Owned by Sound Transit Structure type At-grade Owner Sound Transit | Tracks 2 Opened 2001 Platforms in use 2 | |
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Location 301 Railroad Avenue North
Kent, WA 98032 Line(s) Sound Transit Services:
South Line Parking 996 spaces (119 surface & 877 garage)
reserved carpool spaces (monthly fee) Address Kent, WA 98032, United States Connections King County Metro, Sound Transit Express Similar Auburn station, Tukwila station, Sumner station, Federal Way Transit C, Puyallup station | ||
Kent station is a transportation hub in the city of Kent, Washington, served by Sounder commuter rail trains, Sound Transit Express buses, and King County Metro buses.
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The station was built in phases by Sound Transit around the BNSF Railway tracks in downtown Kent. Commuter rail trains first started running between the station and downtown Seattle on February 5, 2001, with service to Tacoma added on September 24, 2007. A 877 space park and ride structure opened in March 2002, followed by the transit center in 2005, which allowed more than a dozen bus routes to be shifted to the station.
The station is the focal point for Kent's effort to redevelop the city's historic downtown.
History
Kent station was built as part of Sound Move, a measure approved by voters in 1996, which authorized the creation of Sound Transit, tax collections for funding, and the first set of regional transit projects. The projects it funded included peak-period commuter rail between Lakewood and Seattle via the Green River valley, express bus service linking cities in the region and investments in transit facilities.
Sound Transit studied two potential locations for Kent station approximately 900 feet from each other, the north site would extend on either side of the BNSF railroad tracks between James and Smith streets and the south site would extend on either side of the BNSF railroad tracks between Gowe and Willis streets. While there was no clear consensus within the community on the best station location, the Kent City Council recommended that the south site be selected (concerned over the potential loss of business and tax base in the downtown area if the north site is selected), and Sound Transit staff recommended that the north site be selected. The Sound Transit board selected the north station site on June 11, 1998, with a promise to the City of Kent to design a station that would both minimize the amount of property takes required by incorporating a parking structure, to be partially funded by the city.
A contract to design the station was awarded on November 5, 1998 to MBT Architecture of San Francisco.
The construction of the station was broken up into phases. Phase 1 included the station (platforms, canopies, and lighting), temporary and permanent parking lots, and improvements to Railroad Ave N to enhance access to the station. Construction of Phase 1 was approved on September 2, 1999 with a contract awarded to Gary Merlino Construction Company and a public groundbreaking celebration was held on October 20, 1999.
Construction was completed in early 2001, a grand opening celebration was held on February 3, 2001 and trains first started running between the station and downtown Seattle on February 5, 2001.
Phase 2 saw the construction of a five-level 871-stall parking garage, at a cost of just over $10 million. The City of Kent contributed $4 million and King County contributed $2.12 million towards construction costs. Construction of Phase 2 was approved on October 26, 2000 with a contract awarded to PCL Construction. Construction began in February 2011 and PCL competed the garage four months ahead of schedule and it opened to the public on March 20, 2002.
The remainder of station construction was broken up into Phases 2a, 2b, and 2c, which included a pedestrian bridge to connect the two platforms, the transit center, and the parking garage (which was primarily financed by three federal grants totaling $2,045,600), an island platform for buses on the eastern portion of the site (partially funded by $300,000 contribution by King County Metro), a park-like public entry plaza on the southeast portion of the site, and improvements to surrounding roads to improve bus access to the transit center and improve access for private vehicles to the parking garage. With the competition of the transit island, 14 bus routes were rerouted from the Kent Transit Center (now called the Kent/James Street Park and Ride) to the transit center at Kent station in June 2005.
Transit Center
The Kent Station transit center is located to the east of the train station and is served by King County Metro and Sound Transit Express buses.
As of March 2016, the following routes stop at the Kent Station transit center: