by TIM BOND
[UPDATE: Minor corrections from Sound Transit below.]
On Wednesday night, Sound Transit held an open house to present the latest updates on Angle Lake Station. This is the name the board adopted for the station at the end of the 1.6 mile extension south of SeaTac/Airport station. The extension is projected to add 5,400 daily boardings by 2018, just two years after it opens alongside U-Link. Riding from Angle Lake to University of Washington Station (at Husky Stadium) will take 47 minutes; downtown just 38.
In the process of naming the station Sound Transit received over 450 comments, overwhelminingly in support of Angle Lake. Even though I grew up in the south end of King County, I’d never heard of Angle Lake and I suspect that the majority of the support came from those that live very near the project area. The station might popularize a name for the area, just as Renton Landing did just a few years ago.
The station will feature 1,150 parking spaces when it opens. 750 of those will be in a garage adjacent to the station and the remaining 400 in a surface lot. When the Kent/Des Moines (Highline Community College) station opens in 2023, demand is expected to reduce considerably as people driving from the south will park instead at KDM. The 400 stall surface lot would then be transformed in to some yet-to-be-determined use. Procurement is currently underway for the parking garage, plaza, retail and surface improvements.
More after the jump.
Seatac’s code requires new parking garages to have ground floor retail. The most recent example of this is WallyPark’s new garage (above). Garage retail will be in addition to the station’s ground level plaza, which Sound Transit is hoping to turn in to a vibrant community space. ST is seeking public comment on what should make up this station’s plaza. The size and shape of the plaza is not yet known, nor is the actual siting of the garage. There are a few options on the table, one of which would leave room for a mid-rise housing complex that would offer beautiful views of Puget Sound marred only by the adjacent Federal Detention Center.
Due to popular demand, the station will also feature public restrooms. The restrooms will be under control of the tenants and as such may not be available 24/7. Giving control to tenants reduces risk for Sound Transit, both in terms of maintenance and security.
As a design/build instead of Sound Transit’s usual design/bid/build process, construction is less than a month away and design is currently at 50%. HDR (the designer) and PCL (the builder) have been working with Sound Transit to reduce the complexity of the design by reducing the height and number of columns for the elevated trackway. This will also translate into cost savings. The station’s roof design has also been redesigned to incorporate solar panels. The roof will be wave-shaped and the half that faces south will have the panels. The panels are expected to generate about 7% of the station’s power needs. HDR has also adjusted the wayfinding of the station to more closely match the SeaTac and Tukwila Link stations. Construction of the guideway will work its way north, while there will be constant activity at the ground level at all locations during construction.
The station will also have a tail track with a crossover south of the station. This means that the annoying guesswork of boarding the next departing train will be eliminated. After discharging passengers on the southbound track, trains will head into the crossover and layover there, just like Westlake. The station will also have 2 tail tracks south of the station, and a double crossover south north of the station. A “next train” sign will assist customers in boarding the proper train.
The elevated station platform will straddle S 200th. Unlike the existing airport station, there are no plans to have windbreaks on the outsides of the station. Instead, 8 shelters, similar to those at Rainier Beach Station 6 wind screen enclosures located beneath the station canopy are expected to provide adequate protection. All areas of the platform will be protected from rain, save for the center where a landmark art piece is to be placed. The piece will be lit and will turn blue upon arrival of a train much like the Duwamish River crossing.
The future Lake to Sound bike trail will terminate 1/3 mile from station and connect to the existing Des Moines Creek trail that terminates in downtown Des Moines.
Sound Transit is also chipping in some local access improvement/traffic mitigation money to help extend 28th Ave S to S 216th St and improve motorized station access. 28th parallels SR-99 from S 188th to S 200th St. The alignment wasn’t readily available but most (if not all) will be on land vacated by the FAA as part of SeaTac’s third runway project.
At every meeting, residents always express a desire for more parking. Sound Transit has firmly adopted a philosophy of TOD over parking, boldly stating that they’re a transit agency and are not in the business of parking. While parking will play a critical role in the station access for many riders, there are huge gains to be reaped if the area develops. It was projected that almost $2m of added economic activity within 1/4 mile of the station could be generated if all parcels are redeveloped to their highest and best use. Many of these parcels are now empty parking lots recently vacated by rental car companies moving in to the Consolidated Rental Car Facility.
The date for the groundbreaking ceremony is still TBD and will likely be at the end of April. Shovels officially hit the ground on May 7.
UPDATE: Added two minor corrections requested by Sound Transit.
I know it is not the custom to talk about Metro bus routes at ST open houses, but did they hint at what might happen with the 574? Will it serve Angle Lake Station? (which should allow it to cease serving Airport Station at that time)
The 574 will surely continue serving Airport Station and the terminal loop. The bus primarily serves airport employees and runs 22 hours per day beginning at 2am in Lakewood. Truncating it to Angle Lake Station wouldn’t make any sense and probably wouldn’t save any money.
Obviously, the 574 would keep serving the airport terminal stop (hopefully someday the new North Terminal). But is the ridership it picks and drops at Airport Station worth the extra time?
Keep in mind that a lot of those station boardings would shift to Angle Lake Station, presuming that’s the way the 574 ends up being routed.
If no buses are re-routed to serve Angle Lake Station, what was the point in building it?
Sure hope that by the time this opens Link is operating 22 hours/day too.
They mentioned that there are no planned fare increases nor any headway increases. I doubt the span of service will change either.
24-hour Link is mentioned in ST’s long-term plan as worth considering someday.
South Link headways are pretty much at their permanent frequency. It may get slightly better when ST2 is finished (8 minutes off-peak instead of 10 minutes), but the only significant increase will be where two lines overlap (Intl Dist-Northgate off-peak, Intl Dist-Lynnwood peak).
This area never had much of a neighborhood identity, but calling it “Angel Lake” is far superior to calling it “S 200th Street.” And calling it “Angel Lake” at least gives the neighborhood a shot at developing some sort of identity. Kudos to ST for making the right decision on this one.
Q: After Angel Lake Station opens, what is the expected impact to demand at TBS?
I’d expect demand to go down, but that station is so capacity constrained that I’m not sure it would matter much.
Agreed. I grew up on East Hill and Covington and knew about Angle Lake. How you could be from SKC and not know about it is a bit shocking frankly. I’ve said time and time again that naming stations by street number is generally bad policy. I supported the Angle Lake name. So it’s not just people who live in the area, Tim.
Agree 100%. And I voted for “Angel Lake” too, although I keep wanting to spell it “Angle Lake”.
Not that shocking, it’s basically a private lake. What reason would someone who didn’t live on it have to know about it? My wife grew up in Burien and Des Moines (mother was a flight attendent with Western/Delta) and had never heard of it.
I do prefer it to S. 200th. There is a lot of potential for TOD in the area. Hopefully there will be a focus on workforce housing for those who work at SeaTac.
The lake has a lot of publicly-accessible beach space, from Pac Hwy.
Gezuz….I always get the “Angel”/”Angle” thing reversed.
But there is no excuse for growing up in the neighborhood and not knowing where it is — that just doesn’t seem possible….
Probably has to do with the fact that the only time I was in SeaTac I was going to the airport
the problem with calling it s 200th would cause real confusion if they were to call lynnwood station sw 200th st station. that’s the problem with using street names.
If this station had been named S 200th St., the station in Lynwood would not be named SW 200th St. According to the naming guidelines, station names should not be confused with existing stations. This one would exist first.
Angle or Angel?
It’s Angle Lake; look at it’s shape. Angle as in Angle Lake Cyclery or The Landing at Angle Lake.
It doesn’t matter if it’s angel or angle because half the people think angel is spelled angle, and will pronounce the word angel when reading angle.
An additional 5400 daily boardings? I know this area. Even allowing for 1150 parking spaces, that number seems high. I could see it hitting 5400 boardings if the A Line’s terminal is changed from TIBS to S. 200th, but I doubt that will happen. Aside from the 1150, where are the 4250 people going to come from?
(puts on optimist’s hat) TOD?
Federal Detention Center escapees?
Work-release sentencees, ableit not on event days?
Prison guards taking the train to work?
People visiting the poor folks thrown in federal prison for drug law violations?
The more I think about it, the more I think ST will plot to ensure the RR A Line will terminate at S. 200th to pad their boarding numbers. Right now, there’s no layover or turn-around space for the big buses at 200th, but ST, when designing the parking garage, will work a bus layover area into the design. This is how they will dramatically bump up their boardings. It will suck for northbound A Line riders who just want to transfer to other routes at TIBS, because they will have to get off at 200th, transfer to LINK, then get off at TIBS, then transfer, turning what was once a two seat ride into a three seat ride.
You mean, like they did with the 7, 7X, 21, 34, 36, 42, 101, 102, 106, 120, 132, 143, 150, 157, 158, 159, 161, and 180? Crafty devils!
But if the A Line were to still serve the airport south terminal stop, and the 124 were extended to the airport, the plot might work.
Or are you saying that jumping off the A Line at 200th and crossing Pac Hwy will be a deterrent to transfering there?
Brent, do you think the A Line will continue to terminate at TIBS after the opening of the Angle Lake extension, or do you think the A Line terminal will be changed to S. 200th? And if it’s the latter, I have three questions for you. Why do you think the A Line’s terminal will be changed? Do you think it’s a good change? And why do you think it’s a good change?
former/moot/no/moot
But I wouldn’t be adverse to truncating the A Line at the airport (if the 124 is extended there, too).
That layover space could also be used for other area routes, see those in the 160-170 range.
A question as important as will the A Line’s terminal be changed to 200th in 2016 isn’t an afterthought. It’s something that has been discussed, if not already decided. STB, if they have connections at ST and Metro, should be able to tell us which way the wind is blowing on this issue.
I’m quite sure the issue has already been decided, Sam. Who would have proposed truncating the A Line at 200th in the first place?
Brent, Sound Transit, of course.
Please remember that the A Line has stops that are not at Link stations.
If you cut A at 200th there will be NO service between 200th and 188th and no service between 176th and 154th.
Tim, but you also have to realize that ST is salivating at the thought of everyone on the A Line being forced onto LINK. I agree with you, this wouldn’t be in the best interest of the passengers, but it would be in the best interest of ST and their desire to call the extension a “success.” Think Machiavellianism, not altruism. To pick up the slack of the A Line not going from 200th to TIBS, they could rework the 180, having it pop out on Pac Highway at 200th or 212th, instead of 188th, then go north to TIBS, and from there onto Burien.
I’m sure the A will keep going to TIBS so it connects with the F Line.
ST is not Metro’s dad. They don’t just say “Hey Metro, go change this alignment”.
The only way to do that is to have it run south on Military to 200th and then north on 99 to the airport. By doing this, you delete all the stops on 188th. There is much, much more demand on 188th than there will be on 99 between 188 and 200. 188th has Tyee and the Y, among another things.
Anyway, that’s my prediction. The A Line will be truncated to 200th. The reason will be some platitude like “duplication of service.” The whole thing will be spun as a step forward, and rail fanboys will enthusiastically agree. If I am wrong, I will come back and apologize and issue myself a self-imposed ban from commenting for one year, but if I am correct, and I going to come back and gloat and say I told you so.
The C/D line duplicates Central Link’s four most-used stops.
Sam, what evidence do you have that ST or Metro has even considered moving the A’s terminus? I think they should both meet at SeaTac station, because that’s the highest-use station on the line, and midnight plane arrivals who miss the last train should not have to take the A one mile to TIB and wait twenty minutes or an hour for the 124. But I doubt Metro will even consider moving the terminus because it’s in love with TIB’s “transit center P&R” aspect.
Also note that the 124 is much less frequent than the A, so it’s not really a transfer to a comparable service. Link is the comparable transfer from the A. The 124 is really a stopgap if Link isn’t running or you’re going to the Museum of Flight or Boeing or Georgetown.
Metro could just extend the 124 to SeaTac station and old airport bus stops, and let it overlap with the A between 154th and 176th. Or it could extend the A when Link isn’t running. As if Metro had money to expand service.
Hey, they could use that 10,000 square foot fenced off area for layovers! If you reconfigure the parking, you could have four 60′ coaches lay over there.
“The A Line will be truncated to 200th. The reason will be some platitude like “duplication of service.””
And Metro has done this where? Metro proposed consolidating service on Queen Anne, the Central District, Madison, Fremont, and Magnolia, and withdrew them all in the face of a bit of opposition.
Actually, looking at it more, I don’t think you’d need to restripe the Kiss & Ride. Just redo the sidewalk there to make it a driveway. Throw some paint on the ground and you could fit four 60′ there.
Just because the A line doesn’t terminate there does not mean that passengers won’t transfer there.
There are other routes in the area, such as those coming from Des Moines, that may also be adjusted to allow transfers.
5,400 – 1,150 = 4,250. Where are the remaining 4,250 riders expected to come from?
asdf, that’s what I was wondering. I’m very familiar with this area, and aside from the 1,150 people driving in to park in Sound Transit’s parking garage, I can’t figure out how they arrived at such a high number. I was hoping someone could help me with this.
maybe some carpooled
maybe some got dropped off
maybe some biked (how many bike lockers & bike rack spaces are there?)
maybe some took a bus
maybe some came early in the morning, took the train to Seattle, came back and the space was reused later in the day
maybe some came in the evening to attend an event in the city
…
It isn’t worth obsessing over ridership estimates. They’ll either be met, or they won’t. Over time, the neighborhood will probably change based on the existance of the station.
From ST documents:
5,400 daily riders expected to come and go from Angle Lake Station by 2018
So, each person that makes a roundtrip to/from Angle Lake will account for 2 of those rides.
Does anyone have a price quote for the parking garage and lot?
Tim: “The extension is projected to add 5,400 daily boardings by 2018…”
ST has been mixing up boardings and daily riders for some time now. As Guy on Beacon Hill points out, it’s 5,400 daily riders, so only 2,700 daily boardings.
I suspect the PR Dept likes using the bigger numbers when it suits their purpose, even though FTA only counts daily boardings as a significant measure of ridership.
I think you’ve got it backward, “5,400 daily riders expected to come and go from Angle Lake Station by 2018” is 5,400 boardings and 5,400 alighting at Angle Lake. From the system perspective it’s 10,800 daily boardings as each “rider” gets on once when they they once to make the return trip. Wildly inflated much but the game is to use the rules to predict maximum used and secure federal grants. There’s no real value in knowing how many people will actually use it. The tax revenue is in place and the money will be spent. That’s ST’s mission.
Tim do you have any links to meeting materials or board?
I can’t find anything on Sound Transit website. The only thing I have are the slides that I tweeted.
Just wondering, if ST built the garage, aren’t they exempt from SeaTac land codes because they’re a state agency? I would understand if they would want to follow them for political goodwill and all that jazz.
It doesn’t work like that.
And ST is not a state agency. It’s a regional agency, between the state and counties. The state allowed it to be created, but is not part of its ownership. That’s also why ST had to yield to the state on the location of UW and Mt Baker stations, because the UW’s campus and laundry facility are state entities that can prevent ST from locating against their wishes.
It doesn’t work that way. ST power of condemnation arise from it providing an “essential public service” and nothing to do with a hierarchy of City, County, Region, State. Politically it wouldn’t be smart to butt heads with the UW… or Amazon or Boeing.
I would have preferred S 200 st station as the name. I think that it’s a clear name that gives a good indication of position.
And how long does Sound Transit plan on using those terrible new maps? If you just open your ST book for Feb-June, those maps are… terrible.
By that reasoning we’d have two stations (eventually) named 200th St … as one of the options for the stop near the Lynwood Transit Center is also on 200th St albeit 200th ST SW
Don’t “airport” buses still drop of “airport” riders at the passenger concourse? If they are dumping them at a Link station to transfer for the last mile or on the street behind the parking garage that would just be customer abusive. If anything people should have the choice of transferring to a bus if they can’t/won’t make the long slog from where the airport station ended up.
That’s what I’ve been trying to say all along with the 120, 124, 132, 155, 156 (which shows Metro does listen), and 180.
The A, 156, and 180 don’t serve the airport terminal stop. I think they could, with some clever routing. In the case of the 180, you just retract it to terminate there, and extend the 120. But the huge 120 ridership is not known for getting organized and screaming for its own self-interest.
People who have not ridden the 180 by the airport will also talk about the great connection to Burien. If they haven’t ridden, they don’t see most of the 180 passengers getting off at Airport Station, replaced by more airport riders heading to Burien Forced Transfer Center.
I’m pretty sure that idea has been tossed out before; the biggest hurdle is layover space. The only space available is the charter bus holding lot at 28th & 188th. The 574 spends nearly 15 minutes deadheading from that lot and the first/last in-service stop per layover. With the 180 having about 40 daily weekday roundtrips and the 120 having about 75, that’s at least 28 additional service hours per day that would be needed.
Subjecting the A line to the variability of the Airport arrivals drive will do wonders for the “RapidRide” brand…
And a better Kent-Burien route would be …? The 180 between Kent Station and 180th is already a de facto express because the on/offs are few, the speed limits are high, and the intersections are widely spaced. You can’t get faster than that without a freeway. West of SeaTac city hall it’s a different story, but half the route is already as fast as it can be.
I’d much rather have a reliable ride to the International Boulevard station right next to the Link station than have to slog through arrivals traffic to be dropped by the terminal.
There’s very simple way to eliminate the slog. SEA already provides I think 30 minute free parking in the garage. To get people to use it you charge a $2 Good2Go toll on the direct terminal access road with appropriate penalty for licence plate billing. A lot of people will pay it and maybe they can reduce the Port of Seattle line item on my property tax. Most people however will choose free parking over a toll.
No free parking.
http://www.portseattle.org/Sea-Tac/Parking-and-Transportation/Parking/Pages/Parking-Rates.aspx
They have taken a couple of steps to reduce traffic on the drive:
– Moving the return to terminal ramp further out so it’s much more time consuming to circle
– Expand the cell phone lot so people don’t need to circle
Reading these developments regarding transit projects in King Co. give me hope that the West Seattle area will also be given some consideration for additional transit options one day… we are desperate to have more options for getting out of West Seattle. The population is growing and our bridge is not able handle the amount of commuters.
You have lots of options, but the frequency is diffuse because the ridership is split among those options. No other part of town has a water taxi, a RapidRide, two other trunk routes, and four cross-town routes.
Have you considered diverting the water taxi money to bus service?
To be fair, West Seattle is way bigger than most other places we think of as single “parts of town”. If you designated a “part of town” of equal size centered on Ballard, Fremont, the U District, etc., you’d find similar service, with the exception of the water taxi, which is unique because the geography is unique.
West Seattle (Seattle west of the Duwamish River) has about 90,000 residents, which makes it about the size (in terms of population) of Bellingham.
Wow, those are a lot of station area features I wasn’t expecting. Maybe it could actually turn into a reasonable “streetcar suburb” like Othello, if they focus on walkability hard enough.
Can we call the east of the trail from TIB to Renton the “RapidRide F Trail”? :)
“Vibrant community space” = Subway sandwich shop with nothing near it. OK, then. I assume those other spaces that are too far away to read have a nail salon and a check-cashing place?
This all looks very familiar from mall and strip design in the early 70s.
It’s based on the 3rd and Pine stop
That’s lame. Apparently the engineers that answered Gordon Werner’s were wrong; they said it’d be like Westlake (trains cross over after the station) but these corrections from ST say the opposite and that we’re moving this next train guessing game one station south. Yeah, I know it says “there will be next train signs” but aren’t we supposed to have those at SeaTac? It is too often the case where there are two trains that both say “Sound Transit” on their signs.
And with these little wind huts–I hope they’re a belated April Fools joke. Those “6 wind screen enclosures” will hold about 4 people each, which means only 24 people will have wind protection leaving the other 276 people sheltered from rain but not wind.
I don’t have any difficulty telling which train will be next at SeaTac. Either there’s only one train there, or one has its doors open, or one has the circle of lights around the door button on, or you saw the second train arrive and know it’s not departing, or you can see passengers sitting in one train and not the other….
I’ve encountered a few situations where:
– I couldn’t see train activity approaching the station
– Both trains say “SOUND TRANSIT”
– There are people sitting on both trains
Or you look at the variable message signs on the platform to see which one reads “THIS TRAIN TO SEATTLE”
I don’t think they do that.
They do that. The VMS displays are very clear in indicating which train is departing next. Other variables, such as enabled/open doors and headsigns help, though those aren’t as reliable. Worst case, the security guard on the platform generally has a clue and knows – I’ve seen a few people ask him/her.
Will folks actually be outside waiting for trains that often? If the net result of this station is to move the airport Link “experience” south by one station, then it seems like there will usually be a train waiting. I suppose it’s a bigger concern when the line extends further south and this station is no longer a terminal.
My concern is primarily for when the station is not a terminal. There also exist times when there is no train laying over at the station.
Or if they somehow manage to get it right and set it up like Westlake and the trains lay over on the stub track instead of at the station.
When it’s not a terminal, northbound will always be on the eastern side.
But for five years, northbound will be on both sides.
Look at the video they just posted at 24 seconds. No wind protection whatsoever besides a small cubby.
With a center platform, it honestly doesn’t matter that much which track has the “next train”. It’s really annoying on a side-platform station…. which I’ve seen on very rare occasions…
I’m against art. I haven’t decided about music yet, but I am totally against art.
So what’s the deal with the color-changing art? Is there going to be one piece of color-changing art for each direction of travel? Because once the line gets extended to Highline CC, it will be really confusing to have the same piece of art changing color to represent the arrival of a North OR a Southbound train.
Or maybe they should just get the Next Train Info system working…….
Probably something like this where it lights up when a train comes in either direction. The artist hasn’t finalized their plans so the details were kinda vague.
That’s my point exactly. It just adds another level of confusion.
If you are rushing to your train and you see the art start to change colors, is it because your train is approaching? Or is it because the train going in the opposite direction is approaching? Should you rush more? Or slow down because you just missed it? Or do you just decide that the color change is meaningless and ignore it in all cases?
It only lights up a few hundred feet in advance. If you can see the sculpture, you’ll be able to see the train. If you’re at ground level and it changes to blue, you’re going to miss the train.
But which direction is the train going?
Both? I don’t understand your question.
So long as ST is in their edit mode, could they please explain where the 5400 daily boardings are coming from?
P&R=
Kiss/Ride=
Pedestrian=
Bike/Ride=
Bus transfers = and how many from each route counted on.
It should all add up, as I don’t think they pulled a number out of their asses.
“Sound Transit has firmly adopted a philosophy of TOD over parking, boldly stating that they’re a transit agency and are not in the business of parking.” Is it really all that bold to make a statement that is more aspirational than anything? Kent Station, Auburn Station … no TOD in sight, but lot’s of free parking in ST parking garages. I think if you tallied-up all of ST’s free parking lot’s and garages that TOD over them, you’d realize it’s a philosophy in name only. What they are actually doing, as opposed to what they saying, says they are in the business of parking.
Congratulations on comparing completed projects to those under construction.
I’m in the wrong for judging them on their actions instead of their words?
What part of “ST changed its mind last year” don’t you understand?
Could one of the editors correct the correction? Is the “the double crossover south north of the station” south or north? It sounds like it’s to the north.
You’re going to have to email ST; that is exactly how they worded it.
Tim,
The total *potential* economic output in the 1/2 mile radius around the station, if all parcels were developed/redeveloped to their highest and best use is actually 1,000 times the $2 million/year figure you cite: The ST-commissioned report by Kidder-Mathews, dated 9/7/2011, projects $1.96 billion (with a B)per year in total outputs within the State of Washington (accounting for the “tails” of any economic activity) and $1.80 billion per year in outputs within King County. Numbers of jobs created by this intensified development around the station would be approx 12,700 within the state, and 11,670 within King County (total jobs = sum of direct, indirect, and induced). It would be good to fix the order of magnitude error in the article, but, nevertheless, thanks for the coverage of the project’s public open house and all the detail you’ve provided.