Tukwila says Sound Transit must provide more parking

By Eric Pryne
Seattle Times staff reporter

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The city of Tukwila wants Sound Transit to provide more parking at the south end of its light-rail line than the agency had planned.

Tukwila's Community Development Department decided this week that Sound Transit must build 600 parking spaces at the South 154th Street light-rail station. Sound Transit had filed a proposal last year to provide about 460 stalls.

Spokesman Geoff Patrick said Sound Transit hasn't ruled out an appeal. The agency has until July 15 to ask the City Council to modify or overturn the department's decision.

The extra parking could cost as much as $6 million and would require buying more land, Patrick said, but the additional expense could be absorbed by contingencies already built into the light-rail project's $2.44 billion budget.

Jack Pace, deputy director of the Tukwila department, said the additional stalls are needed to avoid spillover parking on neighborhood streets that could inconvenience businesses and residents. Sound Transit submitted a modified proposal for 600 spaces, he said.

But Patrick said that plan was part of the negotiating process and isn't Sound Transit's official position.

The South 154th Street station, near the Highway 99-Highway 518 interchange in Tukwila, is the southern terminus of a planned 14-mile light-rail line starting in downtown Seattle. From 154th, shuttle buses would carry rail passengers south to nearby Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The rail line is scheduled to open in 2009. Construction began last fall.

The park-and-ride lot at South 154th would be the only one on the line. Sound Transit and Tukwila have disagreed for months on how much parking should be required.

Last December, Sound Transit estimated demand would require 420 spaces in 2011 and 720 in 2020. In April, a consultant to Tukwila offered much higher estimates: 875 spaces in 2011 and 1,330 in 2020.
 
To provide that much parking, Sound Transit probably would have to build expensive garages.

Tukwila's decision also requires Sound Transit to monitor the number of cars parked in the 600-space lot and on nearby streets, and provide more parking — up to 1,330 stalls — if certain thresholds are exceeded.

Patrick said Sound Transit likes the idea of linking construction of more parking to demonstrated demand.

Sound Transit needs several other permits from Tukwila. The city and the regional transit agency have a history of contentious relations.

Two years ago the City Council rejected a pact outlining how the city would handle light-rail permit applications. Some members were upset the line wouldn't serve the Southcenter Mall area, Tukwila's retail and employment hub. Others said the project was a waste of money.

For a time, the rejection appeared to threaten the project's future; the Federal Transit Agency had ordered Sound Transit to get the agreement signed before applying for needed federal grants to build the line.

The federal agency later dropped that requirement, and Sound Transit got the money.

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com