New agreement makes more parking available at Auburn Station

Transit commuters will get access to 85 additional park-and-ride spots at Sound Transit’s popular Auburn Station facility under a new agreement between the City of Auburn and Sound Transit.

“Making more parking spaces available for commuters will help us get by while Sound Transit works to get longer-term solutions in place,” said Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis. “We’ve made clear that this represents a major priority for Auburn commuters and downtown businesses and our community has shown they will use Sounder.”

“As more and more people ride mass transit, the need for more parking at our facilities grows greater and greater,” said King County Councilmember and Sound Transit board member Pete von Reichbauer. “This new agreement with the City of Auburn will make it easier for Auburn commuters to access Sounder trains and ST Express buses.”

“Our Sounder commuter rail service connecting Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, Auburn, Kent, Tukwila and Seattle grows more popular each year,” Sound Transit CEO Joni Earl said. “Every Sounder station from Tacoma to Tukwila is either at or near its parking capacity, so we are really pleased to be able to work with Mayor Lewis’ administration and find a solution which makes taking transit that much more convenient for commuters.”

The 85 additional parking spots increases to 467 the number of parking spots that are available to Auburn Station commuters without charge. The City of Auburn also recently announced a new program in which 53 city-owned parking stalls at Auburn Station are available to commuters on a permit basis for $100 per month.

The Auburn Station parking garage was built in 2001. While the 1996 Sound Move ballot measure envisioned a $9 million facility, Sound Transit worked with the City of Auburn to design a $30 million facility that offered greater capacity and amenities.

Last November, the Sound Transit Board included a new 600-stall Auburn Station parking garage as part of the Proposition 1 ballot measure. Currently, the Board is considering the additional service and projects and the timing of a future transit-only ballot measure. The Board will be considering options for a future ballot measure over the next few months.  Considerations for system access are expected to be an important topic for the Board to discuss.

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Sound Transit’s regional network of express buses, commuter rail, light rail and transit facilities connects communities in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.