Star Lake is a future light rail station in southwestern Kent, Washington, United States. It is part of the Link light rail system, operated by Sound Transit, and is being constructed for the Federal Way Link Extension. The station will be located at the existing Star Lake Park and Ride, adjacent to the intersection of Interstate 5 and South 272nd Street.
Construction of the station was originally approved by voters in the 2008 Sound Transit 2 ballot measure, but deferred two years later after a funding shortfall. [1] The Sound Transit 3 ballot measure, passed in 2016, re-instated funding and approval for the station, as well as an extension to Federal Way Transit Center. [2] The extension is scheduled to open in 2026. [3]
Star Lake station is planned to be a retained cut structure attached to a 1,240-stall parking garage near the intersection of Interstate 5 and South 272nd Street. [4] [5] [6] The existing park-and-ride at the site, opened in January 1981 by Metro Transit, [7] closed on March 22, 2020, to prepare for light rail construction on the site. [8]
An alternative option that was not chosen as the preferred route in July 2015 would have placed the station at the intersection of State Route 99 and South 272nd Street, closer to the Redondo neighborhood in Des Moines. [9]
The station's location was finalized in January 2017, after negotiations with Federal Way Public Schools over the impacts to an elementary school on the south side of South 272nd Street. The school district planned to construct a new elementary school at the Redondo Park and Ride on State Route 99, while the current site would be used for light rail construction. [10] [11] The plan was contingent on the passage of a bond measure in 2018, which was passed by voters.[ citation needed ]
In 2022, the station was officially named for Star Lake, replacing its working name of South 272nd Street. [12]
Des Moines is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 32,888 as of the 2020 census. The city is located on the east shore of Puget Sound, near the center of the Seattle metropolitan area. It is bordered by the suburbs of Federal Way to the south, Kent to the east, SeaTac to the northeast, Burien to the north, and Normandy Park to the northwest.
Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, regional Sounder commuter rail, and Sound Transit Express bus service. The agency also coordinates the regional ORCA fare card system, which is also used by local transit operators. In 2019, Sound Transit services carried a total of 48 million passengers and averaged over 161,000 riders on weekdays.
The 1 Line, formerly Central Link, is a light rail line in Seattle, Washington, United States, and part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system. It serves 19 stations in the cities of Seattle, SeaTac, and Tukwila, traveling nearly 25 miles (40 km) between Northgate and Angle Lake stations. The line connects the University District, Downtown Seattle, the Rainier Valley, and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. The 1 Line carried over 25 million total passengers in 2019, with an average of nearly 80,000 daily passengers on weekdays. It runs for 20 hours per day on weekdays and Saturdays, with headways of up to six minutes during peak hours, and reduced 18-hour service on Sundays and holidays.
The Federal Way Link Extension is a planned Link light rail extension of the 1 Line that will travel 7.8 miles (12.6 km) south from Sea-Tac Airport to Federal Way, along the west side of Interstate 5. It was approved in 2008, but scaled back in 2010 to terminate at Kent Des Moines station. The Star Lake and Federal Way Downtown stations were re-instated in 2016, with the passing of Sound Transit 3. The project began construction in 2020 and is expected to open in 2026.
The East Link Extension, also known as the 2 Line, is a future light rail line serving the Eastside region of the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It will be part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system, running 18 miles (29 km) from west to east and serving 12 stations in Downtown Seattle, Mercer Island, Bellevue, and Redmond. The first section of the 2 Line, between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology stations, is scheduled to open in 2024. It is planned to be followed in 2025 by an extension east to Downtown Redmond and west to Seattle, where it will continue into the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel and share stations with the 1 Line through to Lynnwood City Center station.
Federal Way Downtown is a future light rail station at the site of the Federal Way Transit Center, a bus station in Federal Way, Washington. The bus station opened in 2006 and has 1,190 parking spaces available in its parking garage and surface lots. It is served by King County Metro, Pierce Transit and Sound Transit Express buses and is the southern terminus of the RapidRide A Line. The transit center is located adjacent to The Commons at Federal Way shopping mall and Interstate 5, connected via a direct access ramp to its high-occupancy vehicle lanes.
Tukwila International Boulevard station is a light rail station in Tukwila, Washington, United States. It is located between SeaTac/Airport and Rainier Beach stations on the 1 Line from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport to Downtown Seattle. The station consists of two elevated side platforms enclosed within a structure northeast of the interchange of State Route 99 and State Route 518. As one of three park and rides along the line, it includes 600 parking spaces in two lots.
SODO station is a light rail station located in Seattle, Washington. It is situated between the Beacon Hill and Stadium stations on the 1 Line, which runs from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport to Downtown Seattle and the University of Washington as part of the Link light rail system. The station consists of two at-grade side platforms at the intersection of the SODO Busway and South Lander Street in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle.
Stadium station is a light rail station located in Seattle, Washington. It is situated between the SODO and International District/Chinatown stations on the 1 Line, part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system. The station consists of an at-grade island platform at the intersection of the SODO Busway and South Royal Brougham Way in the SODO neighborhood of Seattle, adjacent to Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park.
International District/Chinatown station is a light rail station that is part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel in Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is located at the tunnel's south end, at 5th Avenue South and South Jackson Street in the Chinatown-International District neighborhood, and is served by the 1 Line of Sound Transit's Link light rail system. The station is located adjacent to Sound Transit headquarters at Union Station, as well as intermodal connections to Amtrak and Sounder commuter rail at King Street Station and the First Hill Streetcar.
Westlake station is a light rail station that is part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel in Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is located under Pine Street between 3rd and 6th avenues in Downtown Seattle, near Westlake Center and Westlake Park. It is served by the 1 Line, part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system, and also connected above ground by buses at several stops, the South Lake Union Streetcar, and the Seattle Center Monorail.
RapidRide is a network of limited-stop bus routes with some bus rapid transit features in King County, Washington, operated by King County Metro. The network consists of seven routes totaling 76 miles (122 km) that carried riders on approximately 64,860 trips on an average weekday in 2016, comprising about 17 percent of King County Metro's total daily ridership.
U District station is a light rail station on the 1 Line of Sound Transit's Link light rail system in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located in the University District neighborhood, near the University of Washington campus. The underground station has two entrances along Brooklyn Avenue Northeast at 43rd and 45th streets.
The First Hill Streetcar, officially the First Hill Line, is a streetcar route in Seattle, Washington, United States, forming part of the modern Seattle Streetcar system. It travels 2.5 miles (4.0 km) between several neighborhoods in central Seattle, including the International District, First Hill, and Capitol Hill. The line has ten stops and runs primarily in mixed traffic on South Jackson Street and Broadway.
Angle Lake station is a Link light rail station in SeaTac, Washington. The elevated station is the southern terminus of the 1 Line, which travels north to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, the Rainier Valley, Downtown Seattle, and North Seattle, including the University of Washington. It also includes a large parking garage for passengers.
NE 130th Street is a future station on Sound Transit's Link light rail system in Seattle, Washington, United States. It would be built on a section of the Lynnwood Link Extension, adjacent to the intersection of Interstate 5 and Northeast 130th Street in northern Seattle. The station was originally deferred from Lynnwood Link but restored as an infill station project under the Sound Transit 3 ballot measure, with an opening tentatively set for 2026.
Kent Des Moines station is a future station on Sound Transit's Federal Way Link Extension, part of the Link light rail system. It is to be located in western Kent, Washington near Highline College. It is scheduled to open in 2026 as part of the extension of the 1 Line to Federal Way Transit Center.
Marymoor Village station is a future Link light rail station near Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington. The station is located along the south side of State Route 520 southwest of its interchange with State Route 202 near Downtown Redmond. It also includes a 1,400-stall park and ride in a garage built on the site.
Westlake Avenue is a major street in Seattle, Washington, connecting Downtown Seattle to the neighborhoods of South Lake Union, Westlake and northeastern Queen Anne. The street runs north–south along the west side of Lake Union for 2.5 miles (4.0 km) from McGraw Square to the Fremont Bridge.
Preceding station | Sound Transit | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Future service | ||||
Kent Des Moines toward Northgate | 1 Line (2026) | Federal Way Downtown Terminus |