Starting Sept. 3, riders who park and ride from the Tukwila Sounder Station and the Tukwila International Boulevard Link Station will be able to purchase a new single-occupancy vehicle parking permit or sign up for an available free carpool parking permit for the month of October.
Single-occupancy vehicle and carpool permits will give riders access to reserved parking areas at both the train and light rail stations beginning Tuesday, Oct. 1. Sounder train permit holders will have reserved areas until 8 a.m. on weekdays. Link light rail permit holders will have access to reserved areas until 9 a.m. on weekdays.
Parking permits for both stations go on sale Tuesday, Sept. 3, and will be available for a standard monthly fee of $60, with a discounted rate of $20 per month for riders who are eligible for ORCA Lift reduced transit fares. Prices were set based on market rates and utilization of commercial parking in the surrounding area, according to a Sound Transit news release.
The station will have permit parking spaces reserved exclusively for permit holders arriving during the morning rush hours. The size of the permit area at each station will be set based on the number of permits purchased and issued each month, but will not exceed 50 percent of the spaces at either station. All unpermitted station parking will remain open on a first-come, first-served basis, as will any unused permit spaces, after 8 a.m. at Tukwila Sounder Station and after 9 a.m. at the Tukwila International Blvd. Link Station, as well as holidays and weekends.
On weekdays, the parking lot at both Tukwila stations frequently fills well before 7:30 a.m. This makes it difficult to access transit for those who can’t arrive so early, including parents who must drop children off at school or day care, and other potential riders who don’t work a conventional 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule.
Permit applicants must use a valid ORCA or ORCA Lift card at least 12 days per month to board Sounder, Link or a bus from the same station. Carpool parking permits continue to be available free of charge to groups of two or more riders who all commit to using transit and sharing a ride to the station at least 12 days per month.
Riders can submit permit applications starting at 7 a.m. Sept. 3. To apply online or obtain more information about Sound Transit’s permit parking program, visit soundtransit.org/permitparking.
In 2018 the Sound Transit Board authorized permit-parking options for all of the agency’s high demand park-and-rides, including those that regularly fill to, or in excess of, 90 percent of capacity.
Permits coming to Kent Station?
Sound Transit plans to implement solo-driver parking permits at more lots in the coming months. Facilities under consideration for permit parking this year include:
• Kent and Lakewood Sounder stations.
• The Federal Way Transit Center, Issaquah Transit Center and Mercer Island Park-and-Ride.
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