Business
 | Email to a friend | 
|  |
Comment |  | Reprints |  |
Add to myDJC | Adjust font size |
February 27, 2001
'Major' park-and-ride boost planned
SEATTLE -- King county has announced a plan to significantly expand park-and-ride capacity along "key travel corridors" in the region.
The expansions, announced by King County Executive Ron Sims, will be at the Northgate, Eastgate, Pacific Highway and Issaquah Highlands park-and-rides. All construction would begin in the spring or summer of 2002 with the exception of Issaquah Highlands which is planned for 2003.
The plan would add 500 spaces to the 900 existing Northgate parking stalls. A five-story garage with 1,000 new spaces would be built on the existing Eastgate lot. At the Pacific Highway site, at South 272nd St., 700 new spaces would be added. The Issaquah Highlands project would add 500 parking stalls on the South Plateau Access Road to better serve the Sammamish Plateau.
Sims hailed the projects as part of the benefit of the 0.2 percent Metro sales tax initiative, passed by voters in November 2000. He also noted that King County is working on seven other park-and-ride projects in partnership with other agencies. These include Sound Transit commuter rail lots in Kent, Tukwila and Auburn. Also, the county is working with the Washington State Department of Transportation to 650 new spaces in the Twin Lakes/Federal Way area.
To tout his plan, Sims will make a number of appearances at area park-and-rides beginning 7 a.m. tomorrow morning at Northgate.