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Sound Transit will open Kent Station Garage ahead of schedule

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Sound Transit will open the Kent Station Garage on Wednesday, March 20-more than three months ahead of schedule. The five-floor structure, located at Kent's Sounder commuter rail station, will provide 871 parking spaces for commuters traveling to and from Kent on Sounder commuter rail, ST Express regional buses and King County Metro buses.

Opening the garage brings the total number of permanent parking spaces Sound Transit, working with its partners, has created for commuters throughout King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties to more than 6,000.

The garage will be open weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., except holidays. The total cost for design and construction was just over $10 million, which includes $4 million from the City of Kent and $2.1 million from King County Metro. Construction on the garage began last February and was completed this month.

Although the garage will be open for commuter use, there will be ongoing construction of other elements of the Kent Station facilities, including:

    • a pedestrian bridge connecting the garage to the north and southbound platforms;
    • a public entry plaza on the southeast corner of the station;
    • a bus transit island on the east side of the station, and;
    • "rider drop off" areas on the east and west sides.

When the garage opens, the temporary gravel parking lots on the east side of the station property will be closed, but the gravel lot at the northeast corner of E. Smith St. and Railroad Ave. will remain open until the pedestrian bridge is complete.

Because the project was finished ahead of schedule, a temporary entrance off of 1st Avenue just north of the garage will be the only entrance to the garage until the adjoining streets are completed this summer. The street work and construction associated with the station will continue into the fall.

Commuters with questions about the Kent Station project can visit the Sound Transit Web site at www.soundtransit.org or call Sound Transit at (800) 201-4900; TTY/TTD hearing impaired users should call (206) 398-5410


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Sound Transit plans, builds and operates regional transit systems and services to improve mobility for Central Puget Sound.