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Updated Aug. 9 with correction that the City of Mountlake Terrace will construct the Gateway Plaza.
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen toured the ongoing construction work and planned transit connection project at the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center Thursday, Aug. 5. In addition to Sound Transit’s Lynnwood Link light rail extension, plans call for building a pedestrian plaza adjacent to the new light rail station and a lighted paved pedestrian trail through Veterans Memorial Park.
Larsen, who has regularly championed transportation and infrastructure investments, recently secured $2 million for the city’s transit connection project, as part of the more than $10 million he earmarked in the House’s appropriations bills for the 2022 fiscal year to help fund 10 different projects in Washington state’s Second Congressional District. The inclusion of that money in the draft bills is the first step in the federal funding process as they move forward to the full appropriations committee, consideration on the House floor and negotiations with the Senate.
“I’ve been aware of this project for a long time and I know Mountlake Terrace has always thought of incorporating a trail through Veterans Memorial Park as part of the redevelopment of the City Center and attach it to the transit center,” Larsen said. Given the long-term planning and community support involved, “when they made the request for $2 million for the trail development as part of the larger project, it was pretty easy to support it,” he added.
Mountlake Terrace officials including City Manager Scott Hugill, Mayor Kyoko Matsumoto Wright and Recreation and Parks Director Jeff Betz met with Larsen at the transit center to survey the future light rail station site and talk about the additional work that is still planned.
“To be here and see how it’s going to actually fit in, in the physical geography, it’s much more than a plan on paper (now),” Larsen added. “It’s really great to be able to see it, that it’s that much closer to reality. We still have to drag it over the finish line in Washington D.C. but it’s one of my priorities for funding.”
Grant funding has already been acquired from several agencies to assist with upgrading the main trail through the park to an asphalt lighted trail, compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which will connect the Town Center and Civic Campus with the future light rail station being built at the transit center. The trail is included among various other improvements the city has envisioned for Veterans Memorial Park which will be made in phases as funding is secured. The City of Mountlake Terrace is in the process of developing a master plan for the park, which will guide future decisions and development there.
Officials on Thursday also talked about plans for Gateway Plaza, which will be a 2,000-square-foot pedestrian plaza and walkway located across the street from the transit center just east of the Interstate 5 off-ramp at the corner of Van Ry Boulevard and 236th Street Southwest. Construction is scheduled to take place in 2023-2024 and is anticipated to be completed by the start of light rail service at the transit center.
The City of Mountlake Terrace has contracted with Otak, Inc. to design the plaza and Sound Transit will provide funding to assist with construction as part of its access enhancement agreement. The city will construct and then be responsible for maintaining the Gateway Plaza afterward. It is envisioned as representing a “gateway” to the city and also the surrounding area since the plaza will be across from the first light rail stop in Snohomish County.
— By Nathan Blackwell
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