Sounder South King County Mobility Coalition 5/9/2019 What well - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Sound Transit Update: Sounder South King County Mobility Coalition 5/9/2019

What we’ll cover today • System expansion • Kent & Auburn Stations • Sounder capacity expansion 2

System expansion

More people, more cars Population growth = traffic delays Freeway delays each year Almost 200,000 new neighbors added since 2015 4

Meeting growing demand 700,000 Average weekday ridership 550,000 PROJECTED 160,000 75,508 2010 2018 2040 5

South King County A Federal Way Link Extension B Tacoma Dome Link Extension – Federal Way to South Federal Way C S Boeing Access Rd light rail infill station D I-405 BRT – Burien to Tukwila E Sounder station parking and access improvements; track and platform upgrades 6

About Sounder South • Service between Seattle (King Street Station) and Lakewood • Thirteen daily round trips (8 to Lakewood) • Special event trains • Steady ridership growth – over 16,000 daily trips in 2018 7

Steady ridership growth 8

Kent & Auburn Stations: Parking & access improvements

Overview • New parking garages and pedestrian, bike, and bus improvements • Approved by voters in ST2 • 2017 Alternatives Analyses • ST Board identified preferred garage locations 10

Kent garage concept • Approximately 530 stalls • 3 levels, 2 entrances • Realigned Railroad Avenue N • Environmental study to be released in mid 2019 11

Kent: Potential Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Bus Improvements 12

Auburn garage concept • Site located at 1st and A Streets NW • Approximately 535 parking spaces for commuters • Environmental study to be released in fall 13

Auburn: Potential Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Bus Improvements 14

Next Steps: Kent & Auburn Now: Complete early engineering and environmental review • Open Houses – Fall 2019 • Sound Transit Board actions – Fall 2019 Next: Design • Permitting, property acquisition, hire construction firm

Sounder capacity expansion • Approved by voters in 2016 • Add capacity to meet growing ridership demand

Overview • Expanded platforms to accommodate up to 10-car trains. • Potential track and signal upgrades for possible additional trips. Platform extension • Access improvements for pedestrians, bicyclists, buses and cars. Track improvements Station access 17

Planning • First step: Strategic Development & Implementation Plan • Define the program and schedule • Analyze existing service • Model service scenarios 18

Things to consider about expansion • BNSF owns tracks from Tacoma to Seattle; new train trips costly • Freight traffic concentrated outside of peak commute period • Midday train storage is limited • King Street Station tracks and center platform are constrained • Restrictions on crew hours 19

Things to consider: Ridership demand Average weekday boardings, January 2019 Southbound Northbound 1200 1200 1000 1000 800 800 600 600 400 400 200 200 0 0 20

Public Outreach & Next Steps • Two rounds of outreach • July/August: share service scenarios and learn community priorities • Fall: share draft Strategic Plan • Online & in-person engagement • Sound Transit Board adopts Strategic Plan – first quarter 2020 • Planning for first round of projects begins - 2020 21

Questions? soundtransit.org