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Photo of the Sounder Train at Lakewood Station, Lakewood Station Access Improvements
Lakewood Station Access Improvements

What we heard during spring engagement

Publish Date

The goal of the voter-approved Lakewood and South Tacoma Stations Access Improvements projects is to improve the experience of getting to Sounder trains and regional buses in Lakewood and South Tacoma. This could mean investments in safer walking, rolling and bicycling connections with surrounding neighborhoods; better pick-up and drop-off areas; additional station lighting and weather shelters; parking options and more.

We hosted an online open house from April 1 – April 20, 2021, to introduce these projects and to seek public feedback on types of improvements that would support the community. More than 550 people visited the online open house, which was available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Tagalog. In addition, we held briefings with 11 local community groups, service organizations and commissions to talk about the project and seek input on potential improvements.

What we heard
Themes from the Lakewood survey and briefings included:

  • Lighting improvements at the station and on surrounding streets would help people feel safer.
  • Support for additional parking at or near the station. 
  • Improving pedestrian infrastructure through adding sidewalks, crosswalks, lighting and shelters near the station, and widening existing sidewalks.
  • Improving bicycle infrastructure in surrounding neighborhoods.
  • Springbrook neighborhood: Safer pedestrian and bicycle access from Springbrook to the station, including on 47th Ave SW and the 47th Ave SW bridge over I-5.

Read more in the full outreach summary.

Next steps

Sound Transit is incorporating input from this round of outreach as we put together a list of potential access improvements for each station, which we expect to release for public input this fall. After this second round of outreach, the Sound Transit Board will choose some potential improvements for further study.

Due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, the project schedule is subject to change. The Sound Transit Board is working to determine how plans and schedules for many expansion projects, including South Tacoma and Lakewood Stations Access Improvements, will need to change to address financial pressures, through a process called realignment. The Board is expected to make decisions about realigning project schedules and plans in summer 2021.