positive addition to the concept of mobility. Don’t forget to have fun on the freeway.
James, I’m sure the naysayers are mostly those who have never used light rail. Good idea to keep it that way!
What time on August 30 will you be able to ride the trains? I have an 11:30 AM flight on that day at Sea-Tac. Would love to take that to Sea-Tac if they run before the 4:00 PM celebrations for that day. I’ve been waiting for years for this line to open! Thanks!
Sound Transit’s website says this regarding light rail hours: Service is available from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from 6 a.m. to midnight on Sundays and holidays. This does NOT specifically mention the Lynnwood extension and refers to current service. We’ll ask if they can clarify.
Just heard back from Sound Transit: Service won’t start until after the opening ceremony Aug. 30, which is expected to last until about 12:30 p.m.